Touring Seattle and the Cascades

The road to Seattle was long and uninteresting. I was concerned about the feeling of vibration coming from my front tire and I stopped a few times to inspect and check the pressure but I didn't want to replace it in Canada at 50% higher cost than in the states so I just prayed and kept the speed down. When I arrived at David's condo in Seattle I checked it again and it was starting to delaminate and show the steel cords so when it decided to go it got bad quickly. I was grateful to have made it to my destination. It could have surrendered on the interstate or even in one of the long tunnels. It was great to see David and I was able to stay in his neighbor's condo as he was away in Germany. Sweet!

 The neighborhood I stayed in was like a cooler funkier version of Sixth Street. We were two blocks from the center of the action so there were lots of restaurants and things to see and do. The first day there I got two new tires and a haircut and explored the neighborhood and caught up on my blog. When I got back to the condo after changing the tire, I made a big mistake. I failed to put the keyfob back in my pocket from the cup holder where the tire people left it. When I went to lock the car from the outside it didn't lock but I didn't realize it. When I went to leave on Thursday morning to explore the rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula I discovered my mistake. The good news was the car was still there and the important stuff was of course in the condo but the homeless person that found my unlocked car helped themself to a sleeping bag, liner, blanket, down pillow, campstove, bike pump, rain poncho, bag of energy bars and the fob. It could have been much worse and each item I found still in the car felt like a victory. I spent the day disabling my car to avoid theft, moving everything to the condo and shopping online for replacement gear to be shipped to my sister Sherry in Oregon. Kimberly overnighted my spare keyfob and the total damage came in at around 600$. Like I said, it could have been much worse.

 

This is one of the many electric vehicle charging stations in Seattle.

On Friday I rode around Seattle and did some shopping and exploring. I really missed Trey as the memories of our ride around Seattle last summer came flooding back. Seattle is a great bike town and one of the coolest things is the I-90 trail and the I-90 bike tunnel. The I-90 car tunnel goes under parkland so the cars are underground where they belong and up above there are recreation areas and bike paths that give  no clue of the chaos of speeding autos below. When I saw this last year it just blew me away.

 

On Saturday, David and his friends took a trip to Leavenworth in the Cascades to do a tubing trip. They were all very nice and interesting people and I wish I could have taken pictures of the float but decided the risk of a wet Iphone wasn't worth it. Here are some pics of the Alpentown and the great people I was with.

Patrick and David

 Good folks

 The whole crew with a healthy dose of vitamin I.

 

On Sunday I took a great ride around 4 or  5 of the lakes in the Seattle area on the bike trails. I decided to test my fitness in the 2 hour range and see how I was holding up. In spite of slowing for road crossings and pedestrian traffic I was able to put up the best wattage numbers ever for the time period of 1.5 to 2.5 hours. It felt good to know that the time off the bike lately hasn't hurt my conditioning but I'm not sure how much of an effect the recent time spent in the mountains had an impact. After spending a few weeks in the mountains, I would expect that I would have an oxygen advantage at sea level even though I've been back down at sea level for almost two weeks now. Anyway it was a great ride and it felt good to wring myself out for a few hours. Right after I got home it started raining so I got lucky there. I went next door to David's and made dinner for the three of us. I headed to bed early as the next morning I had to load the car and head out to the Olympic Peninsula and the Hoh rainforest finally.

 While I was in Seattle, I finally got to meet Tiffany Bowie, who I'd worked with almost 2 years and never met in person. She worked in the New York architectural firm that designed the Dowling residence but parted with Ali Tayar before the project finished and never traveled to Austin to see it. It was great to finally meet her and see some of her great work here. She managed the construction of this three unit condo project that happened to be four blocks from the condo where I was staying. Here is her husband, Joe and her daughter.

Exploring Vancouver and the warmth of the Busque family

I went for a bike tour around Vancouver and started out by heading to Steveston on the water south of town. We had walked there at night and I wanted to see it by day but a bigger reason was that I decided before I left Vancouver I had to try some Sushi. Roni suggested I try a place called Mega Sushi as a great but reasonable hole in the wall. The area catered to tourists but in a good way and it had a nice feel to it.

 When I got to Mega Sushi, which was back away from the waterfront, I was blown away. It was easily the best Sushi I have ever eaten and I've eaten a lot of sushi. I'm pretty sure that trying to find great sushi in Austin, TX is like trying to find great Mexican food in Vancouver. The Unagi (fresh water eel) was to die for.

 I got back to the condo in time for dinner and Julie had outdone herself with a smorgasbord of vegetables and Pierre had grilled the salmon I caught to absolute perfection. I need to get back on the bike to work off all this great food I've been eating. Here is Roni, Alex and Julie.

 After dinner Pierre takes his daughter Sophi and his dog Mia to the park near their home to burn off some energy. It was a neighborhood gathering and a fun time was had by all. The neighborhood is predominately made up of well-to-do Chinese immigrants that came from Hong Kong to escape the Chinese takeover of the island and it was interesting to watch the 25 or so Chinese women doing a traditional Chinese line dance in the park but it was a bit too dark to get a good picture.

Pierre wears my hat well. After Sophi went to bed, Pierre took me downtown as he didn't want me to get away without seeing it and we stayed out late wandering around and looking for ice cream. We finally found some after midnight in a predominately gay neighborhood and as we sat on a bench out front eating our ice cream I was really enjoying Pierre's company. I think my fondness for Pierre was misinterpreted by the elderly gentleman walking by and he gave us the warmest smile that kind of said that he thought we were a cute couple. All the while, we sat and talked of religion and spirituality. Yummy ice cream.

This is a steam powered clock that operates, whistles and chimes all from steam power. It was amazing to watch the inner workings of it but it was too dark to get really good pictures. There are many reasons why I have to return to Vancouver.

The next morning I had to prepare to leave. The family Busque busied themselves with getting started with another day and I felt good about our time together. I have received many gifts on this journey but none sweeter than the warmth of the Busque family. As I was getting in the car right at noon I looked up to see Pierre driving up. He had thought I was probably already gone but came back home in hopes he would be able to give me one last goodbye. Of course that meant we had to go share a lunch at Mega Sushi and a walk with Mia around the park.

The Warmth of the Busque Family

Traveling across Canada

There were splendorous sights

There were wondrous days

And some lonely nights

The mountains were rugged

The glaciers inspired

The long hikes and bike rides

Left me awe-filled and tired

The mornings were chilly

The afternoons fair

The rains came and went 

But I didn't care

The bears and the sheep

Often came out to play

And posed for my camera

Late in the day

I kept heading west

'til I got to the ocean

Blue water met mountains

In a poetic potion

We went to the island

And tossed in a line

The salmon were running

That night we did dine

The clouds climbed the mountains

The rains wet the sea

The salmon were flashing

All seemed magic to me

A sadness washed over

It was time to depart

But the love of the Busque family

Will still warm my heart