I’m in Whitefish today. After breakfast I went to Bigfork to explore the old town. There were a few stores on Main Street. I went to Echo Lake Cafe and ordered breakfast. Afterwards, I saw a sign for Echo Lake and followed the road to the lake. Then I returned to Whitefish, stopping at a Safeway to pick up sole fruit.
A lazy day but I needed it. I plan on watching videos on how to crochet tonight.
Surprise, surprise, the train from Leavenworth to Whitefish MT that I took last night was an hour and 25 minutes late. The usual reason, a freight train, actually two. And one of them had three airplane fuselages strapped down. See the picture below.
So I arrived late, picked up my rental car and decided to head to the hotel to get some advice on what to see and do here. I was in luck, they had a room ready for me to check in and suggestions for things to do. I called up the outfitter to set some tours and the weather is not cooperating. They have a great combo of guided tour through Glacier National Park with snowshoeing. But it’s too warm to snowshoe, too much ice to hike without special shoes and the tour requires a minimum of two people. So looks like I’m on my own.
I drove over to the park to the visitor center to talk to a ranger, but the center is only open weekends. So I grabbed a map and started driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road. I turned around after I hit the road closure a few miles in, but not before I got some good pictures of the lake and the mountains.
I returned to Whitefish, got a late lunch at the Piggyback BBQ, and returned to the hotel for a nap and then spent some time looking up stuff to do tomorrow.
The Obertal Inn provided a choice of breakfast and I had the biscuit with sausage gravy at the suggestion of Linda, the GM of the hotel. Biscuit was very good but I’m not a fan of sausage gravity. Did I mention in yesterday’s post that there was apple strudel waiting for me when I got to my room. I had ordered it when I made my reservation but didn’t eat it when I got in, just went to bed. So I still have a very good looking strudel to eat.
T was early and not much was open yet so i went for a walk on one of the trails to blackbird island at Linda’s suggestion. The path was icy but the walk was nice. Then I strolled thru town and back to the hotel to check out.
I had the option to go on an alpine coaster, and while the views would have been great, I think I’m past my roller coaster days. So I walked through the town, stopping in at different stores, sitting at benches to people watch and finally getting some lunch. I chose a place that had a sampler so I could taste different ones. The brat was my favorite.
I spent the afternoon strolling around the town, buying some caramel corn and cured sausage. Then I went back to the hotel, because it was cooling down, to report my day to Linda and wait for the shuttle to take me to the train station.
This morning was the Seattle hot chocolate run and some of the runners stayed at my hotel. I saw a lot of them at breakfast. It was a good morning for a run.
After breakfast and packing, I checked out and walked over to the Pacific Science Center. I saw an IMAX film on the James Webb Space Telescope, then wandered around the exhibits for a while. They had a nice butterfly room.
Then I stopped for lunch at an Irish Pub, got my bags from the hotel and took a Lyft to the train station. I skipped going to the Space Needle, just didn’t feel like it.
I’m on the train. I have about an hour of daylight and I’m sitting on the left side, which I think is the side for the best views.
I sat on the correct side of the train, at least for as long as it was light out. I saw the bay and I think the Snohomish river. I also figured out I could use one of my biking apps, Komoot, to track the train path, at least for as long as I had service. Wished I had thought of that at the start of the trip.
Got to Leavenworth on time, bus was waiting to take me and a few other people to our hotels. It’s cold because my winter coat is in my suitcase.
I started the day visiting the Gates Foundation to learn about poop. I now know more than I wanted to. Then I went over to the Chiluly Glass Museum. He did some really great stuff.
I was hungry, so I went back to Pikes Market. Since it was Saturday, it was crowded. I got salmon fish and chips. No pictures, I was lucky to find a ledge to sit on and eat.
I headed for the Pacific Science Center, but decided to return to my room when my leg started to hurt. It was a leg cramp. I had a ticket for the Space Needle, but decided I needed to get off my feet and rest. So I went back to the hotel, did my laundry and watched some old movies.
Woke up to a beautiful day in Seattle. After discussing options with the desk clerk, I decided to walk to the wharf for my 1:25 pm boat trip. I left early so I could do some exploring along the way and at the wharf. I got a Marion berry muffin. A Marion berry is a cross between a blackberry and a blueberry. I went into the Old Curiosity Shoppe and saw Sebastian, a guy who died in the 1880’s and was preserved.
The boat trip was around the bay with a guide pointing out the various landmarks. Unfortunately, I didn’t take notes. Taylor Swift set off a 2.4 magnitude earthquake when she was here. For the other stuff, you’ll have to visit and get on the boat.
One other thing I remember and that was the mention of Pikes Place Market. I decided to stop there since it was on the way back to my hotel. Seattle has some hills but nothing like San Francisco, so I wasn’t too surprised when the entry to the market was by elevator. I got off on the fifth floor because a few other people did. There were stores all around. I visited a few and went up stairs to find more. I think all seven floors were part of the market. I bought some chukkah cherries, some I sent to Debbie because she introduced me to them. If you are reading this Debbie. They will be shipped to your house mid April. I figured you’d be back by then. I also shipped some home to Naomi. Then I found a fish place and shipped some smoked salmon home.
