WAWeekend: On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

If you are a reader, you probably recognize the title of this post as part of the title of  Jamie Ford’s New York Times best-selling historical novel, Hotel On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

His story of love and friendship during a dark time in our country’s history is set in Seattle. It was during World War II, when President Roosevelt issued an Executive Order sending Japanese-American citizens (many born here) to internment camps for the duration of the war.




Like elsewhere in the country, it uprooted families in the Seattle/Puget Sound area. Many families  stashed their bags in the basement of the Panama Hotel, before leaving for the camps.  (Some of those belongings were never reclaimed. They can be seen through a section of glass flooring in the present-day Tea House.)

A few weeks ago while researching another article I am writing, I made my first I visit to The Panama Hotel, located in Seattle’s Chinatown/International District – the same hotel as featured in Ford’s book. 

So taken with its ambiance and history, was I, that I’ve since returned to its Tea and Coffee house with another  friend.

Panama Hotel Lobby

Both visits have prompted me to not only read the novel but to also learn a bit more about what was once  Seattle’s Nihonmachi, or Japantown, that grew up in this southeastern corner of Seattle.

Main Street, on which the hotel is located, was once the main spine and economic hub of Nihonmachi, an area which reportedly stretched for many blocks.

History is everywhere in the hotel and tea room pictured here

The walls of the hotel and its Tea/Coffee House are lined with photos of this once-bustling part of town along with hand-drawn maps reconstructing the former area. Names are added by those who still remember.

The vibrancy of that long ago Japantown was described by HistoricSeattle.org:

“This neighborhood became a diverse tapestry of homes, churches, grocery stores, theaters, language schools, hotels, restaurants, bathhouses, and other businesses interweaving with the edges of other Seattle communities nearby.

Seattle's Japanese American population reached its peak in the early 1930s with a population of roughly 8500, but it didn't last.”

Hing Hay Park - Chinatown/International District Seattle

While the pulse of the entire International District seems to be getting stronger in recent years, the renovation of the Panama Hotel -- designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006 -- is contributing to the life of the area. 

My friends and I were among a  steady stream of customers – hotel guests and those, like us, who had come for the refreshments – at the hotel. 

Teas galore are available as well as Italian roasted coffee drinks

We had hoped to see the hotel’s basement where there remains one of the few intact Japanese bathhouses, (Sento) on the West Coast.  We didn’t, though, as we’d missed the regularly scheduled tour, led by the hotel owner  . . .Next time!

If  I’ve encouraged you to visit, keep in mind they have a regular Happy Hour in the Tea/Coffee room. This August and September (2013) at 2 p.m. on Saturdays there’s Panama Hotel Jazz, featuring music inspired by the novel and Oscar Holden, ‘the patriarch of Seattle Jazz’.  Admission is free.


If You Go:

Panama Hotel, 605 1/2 Main St.  is European style with shared bathrooms; published rates are $90 single, $125 double. (TripAdvisor reviews swing wildly on this hotel, and make for entertaining reading). Phone: (206) 223-9242      Fax: (206) 624-4957  E-mail: reservations@panamahotelseattle.com, web: www.panamahotelseattle.com

Panama Tea and Coffee House, adjacent to the hotel lobby, at 607 Main St., Phone: (206) 515-4000
Call for tour dates, times, and prices.

The links above take you to the Amazon.com site to read more about the book.

WAWeekend: Seattle’s Summertime Blues

Flying in and out of Seatac International Airport this week provided us a cloudless (finally!) sky-high show of Seattle.  And because I so often sing the blues about the area’s clouds and rain,  it seemed only fair to show you some of the other Seattle blues – its sky and water - as well. 

Seattle grew up on Elliott Bay pictured above.  In fact, much of its southern area – now home to major league sports stadiums (that portion in the mid right hand side of the photo) was once tidal flats that stretched even further south to the mouth of the Duwamish River.  The area was populated by the Duwamish people until the early settlers arrived in the 1850’s. (The lake to the top left is Lake Union and body of water stretching across the top of the photo is Lake Washington.)

Those of us living on ‘the east side’ of Washington State’s King County must cross Lake Washington to get to Seattle (or take long looping routes around the north or south ends of the lake).  The photo above shows Interstate 90 as it passes a tip of Bellevue to the lower left, crosses Mercer Island  and continues across the lake into Seattle.

