Washington travel

Hammered Dwarf Cider

/ Roadtirementvintage / 11 Comments

Yes, a rather bizarre name, but for a great variety of products. This afternoon we all went to a place that sells locally produced hard cider, beer and mead. The Snohomish facility is interesting, as the tasting room is small, consisting of the counter and tap wall, and menu boards. There are a couple of two person high tables inside.


Outside is a fenced in seating area. A series of pop up canopies provide shelter from the sun. Picnic tables offer seating along with those large wood wire spools that make good tables. It is interesting that the site of this cidery is at the back of a concrete plant.

Information board

More information

The Hammered Dwarf Cider is the result of 20 years of development and trails, starting in an apartment in California. Let the Hammered Dwarf website explain: “Our ciders are made with more traditional cider apples as opposed to the usual dessert and culinary apples that most cideries use, creating a unique flavor profile. Barrel aging is another way that we can distinguish ourselves from the rest.”

Sher and our grandson sitting outdoors

Two of our four flights

We ordered pizza delivered to our table

We got a couple of growlers to take home

 

 

 

 

 

Each of us (except of course our grandson who got root beer) got one of the flights of four to sample. We have never tried Hard Cider and it was fun to have our first time tasting true local craft ciders. They were very good, all having  very interesting and differing tastes. Most of the ciders were made on location, or provided by other local establishments. We found this to be a very unique local business. Pizza, craft hard cider and sharing time with family made for a delightful afternoon.

 

A real craving for fish & chips

/ Roadtirementvintage / 21 Comments

One of my absolute favorite restaurants anywhere is an opened in 1900 and verified haunted saloon in Snohomish, Washington. Sher and I first found the Oxford Saloon back in 2014 while searching for antiques.

The Oxford storefront with COVID prompted outdoor street seating

In planning for our trip to Seattle and seeing our daughter, son-in-law and grandson I knew that we’d be able to visit the Oxford Saloon, and that I’d get the chance to once again enjoy the three piece fish and chips with homemade coleslaw and fries. Well, that happened today! We decided to go to Snohomish for lunch.

My fish and chips meal

Sher’s loaded potato skins

 

 

 

 

 

The Oxford interior is filled with old framed photos, a huge suit of armor hanging from the ceiling and a mannequin of a dance hall girl standing on a ceiling mounted swing. That’s the tip of the iceberg too. Oh, by the way, The Oxford Saloon is haunted. Yes, haunted with many eyewitness accounts. Sher and I had a private tour in January 2020  right before COVID hit, and were told the stories including all about the scary cursed doll. Read about our tour here.

Behind the bar, complete with Moose

Swinging dance hall girl

BIG Knight watching you eat

The haunted doll, safe now on top of the bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really had a good time. I especially relished having my fish and chips again at my favorite place. It is fun having a favorite place so far away from our home base in Indiana. As usual, finding a parking spot was a real challenge. But patience prevailed, and after about ten minutes of driving around a spot reasonably close to the Oxford. We also learned that there will be fun Haunted Rock band every Thursday this month. Bet we’ll be back for that. This is the Oxford Saloon website.

 

 

Christa’s Sandwichboard and Wine Bar

/ Roadtirementvintage / 23 Comments

It didn’t take us long to get out and enjoy local restaurants once we got to our family’s place. Snohomish is a fun and historic small town northeast of Seattle. The main street is filled with eclectic stores, antique shops and a wide variety of eateries. Many of the restaurants put up tents on the street to accommodate COVID restrictions. Many of these remain.

Sher with our grandson across from our daughter and son-in-law. Note to tent out side in the street.

Christa’s Sandwichboard and Wine Bar has become one of our family’s favorite. Sher and I soon discovered why it’s a favorite. The sandwich menu is one of the most expansive I’ve seen. Assortments of flat breads and small plates are ready, as are cheese and meat platters.  We opted for the hot sandwich specialties.

Basil, Mozzarella & Tomato – “BMT”

The classic Reuben ala Sandwichboard

Humbolt Fog cheese, thin sliced ham w/fixin’s

Kid’s toasted cheese w/fruit & cookies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tag “Wine Bar” is included in the name of this fun facility. There was a 1/2 price sale ongoing, so you know us, we had to partake. We got a nice California red, part of the 2017 Joel Gott Wines Artist Series. Good wine!

Comfortable dining with fun decor

This was a delightful place to eat, the service was great and the food delicious. It was so nice to have supper with our Washington family again. It doesn’t get any better than being with family, does it?

 

Alaska Airlines first experience

/ Roadtirementvintage / 32 Comments

Wingtip and clouds at 35,000 feet

Our Indianapolis to Seattle trip started with an early departure time for Alaska Airlines Flight 501, non-stop to Seattle, which we felt boded well for the rest of our journey. The boarding was easy as we took advantage of the offer to get on early. (Being senior citizens does have benefits.) The flight attendant put my Sleep Apnea machine in the overhead compartment for me, which was helpful as the machine is very heavy.

