Where do I start!

We (my friend Nicola is with me for the rest of my trip) had a great ferry ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island where we started our journey on Monday. The ferries are fantastic! The service is flawless and carries up to 2,499 passengers – a rather precise number I thought. I also met a lovely fellow rider called Chris on the ferry.

Our first stop was Port Townsend. What a great little city! I haven’t had the opportunity to look into the background of the city as yet but it has a great vibe about it. The buildings are beautiful and the town is filled with art galleries. I instantly loved it! Hopefully you’ll see why.

From there we passed through Port Angeles. Part of this was because Nicola is a huge Twilight fan and wanted to see a restaurant there that features in one of the films, and we needed to get some Gluten free food for her. The Twilight tour continued on Wednesday when we arrived in Forks, which is where the book is set. I know very little about Twilight but enjoyed watching Nicola being in her element. I couldn’t resist the following photo though. It is after all about vampires and werewolves!

We spent two nights in Olympic National Forest and then two nights in Mt Rainier National Park, both of which have no mobile/cell reception or wifi. Fortunately the quality of my company and the beauty of both parks make up for this in abundance!

Olympic National Forest receives an average of 69 inches of rain every year. It is lush and stunning! It was pretty nippy in the evenings and early mornings but very pleasant during the day, which was great for our hike on Tuesday. Luckily it didn’t rain while we were there.

Our cabin was located about 20m behind a stream which was a wonderful setting, particularly as we sat with a glass of wine on the swing chair watching the sun start to set.

I’ve included a few photos below from the park, including a photo capturing my first time driving on the ‘right’ side of the road.

About an hour south of the park Highway 101 runs along the coast for a stretch. We stopped off at Ruby Beach. There was something really beautiful and mysterious about the beach which was covered in fog.

Having had no internet access for days we stopped off in Aberdeen (there as so many Scottish names around here) for two hours. This was enough time to allow Nicola to send some overdue emails, and for me to post photos and let my family know my whereabouts, although I noticed today one didn’t send. Sorry guys!

Our stop meant that we arrived at Mt Rainier National Park in the dark. Of course it didn’t help that Nicola and I got separated on the motorway and I had to direct her back to where I was waiting for her. I was very happy at that point that we both had U.S. SIM cards. At least it gave us something to chuckle about on our hike the next day.

The advantage of arriving at Mt Rainer at night was that we got to see the stars in all their glory. I have never seen anything like it. We had a perfect view of the Milky Way. I cannot take a photo of the stars from my iPhone but you could look at some photos online. We saw three shootings stars in less than ten minutes. Another item ticked off my bucket list. Woohoo!!

Mt Rainier is absolutely stunning! Although the the mountain has not erupted in 1,100 years it is still considered an active volcano. Standing just over 14,000 ft it is impressive, particularly as it is covered in glaciers.

We were told that we were extremely lucky having been on the mountain with near perfect weather. It apparently rains here a lot too but we had perfect skies. Our second blessing was that the vegetation id starting to turn so we had an array of green, yellow, orange, red and purple covering the side of the mountain. It is indescribably beautiful.

I have included some photos below.

It took Nicola and I about 2.5 hours to walk about a third of the Skyline Trail which starts from Paradise Inn where we were staying. It is graded as a strenuous hike so we took it really easy, stopping many times for photo opportunities and tying to give Nicola chance to adjust to the elevation change.

When we arrived at the top we decided to take separate routes down. Nicola headed back the way we came and I decided to take the long way around and give my legs a good stretch. I was so excited being on the trail that I starting jogging. I didn’t stop until I nearly reached the end. It was amazing running down the mountain, but given that I almost never run these days, it explains why I’m walking like John Wayne today. It was so worth it though!

Walking down the hill to where Trinity was parked this morning, and looking at Mt Rainier, I realised that I really going to struggle to leave her in San Francisco. It’s going to be a long 7 weeks before we are reunited. I’ll be counting the days!

My first thought as I am writing my post is that I cannot believe I didn’t take a single photo of Kristin!

I was introduced to Kristin via a mutual friend just before I left the UK. I spent time with Kristin during my first visit to Seattle and she very kindly accommodated me on Friday night when I arrived back in Seattle. Thanks Kristin (and Finnian for allowing me to take over your room)!

We had such a chilled out Saturday before I headed off to the airport to meet Nicola, who was arriving in Seattle to join me for the last 2.5 weeks of my (now our) journey. I was so excited to see her!