Seattle has become a gateway for Alaska-bound cruises ships that ply the waters from spring until fall with weekly trips north.  So prolific is the cruise industry’s presence  -- Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Crystal among them -- that a new cruise terminal, Pier 91, in the area known as Magnolia, was opened a few years ago.  (It, and a nearby grain elevator are pictured above.)

While some of the ships dock at Pier 91 others continue to sail from  the more centrally located Bell Street (Pier 66) terminal, pictured below.
Cruise enthusiasts who want to read more about the cruise industry in Seattle  should check out this Port Authority’s link – which even provides a list of ships and their sailing dates: http://www.portseattle.org/cruise/Pages/default.aspx


One of Seattle’s favorite waterways – and a popular tourist attraction -- is the Hiram M. Chittenden Government Locks, aka ‘the Ballard locks’ (pictured below) the latter being the name of the area in which they are located. 

The Ballard Locks are the link between Seattle’s fresh water Lake Union (and Lake Washington via what is called the Montlake Cut) and the salt-waters of Puget Sound. Ships traveling through the locks are raised or lowered to match the water level they are entering.

So popular are these locks there is even a Facebook page that updates regularly with news and activities about the place:  https://www.facebook.com/ChittendenLocks

That wraps up this WAWeekend – we are heading out to enjoy some of those blue skies!  Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you get a chance to explore some close-to-home destination where ever you are in the world and we’ll see you back here on Travel Tuesday!

WAWeekend: Seattle’s Summer Sizzlers

“Oh yes, we ‘know’ Seattle.  We went to its market. . .Pike Place Market!”

Time and again we meet people on our travels who place our world by recalling a visit they’ve made to Seattle’s iconic public market. There was a time we used to regularly beat a path to the market when we found ourselves in the Emerald City.

We live so close to Seattle now that like other of its destinations, we go there when the occasional out-of-town visitor comes along.

That is until this week when one of Seattle’s glorious sunny days and a freelance article I am working on, lured me back to this century-old market with post-card perfect views overlooking Elliott Bay.

I decided to stop at a few of my old favorites and seek out at least a couple new spots to tell you about this weekend.

Let’s start under the Market Clock (erected during the Great Depression) at ‘Rachel’, the piggy-bank  (donations go to the Market Foundation)brings out the photographer in all visitors:

Rachel is right in front of the boys who throw the fish when making sales, so you have to watch that show again, even though you know what’s coming and now matter how often you've seen it before:

Note:  this area is congested with crowds waiting to see the antics of the sales staff – I had to muscle my way through the throngs to get to the stairway nearby (and kept my purse clutched tightly to my chest. . .just in case there were some among them more interested in my belongings than the fish show).

The Gum Wall:  Egad, how I had never visited this place, on Lower Post Alley (almost under the fish company) before? Now that I have, I probably don’t need to return. This, is as its name implies is a wall of gum, chewed gum to be exact, that seemed to draw as many photographers as those shooting out over the bay.  Not to  miss ‘a photo opp’:

The Urban Garden:  This was also an area new to me but it’s also new to the Market.  And a pleasant contrast to the Gum Wall almost below it.  This raised bed garden – the first seeds planted in April this year --  will provide fresh produce to low-income residents who live in and around the Market and who visit the Pike Market Food Bank and Senior Center:

From the garden I had one of the best views ever of Seattle’s Giant Wheel that opened in Summer 2012 at Pier 57:

If you are like me, the real draw of Pike Place Market continues to be the longtime food and flower vendors (Sadly, it seemed a number of the produce and flower stands that once lined the main corridor have been replaced by souvenir and gift stands – hopefully it is because the harvest season isn’t yet in full swing):



That’s it for this weekend’s WAWeekend, when we visit close to home in Washington State.  If you are heading to Seattle, put this Market on your must-see list. It is open year-round.

If You Go:

For the latest information on Market operating hours, how to sign up for guided tours, and the latest happenings, visit the Market website:  http://pikeplacemarket.org/

Note:  In the summer ,the market by mid-day is usually crowded. It is a popular stop for cruise ship passengers – three ships were in port on the Friday I visited, not to mention the land-based tourists. Plan your visit accordingly.

WAWeekend: Spotlight on Seattle Hotels

This weekend our spotlight shines on a couple of Seattle hotel’s that have some money-saving deals for visitors to Washington State’s Emerald City:



Hotel 1000, in downtown Seattle, now offers guests complimentary calls to anywhere in the world during their stay.  And having just checked the price of making calls from Greece to the U.S., we can assure you, this is one great perk, especially for international travelers who want to stay in touch with home.

