We left Kirsten and Danny’s after a productive morning; packing, sorting, skyping home and making sure we had everything we would need, for at least 5 days! We were aiming for the 11.25am ferry across from Seattle to Bainbridge but when we got to the terminal we paid and drove straight onto the 10.25 ferry! Result! When we parked up and got out of our upgraded car we felt suddenly very grown up, this was our first drive-on ferry ride without our parents! He he! The ferry over took around 40 minutes and was very pleasant indeed, well worth the $21 we paid! The views back to Seattle were really rewarding as was looking out across the Olympic Peninsula, or as far as the eye can go.

After the delight of our first ferry journey we continued away from Bainbridge, making our way north east of the Peninsula towards Port Townsend and a little further to Fort Worden State Park where we’d read that An Officer and A Gentleman was filmed. It’s a gorgeous base with naval barrack buildings and a lovely little bay. We wandered along the bay past an old lighthouse and then back into the barracks area to take a look at an HI hostel we were interested in viewing, it was very twee indeed.

Continuing on our first USA road trip we ventured to the Olympic National Park Ranger Station. They are so informative over here, even after closing hours there is still a ranger on duty. We discovered that backcountry backpacking is very popular over here, most people were dropping off bear cans and collecting permits to hike. We just wanted a park permit, some info on camping and a map! Then we set off in direction of Hurricane Ridge. If you’re ever in this area this ridge is a must-see, the road is windy and around 30 miles going up but at the top the views are so rewarding! We could see across the park to Mount Olympia and for the golden hour we hiked around the top of the ridge and just took it all in.

We made tracks and took the further one hour drive to the campsite. We aimed to get to Crescent Lake campsite at the south end of the lake, and when we got there we were confused with the set up; there was no-one around to register with but we could see people setting up their tents. So we asked them, how does this work? We learned our first lesson in camping, you do an honesty payment, fill out a form, display the ticket in your car and enclose payment (on this occasion $12) in an envelope along with car details and post this into a box! Easy!! So we found a nice little spot just in time for dusk, set up our little tent for the first time, and made our first camping meal!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

Today we would start our Intrepid tour of the Canadian Rockies, although the first night of this was to be spent in a hostel in Seattle. We got our bags together and left a few items with Kirsten and Danny, a huge thanks to them for letting us do this! We took the number 7 bus into the International District and checked into Hostelling International at The American Hotel. We weren’t expecting to be going into separate sex dorms for the night as this wasn’t set out in our Intrepid itinerary, they lost points before we even began! So separate dorms it was and after a while we met a few others who were joining us on the trip.

Marie was first to join Helen in her 4 dorm and so the 3 of us went out to a local Chinese night market right outside the hostel. There was quite a bit going on for a small market place with live art performances, gifts, crafts and food along with a Capoeira group who did a really fun and vibrant performance, they really got the crowd going! We followed our Seattle cultural experience by eating at a very authentic Chinese restaurant just around the corner from where the night market took place. This really took us back to China, the place was full of Chinese people and the atmosphere and food really felt authentic.

When we got back Helen’s dorm was full and we met her fellow room mates Rhiannon and Marian who along with Marie would be joining us for our trip to Canada.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We had a late start to the day with the idea that we wanted to set the tent up to give it a clean, do some writing and clothes washing. So by 1pm we were ready to set off and we walked to a local Dim Sum restaurant called Dim Sum King! It pretty much lived up to its expectations but we always forget that they don’t tend to have a big vegetarian or fish selection in these places! Even the sticky rice had minced pork inside!

After some research into car hire and a trip to REI‘s flagship store we managed to pick up a few essentials for our camping trips ahead. We continued our urban hike through the hilly streets to the funk that is Capitol Hill. It’s very different from the main parts of the city and offers more of an eclectic atmosphere with lots of bars, cafe’s, vintage shops and restaurants. We stopped for some food at Oddfellows, perhaps not so great for the budget conscious but we shared a salad, a veggie lasagne and some fries, which was more than enough for us both and the food was very good! This place has kept it’s charm with original features, signs and a mish-mash of wooden furniture.

With our stomachs full we continued to wander the streets of Capitol Hill and a few doors down from Oddfellows is the Elliot Bay Book Company where we picked up some Joe Nesbo novels (one of which we dug deep for in the bargain books area) and a couple of notebooks for us to draw in, write and so on. The bookstore is amazing, it’s got a lovely charm to the place within its layout and it has a huge listing of books available, really something that we could do more of in the UK! We finished our evening by walking back through the streets from Capitol Hill to our neighborhood! We probably clocked up around 10 miles or so – if you’re doing Seattle by foot, wear trainers!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

If you were to read ‘things to do in Seattle in one day’ we would probably have ticked nearly all of the boxes! Today was our first day of proper sightseeing fitting in with the tourists so to speak. After spending some time photographing our quirky and retro-stylish new home for the next few days with Kirsten and Danny we set off by foot, saving a few pennies and keeping us fit up and down all those hills. So with trainers on and a backpack (we really did fit in with the sightseers!) we set off toward the International District. It’s not too far from our neighborhood and before long we reached Pioneer Square via the train station. It’s a lovely square with coffee shops, bars and small galleries, naming Davidson Galleries as a nice little space to start.

As it was still fairly early we thought we’d try to Seattle Underground Tour. They are located on 608 First Avenue and will more than likely have a large queue of people making their way inside. The tour starts with an introduction with a fairly humorous guide (called Dave) who gave us some history into how Seattle became as it is. When the tour started the big group was broken down into 3 and we went off with comic Dave for ours. We were guided through the basements of Seattle’s underground, which were once the pavements of New York one story down from street level. This was made possible after a large fire in the early 20th Century, which was a blessing in disguise as the city had originally been built at sea level and wasn’t very favourable for sewage disposal. The tour was made to be fairly amusing and allowed for a story-telling method, the underground itself kind of looks like the basement of buildings though. It was pretty good in all honesty and our wrist band meant we would be able to get a few discounts after wards for food and a trip up the Smith Tower.

Following on from touristy thing number 1 we went to The Seattle Art Museum, this we would recommend. It’s a good space with lots of contemporary and classical art, enough to occupy a whole day if you had the time. It was good to see some of the American contemporary painters such as David Salle and Jasper Johns on display. Along with some interesting installations. So from the art museum to the Pike Place Market, via the sea front. This market is worth seeing, yes it’s touristy but it has a good vibe and atmosphere to the area along with Starbuck’s first coffee shop, street performers, fresh flowers and produce. It is a little like stepping back in time with original signage, cobbled streets and various restaurants and ice-cream parlors.

From Pike Market we walked back along the streets to the Smith Tower, it was now nearly 4pm. Completed in 1914 it was at the time the 4th tallest building in the world and houses an observation deck at the top. We spent around half an hour at the top and the views out to sea, to the Olympic Peninsula and over to Mount Rainer were pretty impressive. We do like a good observational tower!

After perhaps our 7th mile of waking back to our abode we decided to chill out, ate leftovers from the previous night’s Vietnamese food and caught up on the blog.

Seattle Art Museum – Suggested entry fee $15 ($2 off each with a voucher)
Underground Tour – $16 each
Smith Tower – $6.50 (with a dollar off)

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)