I think it is safe to say that a lot of Sunday was about food. Nicola was getting so excited about all the gluten free products that are available in Seattle that we kept stopping to either look, taste or buy things. I kept having to remind her that we could come back if she wanted something. It was very amusing and equally sweet to witness.

Outside of having Nicola with me, my greatest pleasure that day was seeing the animals that a local coffee shop created in our lattes. I’m used to hearts and trees but we got an elephant and an owl. How cool is that! I had to go back this morning to see what animals we’d get today. It was a bear and cub. My bear’s face got mauled though when Nicola put sweetener into my latte thinking it was hers (she was having a soya latte) and then had to rescue my coffee. We had a good laugh over the incident.

I’ve includes two of our latte faces below.

The laughs and smiles certainly didn’t end there. Today was our touring day and we tried to make the most of it. We walked around most of downtown Seattle in search of Skid Row (it turns out its the whole Pioneer Square district rather than a specific street); we went up to the 73rd floor of the Columbia Centre to see the amazing view of Seattle and its surroundings; had more coffee and food; and then headed to the airport to pick up Nicola’s hire car. The latter turned out to be one of the highlights of my day. Before I get back to this, below are a few photos of our tourist activities in Seattle.

Collecting a hire car at Seattle airport is quite an experience. Firstly, you need to catch a shuttle bus to a different ‘terminal’ to pick up a car. These places are amazing (see blow). It felt like we were checking in for a flight.

We were giggling so much in the queue, clearly, that the guy in the queue in front of us asked us if we were always this happy. Most of the time, of course!

The experience only got better from there. We arrived downstairs in the parking lot expecting to be given a car. Instead, the guy at the desk told us to go and pick one. The keys are in the car. Excuse me?!

I heard him correctly. The cars were all lined up with keys either in the driver doors or the cars themselves. You could try out the cars in the category you ordered and then just take it (going through a barrier as you exit of course).

It felt like Christmas!! I jumped into all the cars just to see what they looked and felt like. I felt like I was buying a new toy. Apparently it doesn’t take much to please me!

From then on the evening was about logistics. The most amusing thing was testing how Nicola and I would communicate while we’re on the road, her in a car and me on Trinity. We nailed it thanks to the wonders of modern technology i.e. the communication system in my helmet that allows me to accept phone calls. This is what I do on a Monday night!

I think the next 16 days are going to be a scream. Welcome to the U.S. Nicola!

From Columbia River Gorge I headed west to Astoria, which is where the movie The Goonies was filmed back in 1985.

I wasn’t particularly pleased with my accommodation for the evening. The AirBnB where I was staying looked like a hostel, with labels on pretty much everything to define ownership and what could and could not be used. It also smelled like wet dog. Clearly I should have read the reviews and house description better. I won’t make that mistake again.

The little microbrewery where I went for dinner on Pier 39 was pretty cool though and I got to sample two local beers. The burger was also great, so that made me happier.

Not feeling the love much for where so was, which a shame as I hear it’s actually a very quirky town, I left Astoria and headed straight for Cape Disappointment. The name itself amused me and it sparked my curiosity.

I loved the look of the 4 mile Astoria-Megler bridge crossing which was completed in 1966. It crosses the Columbia River along Highway 101 and marked my entry into Washington State. Riding over the bridge was brilliant! I don’t have any photos of it but I did capture it on my GoPro.

Cape Disappointment State Park was certainly no disappointment. From the North Head Lighhouse viewpoint you could see a fantastic view over Long Beach and you also had the opportunity to do a tour of the lighthouse. I loved this! I have included some photos of Long Beach and the lighthouse below.

The bonus about Cape Disappointment State Park is that it not only has one but two lighthouses. Woohoo! You guessed right, Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, the older of the two, was my next stop. The hike was very pleasant passing some coast guard and a really pretty secured beach. I’ve included a few photos below.

It was a really nice way to spend my morning before heading back to Seattle to start the next phase of my adventure.

I have had such a wonderful three days in Seattle that it’s with a slightly heavy heart that I leave today. It is amazing that a place and people can find space in your heart so quickly. Thank you Mark for introducing me to your amazing friends!

It’s taken a few days to get used to the 8 hour time difference. Last night I managed to sleep through and woke at 06:30 this morning. I can live with that!

Carol (the homeowner of the AirBnB where I’ve been staying) has had breakfast and a fresh pot of coffee waiting for me when I’ve woken up each morning. That makes me so happy! It’s definitely something I am going to miss. That, and of course Carol and Mimi’s company. Mimi is Carol’s cat (I love cats). Fortunately I will be back in Seattle at the start of September so a visit is already on the cards.