“Part of the experience is to not ‘nickel and dime’ our guests, but to include as much as possible in the room rate. We’ve done this in the past by offering complimentary, high-speed Internet since opening [six years ago] and are now continuing this with free calls to anywhere in the world,”says Denny Fitzpatrick, the general manager.

Another plus is that Hotel 1000 does NOT charge that pesky ‘hotel fee’ that some properties like to tack on to your stay. Your room rate includes: free calls and Wi-Fi throughout the hotel for “as many devices as you can carry,” as well as a complimentary newspaper, coffee in the Lobby and Library (Keurig in guestroom or French press upon request), sparkling wine at check-in, Business Center access color printer and ‘Mighty-O Donuts’ in Studio every morning

For reservations: http://www.hotel1000seattle.com/



SCORE IN SEATTLE:

Seattle’s Alexis, Vintage Park and Monaco hotels (all part of Kimpton Hotel group) are pitching out deals for guests in this sports-crazed city. And the deals run the length of the Mariner’s baseball  season (April 8 – October 31):

For reservations: www.kimptonhotels.com

And use rate code: SCORE to get:

· Valet Parking  - whatever the Mariner’s opponents score in the game the night before* is how much the guest pays for parking (for example, 2 runs=$2, 0 runs=free parking, etc). You’ll also get:
· 2 bottles of a Northwest craft beer
· 1 bag of Tim’s Cascade (local) potato chips

The reason this is a great deal is because the normal rate for valet parking is $39/night at the Vintage Park and Monaco; $40/night at the Alexis!

*This promotion is good any day..the most recent game the Mariners played will apply.

For the record:
* these aren’t ‘sponsored’ posts (meaning no one has paid us to run this information.) We just think these are great deals and why keep such good information to ourselves when we could be telling you?

*that stadium pictured above is Century Link, the Seahawks' football stadium, our baseball stadium is behind it and I didn’t have a photo of it to use!

Hope you’ll join us again next week for more tips and tales!

WAWeekend: Girls, Guys, Getaways

We're taking a break from our ‘tales’ to suggest a few travel ‘tips’ because Spring’s arrival in the Pacific Northwest is filling our inbox with great getaway ideas.

Here are four that will shake awake the travel bug from his winter’s hibernation:

Easter 'Chicks' Night Out in Seattle (or Portland) 

Thinking about a Girls Getaway? Then take a “Peep” at this sweet package at the Hotel Vintage Park* in downtown Seattle.

(Note: It’s good only March 28 – April 2, 2013, so don’t ponder this one too long.)

The deal:
· 15% off their Best Available Rate
· Valet Parking
· Box of ‘Peeps’ Marshmallow candies
· Complimentary nightly wine hour, where local wine makers pour their favorite bottles

Reservations: www.hotelvintagepark.com
Rate code: PPEEPS

*(the deal isn’t limited to girls and can be had at the  Monaco and Alexis hotels in Seattle and Vintage Plaza, Monaco Portland and RiverPlace in Portland)






Another Girls Getaway . . .

The spa at Alderbrook Inn and Spa on Hood Canal is having a Girls Night Out - an evening of food, wine and pampering - Friday, March 22nd at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $60 and include 2 petit treatments (Express Skin Refining Glow, Clarisonic Facial Cleanse, Petit Facial Exfoliation or Clarisonic Back Cleanse), wine and light spa snacks.

Space is limited, so call 360.898.5520 to reserve your ticket today!

See What’s Cookin’ in the Yakima Valley this Spring. . .

Thanks to our friends at the Yakima Valley Visitor’s and Convention Bureau who tipped us off to this one:

The Yakima Valley's  La Maison’ Exceptional Cooking Experiences. The French-style home, on a hill overlooking the Naches Valley, is where the culinary classes – each limited to 12 guests – are held.

The menus are varied and always include wine and food pairings, as well as extra cooking tips.   Don’t like those hands-on classes? No problem! These are so relaxed that you can participate in the preparations or just sit back and enjoy the wine and ambiance.

Among the classes this spring are: a  Japanese menu on April 12, and Mexican Cinco de Mayo menu on May 10, all menus paired with wines from Alexandria Nicole Cellars.

Haven’t been to Naches?  High time you visited that area just northwest of Yakima.  Head to Naches Heights where you’ll find  Naches Heights Vineyards and Tasting Room Yakima.

