August 19,2025
This trip started when Lori flew to Seattle in the evening and caught the hotel shuttle to the Ramada Inn in Tukwila Southcenter to await Carl getting off the trail.
August 20, 2025
Kathy Travanty flew to Seattle (from Milwaukee) in the AM, caught the shuttle to the Ramada Inn to wait with Lori. Carl and John got off the trail at 10:30, went to the Pancake House at Snoqualmie Pass before heading with Ed and Liam to the airport. Carl and John were dropped off to rent a car before heading to the Ramada Inn to pick up the girls. From there we headed to a Holiday Inn Express in Bothell WA and John and Carl got cleaned up. We met Ed and Liam (they stayed at a different motel) at the Crab Pot, Bellevue for a celebratory dinner. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Bothell WA
August 21, 2025
John and Kathy went hiking while Carl and Lori stayed at the hotel so Carl could dry out his tent and equipment and do a load of laundry. We all left the hotel at 1:00 to do a wine tasting and tour at The Winemaker’s Reserve. Very interesting business model doing custom wine making and bottling for different companies. We got a tour of the “back room” where all the magic occurs. There were oak kegs, huge stainless steel tanks, concrete tanks and traditional clay tanks. They also had the equipment to do crushing of the grapes and a bottling line. None were active when we were there.
The highlight of the day was at Chateau St. Michelle where we attended a “Somm Dinner” which taught us about wine tasting and pairings with food. Very intimate, four couples. After the Somm Dinner we came back to the motel before walking to Grazies for appetizers. STAY: Holiday Inn Express in Bothell WA
August 22, 2025
To save time driving we decided to take the ferry from Edmonds WA to Kingston WA. We were lucky to arrive at the ferry terminal just as they were beginning to load the ferry so we didn’t have to wait long. We drove directly to Lake Crescent to hike the trail on the north side of the lake. We did a total of 7 miles at a quick pace and watched folks jumping into the Devil’s Punchbowl. There was a Sea to Sound bike ride taking place – lots of bike riders!
We drove to our motel, Riviera Inn in Port Angeles, WA and checked in. Older motel, clean with no A/C. Since it was unseasonably warm we were expecting a warm night in the room. We then walked to the ferry terminal (so we would know where it was the next day) and had dinner at Kokopelli Grill. Carl had the 12 oz steak and excellent mac and cheese! On the walk back to the hotel we stopped at Harbinger Wine Bar for a glass of wine. STAY: Riviera Inn in Port Angeles, WA.
August 23, 2025
Fortunately the room cooled off and we got a decent night of sleep. Headed out on foot at 6:45am to go to New Day Eatery for breakfast and then to the Black Ball Ferry Line terminal to catch the ferry to Victoria. The ferry ride was uneventful. We arrived to sunny, unseasonably warm temperatures.
John and Kathy headed to Butchart Gardens and Lori and I walked to the starting point for the Victoria Guided Food and History tour booked through Viator. Adam was the owner of the company and our guide. He was knowledgeable and interesting. We visited many places, Philips Brewing for beef meatballs with arrabbiata and salsa verde, Friends and Family Bake for Ube Ensaymada (purple buns), Just Matcha Tea Shop for Matcha Lemonade, Shanzee’s Biscuit Cafe for sweet biscuit with Nutella and Grilled Banana, savory biscuit with sausage gravy, bacon, cheddar cheese and green onions, and garlic grits, Chimac Korean Fried Chicken for boneless chicken, original and Garlic Soy, Roger’s Chocolates for chocolate.
All four of us got on the 3:00pm ferry back to Port Angeles. Again, we stopped at Harbinger Wine Bar for a drink. The bartender (and a couple of customers) suggested that Next Door Gastropub would be a good place for dinner. We walked there and Lori and I only had side Caesar salads since we were not too hungry. The walked back was along the Olympic Discovery Trail. STAY: Riviera Inn in Port Angeles, WA.
August 24, 2025
Left the hotel at 8:00 and stopped at Jazzy Joshua’s Restaurant for breakfast before heading to Heart O’ the Hills campground and doing a 5 mile out and back hike on Heart O’ the Hills trail. Lori got stung by a hornet on the hike. We then headed to our hotel in Tukwila WA. Relaxed in a nook in the hallway with John and Kathy and had some wine before heading to Grazies Restaurant. Upon return we sat outside (it was cool enough by then) and finished our bottles of wine. STAY: Ramada Inn Tukwila Southcenter
August 25, 2025
Lori and I took the hotel shuttle to the airport at 9:30 to catch the light rail to Pike’s Market area. John and Kathy headed out to Snoqualmie Pass to do a hike. We were really early for our food tour so we walked to Seattle Glassblowing Studio and watched two customers do a glass project with a professional. Very interesting. Our guide for the Viator Taste the Sea – Guided Seafood Tour at Pike’s Market was Carolyn Manning. Lots of great seafood and stories about the market development. Took the light rail and airport shuttle to the hotel before heading to BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse for appetizers and drinks with John and Kathy. Back to the room and early to bed because we had to get up at 4:00 to head to the airport via UBER. STAY: Ramada Inn Tukwila Southcenter
August 26, 2025
Uneventful flight home