Our flight took 4 hours and 38 minutes, according to the announcement at the beginning. Sher and I both had books to read stored on our phones. That helped to pass the time, and the one I had was in fact a very good and exciting story. Soon after takeoff the crew began to serve the snacks and drinks.  We were at the back of the aircraft’s cabin, so it took a while for the service cart to get to our seats.

The Boeing 737 800/900 is a very long jetliner!

A decent Cabernet Sauvignon from the drink cart

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we were offered refreshments, we both opted for the red wine offering. At a price of $7.50 we were glad wine was available. As an extra treat, our flight attendant was kind enough to offer us an additional serving at no cost. Wine on board a flight at net $3.75? We’re ok with that!

All in all our first flight with Alaska Airlines was a very pleasant experience from start to finish. We checked our one bag at the counter in Indy and got our boarding passes there. As noted above, boarding was easy. The flight itself was mostly very smooth, only about 5 minutes of “rough weather” was felt. Once we landed and got with our daughter and grandson at the baggage claim we knew we had arrived. Now to start our visit…

Indiana to Seattle: fly or drive our RV?

/ Roadtirementvintage / 39 Comments

Requires 33 hours drive time, one way. At least four or five days with stops.

That was the question. We were planning a trip to Seattle to visit our daughter, son-in-law and grandson. It was hard to decide as we love travelling in our RV. It gives us a place to stay so that we aren’t intruding on our daughter’s family all the time. It also gives us a chance to relax and be alone. Staying with them is lots cheaper and gives us more time with them and our grandson. They have a big house and we have our own room when we are there. On the other hand, is it fair to stay with them? I feel like it is a lot to ask having to put up with us.  If we drove we would need to be there for a longer time period, maybe 2 or 3 months. If we fly we can stay a shorter amount of time and go back for another visit sooner. Our grandson who is growing up fast (he is 6) and started 1st grade this year was a big part of our decision. We need to see him more often. We have done both and have been happy with each visit.

After much debating we decided to fly. This decision was based on many things. We didn’t really want a long road trip at this time. The coronavirus has kept us away from family a long time. We did have a quick visit as our son’s wedding, but we wanted and needed some quality time with each of our 5 kids and their families. We also thought that maybe we could help them while we were visiting. We can cook some meals and help keep the house straightened. When we decided to look at it as a we can help trip, instead of being a burden it became more definite that we should fly.

Flying time: 4 hours 53 minutes, non-stop (Photo courtesy Alaska Airlines)

So next week we begin our journey to Seattle, WA. We are flying on Alaska Airlines and were able to get a direct flight for a very good price. We bought our tickets with our Chase Freedom card and we like the points we get when we use it. We usually fly Delta and have lots of points built up on their plan, but couldn’t find a direct flight for the right times and dates. Our daughter tells us that the Alaska Airlines miles program and credit card are the best, so we will be looking into that. Would love any suggestions on what you think is the best travel miles and credit card choices. We check out doctorofcredit.com and will often find good deals on his site. We don’t spend enough to really take advantage of his credit card finds, but we have made extra money by opening checking account he suggests. We get nothing by mentioning his site, but it is an interesting site to check out.

We are excited about our trip next week and have started packing. We will be posting pics of our bags in the next few days.

~Sher

 

Beauty and function

/ Roadtirementvintage / 15 Comments

Seattle’s Puget Sound is home to 13 working lighthouses

The Alki Point lighthouse is an operational fully automated facility operated by the US Coast Guard. It is the southernmost of the 13 lighthouses on the Sound. This is a beautiful structure when seen from any angle, and is often open for free tours. Sorry, you can’t take your dog to this one. We got this shot on a cruise from Seattle to Tillicum Island.

A whale of a sight

/ Roadtirementvintage / 28 Comments

This life size statue of an Orca killer whale is in the entrance way to the Tulalip Casino off of I-5 north of Seattle.  We have been patrons of the casino several times when we traveled to the Seattle area to visit family.  When we were last there you could park your motorhome for 3 days in the designated RV lot. No services, but a patrolled and safe place to stay.

It seems that there is a brand new, additional casino on the same property. There was a Grand Opening  February 3rd. It is listed as being twice as large as the first casino. We will definitely check it out the next time we travel to the Pacific Northwest.

 

Thrilling orca whale watch

/ Roadtirementvintage / 36 Comments

Orcas!

One adventure that we hope to repeat is another whale watching trip out of Bellingham, Washington. A few years ago we were blessed with the opportunity to take a day cruise around the San Juan Islands in the Salish Sea north of Seattle. So many wildlife sightings of both sea animal and birds happened. The highlight of course was the sighting of a pod of orca killer whales, part of which is seen in the above photo we took. Note it shows an adult and a juvenile.