The Orchard Inn Bed and Breakfast in the area is rated the number one B and B in Yakima by Tripadvisor.com)

Take the Washington Wine Road to Chelan . . .

Chelan Nouveau – Two weekends, April 20 - 21 AND  April 27 – 28, 2013 - mark your calendars!

The Lake Chelan Wine Valley’s 20 wineries will celebrate the release of "nouveau" white and rose wines. On the weekends listed noted above, you can sip and purchase the first of the spring releases including Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir Rose, Viognier and Riesling.

To view a complete list of wineries, wine releases, tasting room hours and special event activities planned at each winery click this link to Lake Chelan Wine Valley.

That’s it for this WAWeekend!  Let us know if you have been tempted by any of the four outings above. And if these types of ideas are helpful, let us know, and we will keep them coming. Come back soon for another Tuesday Travel Classic.

Have a great weekend – happy travels!

WA Weekend: A bus trip to “The Center of the Universe’

While the gray damp days continued to envelope our Seattle-area, an article I was writing for another publication forced me out of hibernation last week and to ‘The Center of the Universe’.


Really . . . I hopped the King County Metro bus at the stop near my Kirkland home and less than an hour later I was standing at the sign that marks Fremont, a Seattle neighborhood, as the self-proclaimed, Center of the Universe.

The area has several distinctive landmarks, like the circa 1950’s cold war rocket that’s been part of the Bitter’s Building at Evanston and 36th since the mid-1990’s.

It had previously been attached to a Belltown (another Seattle neighborhood) business and its dismantling there, provided the opportunity for its new home in Fremont.









Then there’s the Lenin statue. . . one of those ‘love-it or hate-it’ pieces of art. 

This 7-ton Vladimir Lenin was created by Slavic artist Emil Venkov. It was installed in Poprad, Slovakia in 1988 then toppled during the 1989 Revolution.   A Pacific Northwest man is credited with buying and saving this towering piece of history.








Perhaps the art icon of the area – at least the one most highly decorated (literally!) is the 1979 sculpture, Waiting for the Interurban created by Richard Beyer as a tribute to the light rail inter-urban that connected Seattle neighborhoods in the early 20th Century.  And then there’s the troll under the bridge. . .

. . .and their festivals -- like the Moisture Festival, Solstice Parade, and  Lenin Lighting -- span the year.

Streets in this rather eccentric, fun-loving neighborhood on the northern bank of the Lake Washington Ship Canal are lined with one-of-a-kind shops and eateries. Each Sunday more than 180 vendors and hordes of shoppers flock to its year-round outdoor European-style street market. I can’t tell you any more than that because it’s the gist of the story I wrote for someone else, but I will show you one storefront to tempt the shoppers out there:


If You Go:

Metro bus:  From downtown Seattle’s Third Avenue, take 28 or 40.  From Kirkland take 255 into Westlake Center.  Tip: Ask for a transfer and you won’t need to pay for the connection to Fremont.
Use Metro’s Trip Planner: www.tripplanner.kingcounty.gov

My find:  Wine Tea Chocolate, a wine bar, coffee shop, tea house and chocolate shop all rolled into one at 3417 Evanston Ave. N. #102, 206-372-4747, www.wineteachocolate.com. This kid-friendly place (just down the street from a chocolate factory) has been open only five months and is already a local’s favorite – I only wish I lived closer to it. Definitely worth a visit!

More details:  www.fremont.com

What about you? Any places to recommend in Fremont?  How about your favorite neighborhood. . .use the comment section or jot us an email to tell us where it is and why it’s a favorite.

WA Weekend: Kirkland ~ Where the Livin’ is Lakeside

Even those of us lucky enough to live in Kirkland, just across Lake Washington from Seattle, sometimes take this Pacific Northwest gem for granted.  Kirkland should be the poster child for lakeside living and here are some reasons why:



1. Waterfront Parks:  Take a stroll along the mile-long stretch of Lake Washington Blvd. from Carillon Point to downtown Kirkland to explore the city’s many waterfront parks. Open free of charge to the public, they are great places for picnics, sunbathing or just reading a book.  (Winter storm watching is also fun from these vantage points.) For those not content to sit around, rent a paddle board or join a game of volleyball.