Most of yesterday was dedicated to picking Trinity up from the airport. The trip to the airport itself was a treat. Seattle opened a light rail system between the airport and the city centre in the last few years and it works really well. At $3 for a single fare it is also a steal. I really like the way the light rail and express buses use the same stops. It’s such an efficient use of space. The stations are clean and each one unique in character. They have adopted a type of Oyster card system (we now need to introduce them to contact less payment).

I never used any of the buses but I did managed to make use of the monorail. I also spotted the cycle hire, partly because their use of the words ‘Explore. Dream. Discover’ We clearly think alike! That made me smile.

Trinity flew over on Delta airlines. The cargo warehouse was about a 7 minute walk from the terminal so not an issue to get to. I hadn’t appreciated that I needed to clear customs before picking Trinity up. Fortunately the building was only a 10 minute walk up the same road so it was easy enough to find. I was expecting this large imposing building but instead I found a cabin like structure. That was not what I was expecting. The other thing I wasn’t expecting was to meet Pope, the customs officer who helped me sort out Trinity’s paperwork. He was so sweet. My experience of border patrol and customs officers is that they are always so serious. He was quite the opposite and he loved the idea of my trip around the U.S. on a motorbike. It became a conversation piece.

After Trinity’s customs clearance paperwork had been finalised I headed back to the Delta warehouse. I clearly took the staff at the warehouse by surprise as they’ve never had someone uncrate a motorbike at their front door before. It definitely attracted some attention as people kept popping by to see how I was getting on. I’m really glad they eventually managed to find an electric skew driver because my Leatherman could not cope with removing some of the larger screws I needed to undo to get Trinity off the crate. I’m also very happy that I had some burly blokes to help me get Trinity off the crate. I’m not sure I would have managed that on my own. So thank you to everyone at Delta for getting me on the road!

I have been really pleased at how easy it is to get around Seattle. I had a look at Google Maps when I was filling up with petrol (gas) and I managed to get all the way back to where I have been staying without needing to stop and look at a map again. It helped that I had walked around a lot the last two days so I recognised some street names and landmarks which pointed me in the right direction. A grid system is so easy to navigate in comparison to London’s organic road network. I always get lost in London!

After dropping off my stuff at Carol’s place, I headed to Lake Washington on Trinity to meet up with Kristin (one of Mark’s friends) and her son Finnian. They have a beach like set up where the kids can swim and I can understand the appeal. It was so peaceful with the view of Mt Rainier in the background. I really loved my afternoon relaxing next to the lake and getting to know Kristin and Finnian. It’s been the highlight of my trip so far.

My evening ended speaking to Carol for a few hours, while I was playing with Mimi. It’s been a long time since I’ve had pets around me and I have really enjoyed it. This was my first experience of AirBnB and I am very pleased I made the decision to turn it and stay with Carol. It’s been a wonderful experience. Thank you Carol!

Seattle I will miss you and I look forward to my return.

The day finally arrived to leave for Seattle. After 15 months for planning it felt quite strange, although clearly exciting, that I was about to make my trip a reality.

The morning started pretty early (04:45), as Angela (my bestie and flatmate) had an early start at work and was taking me to the airport. It was nice to have a bit of quality time with her before heading off for three months.

Everyhing regarding the flight ran smoothly, so that was a pleasure. I was lucky enough to sit next to a delightful guy called Charles who is from Seattle. He is the second guy in the last two months that I have met who works for Boeing. I found that quite interesting.

I decided to stay in an AirBnB while in Seattle, as I wanted my stay to be more ‘personal’ and I also preferred the idea of Trinity being parked at a house rather than a motel car park. It was a good decision as the lady I’m staying with, Carol, is absolutely lovely! We’re had a couple of nice long chats. I also love her cat, Mimi!

I had to pick up a few things when I arrived (an American SIM card and iPhone charger), so I headed straight into the city  after dropping off my things. Seattle city centre’s not that big so I covered quite a lot of it on foot during my walk. Pikes Place Market had a great vibe and I picked up some fresh fruit from one of the many fruit stalls.

Today was a great day. It’s PRIDE in Seattle. This year the celebration is particularly special given that only two days ago the Supreme Court legalised same sex marriage across America. It’s been truly wonderful to be part of this celebration. I had no idea this was happening when I booked my flights, so what a wonderful surprise!