By Jeff Jarrell
To wrap up our summer-time travels, my wife and I targeted Seattle for a romantic getaway since neither one of us had ever been to Washington State. We had a difficult time to getting to Seattle going standby so we ended up buying tickets which hurt our bank account but I know no one will feel sorry for us since all of our friends and family know all the free traveling we do since I work for an airline.
When we got into the Seattle International Airport (SEA), it was apparent why we had so much trouble with the flights from DFW: the airport was extremely busy and congested, like most of the world’s population was coming to Seattle on the same day. I still remember the long queue to get on the rental car shuttle and how workers were hired to jam all the people and bags on the buses. And the congestion didn’t end there, Interstate 5 going north through Seattle was as congested as any expressway I’ve driven on.
Most Seattleites are used to seeing snow-packed Mt. Rainier to the South but what really kept catching my eye driving North was another snow-packed mountain that loomed largely on the northern horizon. The map app on my phone wasn’t helpful in identifying it and the name of that snow-packed mountain remained a mystery until the last day of our trip.
We continued north on Interstate 5, slowly moving in the congestion until turning West towards our final destination: Camano Island. Since Camano Island is apparently an Island and to get to it didn’t require a ferry ride, I figured we’d go over some great, hulking bridge to get there. While continuing our drive West, I didn’t detect that we drove over any great span over water before finally arriving at the Camano Island Inn, a bed and breakfast over looking the bay.
Brooke, a bright-eyed, young woman with Hemma-type tattoos on her arms, showed us around the property and to our bay-view room where we’d stay two quiet and easy nights. My bride knows I like to relax in a hottub and Brooke showed us our hottub where we could soak and watch the sunset over the bay. One thing Brooke said that I thought was interesting but later turned out to be true: if we wanted good seafood that we’d have to make our way back to the casinos on Interstate 5.
Our first night our for dinner, we ate at the Crows Nest. I had the clam chowder and it was maybe an upgrade from whatever you can get out of a Campbells can but that was about it. The draft beer though, Rainier Lager, was fantastic.
The next night we ate at Jimmy’s Pizza which listed BBQ ribs on the menu as their specialty. I didn’t get the ribs but ordered the clam chowder which was was a little better than Crow’s Nest from the night before but nothing you would wait in line for and then post on social media.
But we weren’t there for the food, right? Camano Island’s strength is the sunset over the bay and the two State parks: Camano Island and Cama Beach. The first morning, I drove the 2 miles from the Inn to the Camono State Park for an early morning run. It’s a $10 day pass you purchase at the gate. I got there probably around 6:00 am and had trouble finding parking in the lower lots but learned later that those are cars from the cabins on the beach. You have to park your car in regular parking and a shuttle takes you and your cases down to the beach.
For the first run and I followed the trail signs to Cranberry Lake The sign was posted that it was around a mile. While running up the trail, I came across a trail sign with an left arrow pointing towards the Cross Island Trail. I took what I thought was the left fork and ran up a steep incline for about a ½ mile before ending up at at dead end. I ran down the trail and noticed that I should taken a hard left and not the fork for the Cross Island trail.
The Cross Island Trail was very nicely groomed with 200-foot Douglas Fir and Cedar trees most of the way. And very peaceful: I only saw two other runners and a man walking his little dog.
I’ve run some trails in the Dallas, Ft. Worth area, including the Grasslands Run in Decatur several times. The trails around Camano Island have a similar feel: some ups and downs and rocks and roots to watch out for, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t any trees as straight and tall in DFW area as the ones in Camano. While the trail is cut through the entire forest, some of the trees in Camano Island look to be 200-300 feet tall.
Now that I had the lay of the land from doing a morning run, I took my bride hiking on the Cranberry Lake trail first and then onto the trail to Camo Beach. The trail over to Camo Beach follows the road for a ways but once you get over that part of the trail, you come into what I’d say are the most picturesque trails to be had anywhere. The trails wind through the top of the cliffs where you can see the bay below, silhouetted through the trees.
We wanted to spend at least one day exploring Seattle and our first stop was Pikes Market which is like a flea market inside what looks like re-purposed shipping buildings. There are all different kinds of vendors and restaurants and is where most tourists to Seattle would be on the Monday afternoon we were there. At Pikes there are fish mongers and flower booths and collectible booths and just about any artisan and craft vendor you could list. We ate at Lowell’s seafood which from the line I thought would be great but just was fair. One regret I had was we didn’t try the Chowder House since my quest for delicious seafood on our trip was never really fulfilled. The line at the Chowder House wrapped around the building so I just have to assume it would have been wonderful.
Next up, the Eiffel Tower of Seattle, also known as the Space Needle, built for the 1962 World’s Fair (do they even have those anymore?). They let us trade our 7:30 pm tickets for 4:45 tickets and we waited with all the other tourists to get on the elevator to the top where they have two decks: an outside observation area and also a deck with a rotating, glass floor. It was interesting to learn that the Space Needle was built in 6 months and it used to be the tallest structure in Seattle but now some other high-rises are much taller.
Riding the elevator down from the top of the Space Needle, the elevator attendant asked the crowded car if there were any questions. I asked about the snow-packed mountain to the North which he said was Mt. Baker.
Seattle is a wonderful city to visit and one thing I kept thinking is that it would have been hard for early explorers to survey and map out this area of the country. There are just so many islands and mountains, and bays making the topography of this area extremely diverse. Good bye Seattle – back to flat and land-locked Dallas, TX.