The first winter I lived in Seattle, a bad storm sank the Hood Canal Bridge. The winds were hurricane-force, and despite efforts to stop the action, down she went! It took them until 1982 to reopen it. In the interim, they used Ferrysβessentially very short floating bridges with big motors attached.
After I left in 1990, the I-90 Floating Bridge sank. This time someone fucked up and left the hatches open. I am glad I didn’t have to deal with that. I regularly crossed in when living east of Seattle in the early 1980s and working at Boeing.
That leaves the Evergreen Floating Bridge. It, to the best of my knowledge, has never sunk. Jake and I found comfort as we crossed it, heading for our next stop in Bellevue.
Our first floating bridge today was the rebuilt Hood Canal Bridge. The skies were beautiful, with high clouds. There is no place I have ever lived that has the natural water & land combo beauty of Puget Sound. Sweden’s archipelago is similar, and I can see why so many Scandinavian peoples settled here.
That led us to the Kingston Edmunds Ferry.
Jake had his first ferry boat ride, and I made my first aw-shit with the trailer. I forgot to retract the door handle, and it got whacked when I pulled on board. One of the guys loading told me he heard something. I was dreadfully embarrassed. Surprisingly, it still works fine – just one trim piece missing and a stripped screw!
That leads us to the area north of Seattle. It came back quickly, as did the drive down I-5 into Seattle. The Seattle area now has many clusters of high-rise buildings poking up out of the trees, like a city of cities. It was obvious with today’s beautiful weather. All surprisingly familiar to me.
After we crossed the Evergreen Floating Bridge (aka 520 – just like Cocoa Beach!), we drove through Bellevue to the RV spot. I spent a lot of time here; other than buildings everywhere, it looks oddly familiar.
The RV Park is a grandfathered gem in an area I frequented. I probably drove by it hundreds of times. They have a great bonus – a European-style pool area with a hot tub and sauna! Bonus points!
Seattle redux
I spent the next two days with my nephew Adam and his lovely wife, Zeynab.
I also had the Starship Excellent Adventure docked at the local BMW dealership for a new set of shoes and some other work.
We hung out and visited the Center For Wooden Boats on Lake Union. We drove around – most of the area was surprisingly familiar to me again. We even drove by all that remained of the famous Pink Elephant Car Wash. It’s now located smack dab in the middle of a bunch of Amazon office buildings!
The Center for Wooden Boats mostly features spaces where boat owners can work on building a restoring the boats. They have a lot of boats on the docks, including some very large ships. It was an enjoyable, low-key visit.
We also made a visit to my old Alma Mater, the University of Washington, to pick up some merch.
Being a passenger (thanks for driving, Adam!) gave me a different perspective. I had not really wanted to revisit some of these places – too much baggage associated with my time here. Instead, the memories were fondly revisited. Go figure!
I did a good walk with Jake at a nice park near their house. I have noticed in several spots I visited that there is an effort to preserve some of the natural areas deep in the urban areas. Seattle is often called the City in the Trees.
The weather for both days was glorious π€©. It was a clear reminder that this was undoubtedly the most beautiful place I had ever lived. Maybe under different circumstances, I would have wanted to remain here. One thing is for sure, though – the place is intolerably crowded now. Humanity has stamped its indelible footprint on Mother Nature here!
Seven Weeks Out
We start the journey south with the Starship back in fully operational mode, and my wallet is significantly lighter! New tires all around, front brakes, and they figured out why the check engine light was coming on. It was worth the rather expensive repair not to have to look at the damn light for the next month or so!
Today marks day 50 on our journey, beating our previous record in 2021 of 49 days out! I am still in no hurry to get home. I am not so sure about Jake, though! I am afraid I am wearing him out sometimes. However, he is ready to go on another car ride every morning we head out!
