Day 27: Yakima to Seattle (177 miles)

A varied day!

Starting the morning with Addie chores, I next drove the scenic route from Yakima to Seattle – as recommended by one of the ladies I chatted with at the Elks. What phenomenal views of a glacier valley near Naches, WA – and then of amazing Mt. Rainier!

Still blown away by the beauty of Rainier, I continued driving to Seattle, where I’m “moochdocking” in a friend’s driveway. They’re on vacation, so Addie and I get a long flat driveway in exchange for watering a few plants. Such a deal! 🙂

After settling Addie and watering, I was torn – big time! On the one hand, I know I’ll be busy all day tomorrow in Seattle, so relaxing – especially after driving for several hours today – would be a wise decision. On the other hand, learning and experiencing the Seattle public transit system before needing to use it tomorrow morning might also be a wise decision.

What did I decide? I headed into Seattle! YES, the system was extremely frustrating! Why can’t every transit system use the same payment methods? Ugh! It took a lot of searching and walking until I finally found a store that had the ORCA metro card!

Deciding I “needed” an ice cream after solving my transit issue, I googled the best ice cream scoop shop: Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream. Less than a mile away. All uphill!

Which ended up being the biggest treat of the day! I’m climbing up and up – think San Francisco hills. I get to the summit and see a bunch of people at the upper edge of a park looking behind me – at the Space Needle with Mt. Rainier in the background with sunset approaching!

I chatted with some locals hanging out on the corner, and they recommended I make a loop from Molly Moon’s, to the western wall where I could see the sun beginning to set over the water, and back to the park overlook. Best advice! Not only was the sunset fabulous but also the homes in this Queen Anne district are gorgeous. A lovely end to a long day!