November 1, 2016 - Seattle Day III, Washington Park Arboretum

Title: November 1, 2016 - Seattle Day III, Washington Park Arboretum
Hike Info : Description :  Background :  Extra Photo's 

Trail head:

Hike Info:

Type: Walking

Destination: Washington Park Arboretum

Distance:  12.16 miles

Start Time: 10:28

End Time:    6:58

Travel Time:  8:30

GPS Tracks

Description:

Where We Went	Where We Planned to Go
Ascona Chocolat Suisse Washington Park Arboretum Interlaken Park Buca di Beppo	Washington Park Arboretum Interlaken Park REI Buca di Beppo

As Sherri says, the Washington Park Arboretum is a place where you cannot take bad pictures. So besides getting to the park, a lot of this blog entry will be pictures-my thousand words will not be as good as one picture.

Clouded over start of day

Started out the day with the normal Travelodge breakfast: cereal, waffles, eggs, and bacon. Maybe a bit long on carbs but with the walking we are doing, it is good to have something for the engine to run on. On the other hand, when we got back to Fresno I had not lost any weight.

By the time we got out of our room, it is 10:30. We have talked about using public transportation, particularly since it is overcast and drizzling. But we have been enjoying walking around Seattle. So whats a little water on our coats? So off we go. If we need to later on, we will figure out how to hop onto a bus.

Pantages House

We start off walking down Denny St. After going over I-5 we start a pretty climb up a hill. But we see a plaque which says that this is the Pantages house. After a moments consideration, we realize that the reason why that name sounds familiar is in Fresno we have a Warnors theater which used to the Pantages Theater. There is even a statue of him around the side of the house.

We move on, going past a book store called Twice Sold Stories. We did not go in, but the place looks interesting. We continue on down Denny. There is a subway station along the way we look down into it and look at the schedule and see that there is no place it lets off close to where we want to be, so we continue to walk. Eventually we make it to Madison St which goes on a diagonal towards Washington Park Arboretum. As we are walking along, there is a slight thought of should we eat before going into the park? Is there places to eat in the park?

Sort of too early for lunch though. Just as it would seem to be predestined, there is a chocolate place we are passing by. I then ask Sherri the silly question of the day-would you like some chocolate? If she didn't I would think she is sick. So we stopped into this little shop along Madison St. Out comes the shop keeper and we start talking about his chocolates, These are not your everyday chocolates, but they are Swiss chocolates and the proprietor is Hans-you guessed it, from Switzerland. We make our selection four chocolates, a bit on the pricey side, but when we chew into them, they melt in our mouths and gives us a good taste. As we all know, chocolates are a great pick me upper. Before I forget, the place we stopped in is called Ascona Chocolat Suisse.

In just about a hundred feet, we come to Washington Park. After a quick bathroom break, we start towards the arboretum, just across the Lake Washington Road is the Arboretum. Looks like some of the pathways are undergoing reconstruction, but there is a lot more . We travel down the spine of the long narrow park, until we get to a pond and then take the Azalea Trail till we reach the visitor center-that offers us a restroom and warm coffee-for those who drink it.

We had been wondering if we would be seeing Lake Washington, so we continued to go a bit north, but only got to Duck Bay. There we decided that it was starting to get late and we better start back. Now if I was smart, I would have looked at a map and just headed west from here. But instead we go back down the park, weaving back and forth across the trails we had previously been on. We thought we could cut across to InterLaken Drive and go up the park and get to REI.

 
But you know that construction I talked about? Well, it is blocking our way across to InterLaken. So we need to go around, which eventually gets us back to the restrooms-a good breaking spot. We talk about plans and decide to go over InterLaken Park and see what that is like. The Japanese Gardens is between us and InterLaken Drive, but there is a little trail around it and that is the path we take. We are able to see glimpses of the gardens, and they look fabulous. Coming onto InterLaken, the trail is a bit muddy, and slippery.

We zig zag streets until we get to InterLaken Park. While the path through it is a wide paved road, it is only for pedestrians and bicyclists. There is quietness from walking through this envelop of green. As tired as we are, we enjoy this walk. But it is getting a bit cool. So we start to hurry, but after walking so much today, our hurry is a bit languid. Coming out of the park, we come onto a busy road and finally go over I-5. Now we turn south along Eastlake Blvd.

The question comes up, “Do we go on to REI or just find a place to eat?” Answer: we are starting to drag, so we will have to put off going to REI for another day. We had seen a Buca di Beppo the other night when we were in the area, so we cut across on Fairview, where we see two shells-boats-being powered by teams of eight rowers. So graceful and swift they move.

Now, on to Buca di Beppo and dinner. We cross over close to the Center for Wooden Boats and then to the restaurant. It does not seem to be too busy-that is good because we are hungry. What do we have when we go to Buca? Why Chicken Marsala, Garlic Mashed Potatos, 1896 Salad, and Garlic bread, of course. We got our fill, filled out a survey and got a free desert! Score!

Now it is back to the Travelodge-about 7:00pm. A bit tired, but really content with today.

Background

Sections within Arboretum

Pacific Connections Gardens Lookout Gazebo Birches and Poplars Rhododendron Magnolia Family Asiatic Maples Woodland Gardens Japanese Maples Winter Garden Japanese Garden

Trip Advisor:

Ascona Chocolat Suisse. A small little chocolate shop which Swiss chocolates which seem to melt in your mouth. I suspect this is a local treasure which unless you are walking by, you would never find.

Washington Park Arboretum. This is a must see and must experience. We walked the entire length and back and was in awe of the Fall colors. Not only the colors, but the diversity of plant life, along with its lushness. When you come, leave yourself time to enjoy the quiet and serenity of this place.

InterLakenPark. While we only walked through it at the end of a long day, it was a park which is made to be enjoyed, a park to either walk or bike in.

Bucadi Beppo. Every Buca which we have ever been to serves good food-this one is not an exception. We had Chicken Marsala and Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Service was good, with even the manager asking how things went.

Extra Photo's