Thursday, September 11, 2008

Day 56...Monday, September 8, 2008...Back to Seattle





We left Mt. Rainier National Park late for a few different reasons. It took longer to break camp because lots of our equipment was wet...it's damp under all of those old-growth trees. And, loading the Escape is now a significant challenge because it is now filled to near-capacity...maybe it's all of that wine I've been buying.
Leaving the park, we stopped at the Ranger's Station and learned that the most direct route that we planned to take to Seattle was closed. As a result, we diverted to an old forest road for fifty miles or so along a river and through some pretty dense forest. Along the way, we got some interesting views of Mount Rainier from different angles.
Early in the afternoon, we broke out onto a main highway and completed the drive to Seattle...arriving around 3:30PM. We stayed at the Silver Cloud Hotel right across the street from Safeco Field...they weren't playing at home that day/night, but it was a good location.
Around 7:00PM or so, we took the hotel shuttle to the Dahlia Lounge for dinner...this restaurant bring notable for the great coconut cream pie consumed on my earlier stop in Seattle. The food was good there...a nice grilled rib-eye, excellent crab cakes...and, of course...another serving of that great pie.
Feeling somewhat energized after dinner, we walked several blocks from the restaurant to the Lava Lounge for a few beers...my kind of place...very "divey"...a place for "serious consumption".

No comments: