Vacation cottage/cabin in Olympic peninsula? (plus birding sites) (Seattle: 2009, hotel)

[allforcats]

Mariners home games
You can't imagine how outrageously they create parking lots of highways...

Fri. May 9 - home game starting at 7:10PM.
Their stadium is just south of downtown (Safeco Field). Fans will be arriving at the stadium from every direction starting at something like 4:00, crowding and eventually clogging the traffic downtown and south of town.
An advantage: the ferry TO Bainbridge won't be very crowded until about 10PM.

Sat. May 10 -- home game starting at 7:10PM.

May 12, 13, 14 and 15 -- no home games! YAY!!

Their calender for May: The Official Site of The Seattle Mariners: Schedule: 2008 Mariners Schedule

[LMB]

AFC, I love that the trees are dancin' around your place! We have just a little breeze here in Poulsbo, but no real wind to speak of so our trees are just tapping their toes.

You're a much better resource for the commuter traffic around Seattle--we try to avoid it as much as possible, but from watching Seattle tv news traffic reports it does seem to increase on Friday afternoons as folks escape for the weekend. Ferry traffic will be heavier too, although not yet at summer peak congestion. I don't think the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry is often delayed by winds, but the Port Townsend-Keystone ferry is sometimes off schedule, or even canceled, for wind-driven wave action in the winter. We've had a few wild rides on that one! Yee haw!

Your idea of having Cmacf's hubby meet her at SeaTac is a good one--the drive up would be a scenic one. Do you think it would be quicker to drive up around Olympia to Sequim or to "cut through" Kitsap Peninsula on 16/3 and cross over to Oly Pen on the Hood Canal bridge (a beautiful scenic area too)? Traffic doesn't back up around the Tacoma Narrows Bridge much anymore since they opened the 2nd bridge. There's usually some traffic around Bremerton, but seems like it's usually heading south at that time of day, so it doesn't affect the north-bound lane--plus it's a divided highway there. Either way, I'm envious of Cmacf, aren't you?

Lynn

[allforcats]

LMB's mind is much more capable of involved driving than mine!! I will leave all that to you, Lynn, and the ferry traffic! I lived in Seattle, worked in Seattle; then Seattle-Bellevue; then Bellevue-Bellevue; then Bellevue-Seattle, so I do have a "feel" for the commuter traffic.

And you're right, LMB, about the Bainbridge ferry and winds: I forgot it's in a protected stretch of water.

I like simple, so I was thinking
meet at SeaTac
drive on I-5 to Olympia
at Exit 104 cut west onto 101
go north to Sequim
and in the process see the countryside, the Native American places on the east of the peninsula, pass Hood Canal on the right, drive on the winding road through the mountains and forests, pass cowies in fields around Quilcene, see the wondrously strange ELK WARNING electronic sign at Sequim State Park, and arrive in time to see a ton of birds at Dungeness Spit/Bay/Harbor,
and have a fun dinner at the land edge of Dungeness Spit at 3 Crabs restaurant and say hello to the gull who owns the restaurant and waits for treats at the side (water side) door.

My feeling is this: they're coming to talk with birds, more than anything, so they need to have time to get out of the car and do that, and so my thought is if they can make the driving simple with as few directions as possible, they'll be happy. Correction: people like me would be happy!

Also, don't you agree that even though every square inch of rural western Washington is lovelier than every other, they're all pretty much the same? I mean, cowies is cowies, trees is trees, lakes/rivers/streams, fields, etc etc.

May 9th, even if hubby doesn't leave Seattle until say 3:00, at SeaTac by 3:30ish by taxi; 45 miles to Olympia by 4:30, 110 miles by land to Sequim by latest 6:45. At 3 Crabs on the Spit by 7:00 and there's light until 8:30 or 9:00.

Isn't this fun??!!!!

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by cmacf1

... I arrive at Sea-Tac at 2 pm ...

LUGGAGE I strongly urge you to take only a 20-inch CARRYON suitcase, that you can stow in the overhead compartment. Men will flock to help you lift it and stow it; they always do, those lovely beings! And it will save you a half-hour on arrival which might be important if there's flight delay, and it might be the difference between having and not having clothes, birding maps...

[LMB]

3 Crabs restaurant? Oh, I'd wish we'd known about that place when we were at the Dungeness Spit last week. Sounds yummy. Next time we're there, which won't be long, we'll look it up...and throw the "owner" some treats.

Lynn

[allforcats]

Sequim Dungeness Seafood Restaurant The Three Crabs
Old-fashioned, kinda mom n pop. Order uncomplicated shellfish - the cioppino-style seafood chowder is good.
Check out the "Directions" tab. Right there at the water's edge. Millions and millions of birds reporting to each other what they did all day and what they plan to dream about tonight. A m a z i n g ...

