How is Seattle, USA? Is Olympic National Park fun?

For this trip to Seattle, the whole trip was pretty full, because I brought my one-year-old daughter along. Having a kid around doesn’t allow you to play as you please, but seeing her happy little face when she sees a new environment makes it all worthwhile. This time in Seattle, we mainly went to Olympic National Park. Let’s start my trip with me!

DAY1: Arrive in Seattle

On the first day, we flew from the Bay Area to Seattle in the morning. It’s been six years since I left Seattle. The familiar feeling came over me as soon as I got off the plane. We stayed at the Westin Seattle in the city center and had lunch at the nearby Din Tai Fung.

In the afternoon, we visited the famous Pike Place Market. If you are interested in French pastries, you can try Le Panier. If you are interested in Greek yogurt, you can try Ellenos.

Summer is cherry season, so the most recommended thing is probably local cherries (Washington state produces the most sweet cherries in the United States), especially the Rainier variety (this variety was developed by Washington State University in 1952 and named after Mount Rainier). We had dinner at Lola, a pretty good Mediterranean restaurant. The most impressive thing is Lola Spreads, freshly baked pita with six different sauces, which makes you feel that the ordinary pita and hummus combination can be so delicious.

DAY2: Olympic Peninsula

After breakfast at the hotel the next day, we set off for the Olympic Peninsula. Our first stop was Port Angeles. This time, the route to tour Olympic National Park was to circle the Olympic Peninsula counterclockwise.

If you want to go directly from Sea-Tac Airport, you can consider going clockwise. We originally planned to take the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, but missed the most suitable one. To save time (the ferry runs about once an hour), we went around from Tacoma, a city south of Seattle. For those who are good at controlling time, it is still recommended to take the ferry. You can drive less and enjoy the sea view. Why not?

Driving north along Highway 16 from Tacoma will pass through Bremerton, where the US Navy has a base. When turning from Highway 16 to Highway 3, you can see several old aircraft carriers. According to Wikipedia, they are supposedly decommissioned Kitty Hawk-class carriers. The so-called decommissioning is not in active service but unwilling to dismantle or sell. Maybe they will be needed someday. In English, such reserve fleets are called “mothball fleets” (Mothball Fleet), just like being sealed with mothballs. Actually, there are two active Nimitz-class carriers at the base, but they may have gone out to fight or scare people, so you may not be able to see them.

We passed through the small town of Sequim shortly before reaching Port Angeles and had lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Although Sequim is small, it is known as the lavender capital of North America. It is said that only France has a larger lavender growing area. There is a three-day lavender festival every July, so interested students can adjust their itinerary accordingly. After a total of two and a half hours’ drive, we finally arrived at Port Angeles and settled down at Olympic Lodge. Port Angeles is located on the northwest border of the United States. It is a small port city across the strait from Canada, where there are ferries going directly to Victoria.

That afternoon, I went straight to the first attraction: Hurricane Ridge. It takes about 35 minutes to drive from the foot of the mountain to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, at an altitude of 1,598 meters. If the logic of “the benevolent enjoys mountains, the wise enjoys water” holds true, then the benevolent and the wise will both gain something here. Looking south, there are continuous snow-capped mountains, and looking north, there is the blue ocean. Among the snow-capped mountains is Mount Olympus, the highest peak on the Olympic Peninsula, with an altitude of 2,432 meters.

In addition to enjoying the open scenery, there are also several trails for hiking here. Because of the high altitude, there is still some snow on the roadside. You can also meet black-tailed deer, which are mainly distributed along the Pacific coast of the American Northwest, from northern California to Alaska. They will go to high altitudes to eat grass and tender branches from late spring to early autumn. As winter approaches, they will migrate to the lower slopes and forage in the woods. Due to limited time, I only walked on two short trails. If time and energy permit, I think you should take the Hurricane Hill Trail, 2.6 kilometers one way, with an elevation gain of about 200 meters. I estimate that you will have a better feeling of “Standing on the top of the peak, overlooking all the mountains”.

Hurricane Ridge – Black-tailed Deer

That night we went to Cafe Garden. By the standards of a small town, it’s really a good restaurant, especially the Dungeness crab caught that day. The meat is fresh and tender.

Although this crab may be available in all of America today, it is after all a local specialty, named after the port town of Dungeness not far from Port Angeles. And cooking it without freezing makes a qualitative difference in taste.

The key to seafood is the freshness of the ingredients. The most primitive cooking that can show the original flavor is often the best cooking. A few years ago, I went to Alaska and caught a sea bass and a salmon in the deep sea where it took three hours to bounce around.

Back on shore, we pan-fried the sea bass in the RV. To this day, no seafood has surpassed it in my memory.