Next door to the fish place as the Athenian seafood restaurant. I sat down and got a big mug of hard cider. While trying to decide between the Seafood Sauté or the Athenian Seafood Bowl, the young man at the next table had ordered the latter and he showed it to me. I ordered the former and he joined me for lunch/dinner. Michael is a master’s student at Michigan and is due to graduate this spring. He’s from Taiwan. He’s into data analytics, so we had an enjoyable time talking shop. I wish him well, I think he will be successful in anything he does. Michael, check out mfpt.org. If it’s of interest, I know the current leader, Suri, although it’s been 20 years since we talked.
Michael pointed out the restaurant was the one in the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail’. I forgot to take a picture of the staircase on my way out.
I walked back to the hotel, tired, but happy for a good day.
Looked at my ticket and realized I’m on a bus again. Here’s where the grumpy comes in in my grumpy old man name. I’m riding almost as many buses as I am trains. Since nothing can be done about it now, I’ll make the best of it. I checked on the internet at Amtrakguides.com, and the suggestion is I sit on the right side of the train for the best views when going from Spokane to Seattle. I hope that’s true for buses too.
I stopped at the Satellite House for breakfast. Rather large pancakes. So I’m sitting at the train station waiting for a bus with a full belly (mine, not the bus).
The bus ride was, well let me just say I’m glad it’s over. The bus stopped at every little town, so it took a while and none of the stops had eating places. Fortunately I had brought some food. It didn’t matter which side of the bus I was on, there were nice views on both. The worst part was there was a homeless drug addict sitting in the seat in front of me. He tried to talk to me but I told him I was tired and going to sleep. So he spent most of the time talking non stop to the driver. The driver deserves sainthood. Well, it’s over. I’m in my hotel room ready for bed and I checked the remaining trip, no more bus rides.
Got in about 1:00 am last night. It was a short walk to the hotel. I got a Double Tree cookie. Life is good.
Woke up to the sun shining and went out to breakfast. There is an Original Pancake House three blocks away. I’ve eaten there in Huntington Beach and Utah. Menu was the same but the omelette was made differently. Still good though.
I went for a walk on the river front. They had the World Exposition there in 74. The place still looked good. I walked to the falls and around the clock tower. It was a beautiful day.
After a short rest I went to a local market to buy some fruit which I took back to the hotel to eat. Later on I went to the Onion for dinner. I had some really good cider, a glass of Moon Berries, which had blackberries and blueberries in it and a glass with boysenberries. Dinner a big burger.
On my way to the hotel I stopped at the market and got some things to eat on the train tomorrow. The hotel gave me another cookie. A relaxing day that I needed.
Woke up in McDoel, just over the Oregon border. It’s 26F and there is snow on the ground. Had an interesting hiccup last night at the Emeryville station. I decided to check the status of the train I will transfer to in Portland. The Amtrak app says the train was cancelled due to heavy snowfall. So I ask the ticket agent to check. She said she didn’t show it cancelled but the app was more up to date than her information. She suggested I call Amtrak. I called , got in the automated part, checked on the train and it was cancelled. So I pressed the button to speak with a person and they said they will check on it. They came back saying it’s not cancelled. What to do now? I thanked her, got on my train and decided to check the weather. It was forecast to be in the 40’s with no precipitation.
You know, everyone says to play puzzles to avoid dementia. I think a better option is to take a train. It’s kept me hopping and my mind engaged.
The train is sitting on the side tracks now, waiting for freight trains to pass. The first just went by, now we’re waiting for the second. Looks like there is a good chance for me to miss my connection in Portland.
Had a nice lunch. I was paired with another man and two sisters. The man and one of the sisters were motorcycle riders, so I learned more on the subject than I wanted to.
Well, I made it. I’m on the train to Spokane, even though the Amtrak app now says it’s cancelled. My last post on this trip will be titled Lessons Learned, and one of the lessons concerns the Amtrak app. I get into Spokane at 12:17 am, so I won’t have the bed made.
Dinner will be a cold one because the dining car won’t be attached until we get to Spokane.
Last day in San Francisco. I got up and took the cable car to the wharf, stopping at Lombard St. I was lucky for it stopped right at the top of the crooked part and it sure was crooked. I walked down the side walk, which was straight, taking videos of the cars as they went down. I was lucky when two skate boarders decided to go down and got some good video of them. They went down twice while I was there and I gave them copies of what I recorded.
Then I walked down to the Maritime Museum but it’s closed on Mondays. so I walked the wharf down to the Liberty Ship, SS Jeremiah O’Brien, one of two remaining ships, the other being in Baltimore. It wasn’t crowded and I got to wander all over it. I went down to the engine room which was cool.
I then got a pretzel and sat on a bench to do some people watching. It got a little chilly so I grabbed a cable car back to the hotel. Got a few hours to kill before I head to the station to catch a bus to my next train.
Sorry, no food pictures today. I’ve had my fill of seafood for a while.
Musings of a grumpy old man 