Reviews:
Sequim Dungeness Seafood Restaurant The Three Crabs
Birding at the restaurant:
Sequim Dungeness Seafood Restaurant The Three Crabs

[allforcats]

Getting fed in Sequim:
Restaurant Sequim WA Washington + Fine Dining - City Guide

Getting fed in Forks:
Forks Restaurants | MyTravelGuide.com

Getting fed around Ocean Shores-Westport-Aberdeen to Elma:
Grays Harbor Tourism - Dining

[allforcats]

Idea for hotel at SeaTac:
I stayed one night last year at the Hilton Seattle Airport. 1/4 mile from the airport; comfy; lovely; not overly expensive or overly elegant but excellent in every way; restaurants there. You can stand at the entrance, look west, and watch the planes taking off! Might be a nice end to a lovely birthday, no?
Hilton Seattle Washington Hotel - Seattle Airport Hotel - Seattle, WA Hotels

[cmacf1]

Well, just confirmed with the hubby -- his last session doesn't end until 4:30 . Since he's a professor and hates when people leave his sessions early, I know he won't leave early. SO, looks like I'll take my time renting the car when I get in at 2 pm and find something to do for a few hours (any suggestions on that front? We're probably staying at the 6th avenue Inn.) I think we're going to stay in Seattle that night and then get up very early the next day and get on the first or second ferry out of Seattle to Bainbridge Island. That way, I'll be rested and won't have to drive in rush hour traffic in a city that I don't know at all.

This place sounds gorgeous!! And with great food, too! This trip, other than being a celebration of my 50th birthday (which is actually in late May,) is a nice (and oh so rare) solo trip for us. Hubby and I met later in life and ended up adopting two little girls from Russia a few years ago. So, here at the age of almost 50 (hubby is 48,) we have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. We, of course, love and adore them, but we miss the ability to birdwatch seriously and have a conversation between the two of us w/o interruption. The girls either keep us feeling VERY young or (occasionally) wear us out. And how bizarre it will be to go to a restaurant and not have to visit the restroom 12 times .

I can't tell you how much I appreciate all your help!!!!

[allforcats]

"John and Kate Plus Two" How exquisite for all of you that Life brought you all together!

Ohboy ohboy ohboy this journey will be so much fun and so restorative, so delicious, so wondrous! Imagine what joyful parents will be going back to Merryland! You and your daughters are so fortunate!

Okay. Logistics. LMB would be a perfect guide to direct you from 6th Avenue Inn to the ferry, and to Sequim, since she knows that territory.

I have only one suggestion: on the ferry LOCK your car, go up on deck, and while you're gazing around, look carefully into the water for large white jellyfish!! And when you drive off the ferry, quickly look at the tops of the dock pilings for the wild Cormorants who will welcome you!

"...find something to do for a few hours..." Hmmmmm... Most things downtown are in a small, confined area that's easy to get to and get around in. Park your car in the 6th Avenue Inn's parking garage and walk or take any one of a hundred busses. Ask at the front desk which busses to get where, to go to where you decide to go (or ask us before you leave home, 'cos we know them or can look them up easily). Driving in downtown Seattle is a waste of effort, emotion, and emissions.

THE SPACE NEEDLE. It's such a kick! On a clear day, you can see Canada, Idaho, Oregon, Japan.... well almost!! It is really worth going up to the observation deck. Especially at sunset. Wow! Buy tickets at the entrance.
They have a restaurant up there, which turns around 360 degrees per hour I think, maybe faster. Romantic. Not the world's greatest food, but pretty good. Needs reservations.
Seattle Restaurant Fine Dining View

SEATTLE IS TO-DIE-FOR SEAFOOD.
If you want a world-class seafood dinner at not top prices, I recommend McCormick's Fish House on 4th Avenue, 722 4th Ave. My favorite seafood restaurant in Seattle.
McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants - 30 Varieties of Fresh Seafood on a Daily Changing Menu
OR why be in Seattle and not partake of world-famed chef Tom Douglas' wondrous dishes? His most-loved restaurants seem to be DAHLIA LOUNGE and ETTA'S.
Welcome to Tom Douglas Restaurants
This link is for a zillion restaurants, just in downtown:
Downtown Seattle restaurants | Restaurant menus, reviews and maps on urbanspoon.com
This suggestion is like nothing else in the world you'll ever experience: an absolute celebration!! Teatro ZinZanni Seattle. Cirque, comedy, cabaret, and a true feast for dinner. As a somewhat monastic scholar, I thought I'd hate it when a friend wanted to take me there. But it is such FUN!!! And the food is absolutely positively first class, designed by our beloved chef Tom Douglas. Tickets necessary; buy on line this minute, if not sooner!
Teatro ZinZanni Seattle

Take a taxi, or a bus (with advice from your front desk, or us), to dinner and back. Driving around is not a good idea because there's no place to park unless you know the secrets. Also, with the Mariners game that evening the streets will be more crowded than usual after 9PM.

Ohboy ohboy ohboy . . .