Fiddleheads and Goose Eggs

While we were super excited to get to Seattle, we had an overnight pit stop to make first at Mount Rainier National Park.  As we drove around the park we got caught up in the pristine beauty.

Until we saw this sign.  Our amazement turned into intimidation as we were suddenly reminded that Mount Rainier is an active volcano.

It is easy to forget you aren’t just in the mountains, but in volcano territory.  Nevertheless we were staying overnight, so we had to change out of our scaredy pants into our big boy and girl pants.

When we got to our campground we were shocked to discover that we were the only ones there for the night.  That never happens!  At this stage of our journey we are campground people.  Neither us nor our rig are truly ready for boondocking just yet (read about our first experience with dry camping here), but we understand the appeal for sure.  It isn’t just the free camping on BLM land, but more importantly the luxury of not being crammed in like sardines where you not only hear your neighbors conversations, but you also know exactly what they are eating for dinner by the aromas wafting into your RV from their grill.

So, for a moment we savored our aloneness in the wilderness.

We enjoyed quite time by the creek doing nothing but sipping cocktails and reading with the sound of the babbling brook in our ears instead of our next door neighbor’s music selection.

Little did we know this was the calm before the storm.  Seattle rain storms that is.  Unfortunately, this was the last time we would be dry for a couple of weeks.

We had some fun weekend jaunts to Seattle in the past, so we were looking forward to this stop.  For a moment it seems like the perfect area to live—it’s a foodie mecca while being surrounded by the outdoors in all directions.  With the exception of the ever expanding Amazon empire jacking up all of the real estate prices you would think this would be an amazing place to settle down.  Uh, no.  They call it the Emerald City for a reason.  Green, green, green means rain, rain, rain.  While our other trips to Seattle have only been for a few days, this time we were here for a couple of weeks.  A solid two weeks of rain cemented the thought that no matter how great the food is or that beautiful national parks are just a short drive away, we would never ever chose to live here.  Sorry all you Seattleites, we just don’t get it.

As we explored the city we realized after being in quiet areas for so long we didn’t like going back to the hustle bustle and traffic of a big city.  So, we found ourselves some nature at Deception Pass State Park.  Something as simple as playing with rocks that looked more like works of art than plain stones made us very happy that day.

Oh look, a break in the rain for a few minutes!  Notice the ominous grey cloud above just laughing at us.

We also found out that Seattle, even in the city, has some amazing nature trails and parks.  We loved trail running at Discovery Park for the view alone.

Now, Seattle might not know how to do weather, but it does farmers’ markets like a boss.  From the original, Pike Place Market, to each unique neighborhood version, you can find heirloom produce, game meat, and foraged goodies that would delight even the snobbiest epicure.

    

While Pike Place is a must visit to explore and taste your way through, it can be touristy, crowded and expensive.  We found the neighborhood markets, like Ballard Farmers’ Market, were better for weekly shopping and also grabbing a slice of wood-fired pizza straight from this portable oven!

Best thing we did?

The Color Run Seattle.

The giddy energy of this event is contagious and it was nuts getting blasted with color and jumping through bubbles. But, the reason this event was the best thing we did was because it was more about possibility than rainbows and unicorns.  See, running used to be my thing.  I would do 5 and 10Ks and Gary would be there to send me off and take pictures.  Since Gary had knee issues most of his life, he could never run and there was even a time when he could barely walk around the block without being in extreme pain.  However, over the last several years with tons of physical therapy and perseverance he is now comfortably hiking 4-5 miles at a time on this adventure.  Still, when I signed up for this race a month beforehand, he shocked me by saying he wanted to run with me.  So, we started wogging daily instead of just walking or hiking.  By race day he was feeling pretty good and we headed out bright and early for the 8 am run through downtown Seattle.

While it wasn’t easy–maybe breathing in a bucket load of yellow #5 had something to do with it–we pushed to the end.  It’s amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it and take the first step.  Being out on the road exploring new things everyday has opened our minds even more to the possibilities of what we can do.

Best thing we ate?

On a day trip by ferry to Whidbey Island, we stopped for lunch at The Oystercatcher.  Shockingly we didn’t even eat oysters.  We could have eaten one of everything on the menu because it all sounded so good, but our favorite dish was simple and fresh.  It was a farmer’s cheese dumpling in a broth of pea juice and topped with house-cured prosciutto and pea shoots.  Surely we got some nutritional bonus points from slurping the last drops of the phytonutrient rich juice from the bowl.

What we learned?

It’s possible to do the things you love anywhere, if you do the work to seek them out.  We found hiking with amazing landscapes and the small town feel of neighborhood farmers’ markets hidden within a metropolis.  In order to rise above our negativity about being in a big city with all of the hustle and bustle that entails, we challenged ourselves to find the things that made us happy even in a place that didn’t fit like a glove.   When we looked beyond the obvious, we found what we needed.

Having this perspective will serve us well as we continue to travel across the US with our now pre-booked route instead of our former “flying by the seat of our pants” style.  In the past, if we had feelings of disappointment in an area where we landed, we would just pick up and move.  And sometimes that is okay.  But as we start to slow down more and more, we are booking places in advance for a week or even two (gasp!) at a time and it isn’t as easy to leave.  Slowing down is a process.  Instead of pushing down our feelings and moving on, we are learning how to deal with them and figuring out how to make fizzy lemonade out of just plain old lemons.

Next Stop: Washington’s Bavarian Village