Last night I slept in a basement apartment while my friend Garland who lives in the home above, woke me to the smell of San Francisco coffee, and then he also made homemade blueberry pancakes with authentic maple syrup and real Canadian bacon. Almost forgot. Also fresh bagels topped with cream cheese, a poached egg up top and sliced just so, a fresh avocado also plus a dab of Caesar salad dressing.
Garlands home is described as a mid century modern that still today has this forward-looking, streamlined space-age feel to it.
The living room features a “cathedral” ceiling, with Puget Sounds view-friendly decks that cantilever out over spacious gardens. The downside is that the converted apartment is lodged half underground on the low end of a split-level. This room is as bleak and dark as the homes living rooms are light and dramatic.
Perhaps the secret sauce in the coffee was the Tillamock vanilla ice cream that he added to it. It was certainly worthy of a second cup.
Getting to West Seattle is expensive. A rather expensive $6.50 tunnel toll on Hwy 99. The main West Seattle Bridge; a six lane highway is now closed. Apparently they discovered rather large irreparable cracks on the main span.
The bridge will remain closed to traffic at least until 2022 because of the cracking concrete of the main span. And it’s not certain yet whether the bridge can even be saved.
From West Seattle I rode somewhat south and then East to Tacoma for another family visit. The next day after MotoCamping overnight I headed towards the coast on highway 5.
The 5 freeway got me to the states capital Olympia where I had breakfast at Shari’s, similar to a Denneys. When I looked out the restaurant’s window all I could see was rain on the sidewalk.
Thanks Washington, I said to myself. First it was cold and now I’m going to have to go outside and dig out my foul weather riding gear. Great.
But, since I’ve already paid for karma several times over by over tipping any and all servers, wearing my covid safe buff and even buying Gatorade for any service station homeless I encountered. Voila!
Turns out it was just the restaurants sprinklers that turned on while I was enjoying my breakfast.
THE RIDE DESCRIPTION
From Olympia I then headed to the 108, then the 8 and then the 12 before getting on the 101 south bound. If you want to further explore Washington’s Olympic Peninsula then I suggest you go northbound on the 101. To explore the massive old-growth forests, rich river valleys, and abundant coastline, travel the pacific coast through Washington State.
Highway 101 travels around the perimeter of the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park, making it possible to see the best the area has to offer in a limited amount of time.
Port Townsend is worth a visit.
The Olympic National Forest is near the most northwesterly tip of the contiguous United States. Heavy rains (12-14 feet a year) feed the temperate rain forests and form mist around the small towns that dot the coastline. My visor needed to stay up as my side mirrors were coated in fog.
The harbor town of Port Angeles is the access point to the Olympic Discovery Trail—an old Milwaukee Railroad line that follows the waterfront, and the Olympic National Park.
According to Butler motorcycle maps there are BETTER SEGMENTS areas classified as “must ride “ roads. These roads have no stoplights and the roads energetically flow from corner to corner. An experience you can’t get by freeway driving. The norm is elevation changes, tight corners, and everything in between.
HURRICANE RIDGE ROAD – the crown jewel of the Olympic Peninsula. Why go all the way to Alaska. If you haven’t yet ridden Washington then you need to. In this stretch of road you have everything, tunnels, tight curves, breathtaking scenery, when not rainy or foggy, rapid elevation changes, and some scary drop offs with no guardrails. From the top look all the way out to Vancouver island, Puget Sound and Seattle.
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