Yeah, we couldn't even wait until Saturday to start up this trip so we hit the road right after Darlene got off of work and headed for Cranbrook BC, our first stop. That allowed us to get a nice early start on the US border and on to Spokane. Although Spokane is a nice city and all, I was anxious to get on our way to the Oregon coast. So our stopover was just an excuse for me to twiddle my thumbs waiting for the next morning so we could head out on our way to.......Seaside Oregon! It was cloudy when we arrived but I didn't care. I was there to be lulled by the sound of the surf once again and I was indeed lulled. There was much lulling. All day and all night too (the ocean never closes ya know....). The last time we were out this way, we stayed at the most popular place in Cannon Beach listed on Trip Advisor. Nice place, but I can't afford $500-700 per night. Yeah. We chose a considerably less expensive beach property in Seaside well away from the touristy part of town - meaning it was nice and quiet. What an awesome place. Darlene got her comfy bed in the form of a memory foam mattress. The staff were awesome and did whatever it took to make guests happy. Sure, I'll name drop - Inn of the 4 Winds. The scene isn't quite Cannon Beach, but it's very nice just the same (photo album is posted on Facebook). We managed to visit Astoria, downtown Seaside and Cannon Beach. We had originally booked a stay at the SurfSand Resort in Cannon Beach, but found a better deal in Seaside. After visiting, it turns out that the room we initially booked had no view to speak of and we would not have been able to hear the surf. We both agreed that if we could have transplanted the hotel we stayed at over to Cannon Beach, things would be perfect.
A pleasant surprise in Seaside was their factory outlet mall. I was a bit miffed that we wouldn't be able to fit in a visit to the Doc Marten store in Portland this trip because I need new shoes. Well, what did I find but the exact shoes I was looking for at an outlet store for half price. Sweet.
After a couple days on the beach, it was off to Bellevue Washington. A quick stop at Jimi Hendrix' grave site (also in my Facebook photo album), then off to the hotel in Bellevue. Here we ran into some trouble. The hotel we booked is basically part of a massive high end fitness facility. The hotel doesn't quite live up to its billing or its price though, at least not from our experience. The room is forgettable. The TV suffered from massive background interference noise - you could barely hear the sound. The bed was....... well, not suitable. Darlene suffers from a debilitating kind of ailment that requires a good mattress with some give and this bed was causing her serious numbness. There was no way we would be able to stay the night, let alone two. So at 11:30pm, we made the decision to flee for a better hotel. To the staff's credit, they were very understanding about the situation and didn't flinch about cancelling our reservation and fees.
The challenge was finding a new hotel. We accomplished that in 5 minutes. Tragedy turned into victory and we stumbled across a wonderful hotel in Kirkland that we would never have thought to stay at (The Heathman). Much better room, better bed, better TV, better view, better neighbourhood, better food choices.... The staff even lend out laptops for wireless internet access. How cool is that? Kirkland is a nice little city and our hotel was right in the middle of it, only a couple blocks from Lake Washington. Nearby was a great pancake place (The Original Pancake House) where Darlene had what she referred to as 'the best buckwheat pancakes I've ever tasted'. I tried the coconut pancakes and I couldn't argue with her assessment.
Later, we visited friends in Lake Forest Park (thanks Mitch and Carla for your hospitality) and then it was time to work our way back home. All the driving was starting to wear me down, but the highlights of the trip were worth it. I think next time we'll consider flying out to enjoy more 'destination time'.
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