 Marina Park, in the photo below, is a popular place for kids who can wade into the shallow water along its crescent-shaped beach, while  dogs chase out into the deeper waters to retrieve sticks and balls and pesky water fowl angle for a handouts. It’s also center stage for the town’s many festivals.

2. Get out on Lake Washington: If you want to really experience the water. . .

but you don’t have a boat to tie up at Marina Park’s public dock, don’t despair because.  .  .



Argosy Cruises (800-642-7816, www.argosycruises.com) has got you covered. The tour boat departs from the Kirkland Dock at Marina Park for a 1.5 hour cruise that – on a sunny day – will provide stunning views of Mt. Rainier, University of Washington’s Husky Stadium and takes you past the waterfront homes of the rich and famous, like Bill Gates’ place. Reservations are recommended.  Schedule and prices can be found at the web site listed above.



(BTW, these photos are should dispel the rumor that it ‘always rains in Seattle’. Not so!)

If You Visit: 

The fresh-water Lake Washington at 20-miles long and reaching a depth of 214-feet is the second largest lake in Washington State, just behind the 55-mile long Lake Chelan.

When a day at the lake comes to an end, try out some of the many eateries that dot the shoreline or are clustered in the downtown area, easy walking distance from the water.

Sip some Washington wine (we’d recommend The Grape Choice a wine merchant with its kid and dog friendly sipping area near Marina Park).

Spend a night or two  at either of the town’s luxury hotels: The Woodmark Hotel on the lake at Carillon Point and The Heathman Hotel in the downtown, two blocks from Marina Park.

For more information: Click on:  Explore Kirkland.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you’ll subscribe to receive  TravelnWrite in your inbox or follow us on Facebook at TravelnWrite.

TPThursday: Go North “Young” Woman

We’d decided to do something different for my birthday: stay home.

And we stuck to that plan until 1 p.m. when we did something so spontaneous that we both were still shaking our heads as we stepped ashore in Victoria, British Columbia a few hours later.


We often describe our travels as going ‘where the winds blow us’ but this one struck with gale force. I’d been working on a blog post and mentioned Victoria . . . an hour later we were packed and in line on the Seattle waterfront ready to board the day's last sailing of the Victoria Clipper, a high speed catamaran that would whisk us off to what has been a three night stay in the “City of Gardens.”



Victoria, B.C. is at the southern tip of Canada’s Vancouver Island. Cradled between Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it is 71 miles from Seattle, just under three hours away on The Clipper (which blasts along at 30 knots, or 35 miles an hour).



Incorporated in 1862 and also celebrating a birthday – its 150th – this year, the city is decked out in its usual summer finery. . .including its trademark hanging baskets. The flower baskets have been a tradition since 1937. There are 1,500 baskets adorning the old-fashioned light posts. (And if you want to replicate those baskets at home, the city’s web site, www.victoria.ca offers a brochure with instructions.)



Every street corner is decked out with a garden. This Orca whale topiary sits across the street from the visitor’s center at the Inner Harbor.


While its Butchart Gardens is the most famous of its gardens there are so many parks (78 in Greater Victoria) that we usually don’t have time to visit Butchart, as was the case again this trip. Our first day was spent strolling through Victoria’s many gardens and parks that are within an easy walk of the Inner Harbor where we were staying.
.
One such place is  the beautiful lawn of  the iconic  Empress Hotel, pictured above.  We  had a special treat: watching a bride and groom starting a new life together at the lawn’s rose trellis.



Only a couple blocks from the Inner Harbor, we strolled through the grounds of St. Ann’s Academy National Historic Site (835 Humboldt St., www.stannsacademy.com ). Just beyond it is the 25 hectare, or 62-acre Beacon Hill Park which led us to the seafront promenade that stretches for miles along Dallas Road. 






We walked nine miles as we explored but a corner of this magnificent city of some 80,000 people but in full disclosure, our long walk was in part to ease the guilt of  the amount of food we had consumed the night before at our favorite restaurant, The Tapa Bar, (620 Trounce Alley, 250-383-0013, www.tapabar.ca)  and although we turned down the offer for dessert, the waitress decided my big day shouldn’t go past without. . . .



That’s it for this week’s Travel Photo Thursday, so head over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for more photos.  I’ll tell you more about the gem of a place - often overlooked by travelers - that we stayed at here in my next post.

For more information on Victoria, B.C.: www.tourismvictoria.ca or the city’s blog  www.goinglocal.tourismvictoria.ca  For information on the Victoria Clipper, www.clippervacations.com .