waterfalls | this girl, kc

(…continued from my last post)

I first read about Treehouse Point in Budget Travel’s article: A Treehouse Adventure. It was absolutely perfect timing since I was in the midst of planning our Pacific Northwest adventure. I was so intrigued about living in an actual treehouse, I knew it had to be part of my itinerary. So, Treehouse Point was our next stop after Mt. Rainier.

Treehouse Point is located in Issaquah, Washington, about 30 minutes east of Seattle. When I stayed at Treehouse Point, there were 2 treehouses (Temple of the Blue Moon and Trillium), the main house, and a tent. Everything was constructed by Pete Nelson aka “the treehouse guy”; he also wrote the book, “New Treehouses of the World”. We stayed in the Temple of the Blue Moon, the most popular choice by couples I would assume. To get to the treehouse, you have to cross this swaying bridge, which was kind of scary no matter what time of day it was. Inside the treehouse, there was a big comfortable bed, a small sitting area and an armoire that supplied music (from ipod) and clean linens. There was also a side door that led out to a porch area. For the most part, I had a good time living in the treehouse, but there were a couple of “issues”. One issue was that the windows did not have any screens to keep bugs out. I mean, I get it… treehouse = living with nature, but it just doesn’t make sense to me to build such a nice “luxury” treehouse, but not pay attention to such details as insect proofing. If I wanted to live freely with bugs, I would just go camping. Also, there was a small (shared) bathroom located outside of the treehouse, which ultimately wasn’t that big of a deal since it does make most sense for the bathrooms to be outside; I just didn’t realize beforehand how inconvenient this would be. Continental breakfast was included with our stay, but the selection was very minimal. However, the pastries that Pete’s wife made were very delicious!

Since we were in the area, of course we had to check out another waterfall! Snoqualmie Falls was beautiful from the observation deck, but we decided to also hike down to the river to get a different view. I love waterfalls 🙂

Growing up, I was fascinated with planes … So, of course I made a trip to the Museum of Flight during our time in Washington.

Great exhibits, lots of material to cover, fun simulators – I loved the Museum of Flight! We drove into Seattle afterward and explored the Pioneer Square and International District area. While walking to Green Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant for dinner, I swear I witnessed a drug deal going down. Um, sketchy area.

The next day we explored downtown Seattle before taking a stroll around Green Lake Park. I was surprised by the amount of people outside during the day – I would love to be able to exercise around Green Lake Park everyday since the scenery is so soothing and calming and it is the perfect distance, about 3 miles around. There are so many activities you can do: running/walking, biking, skating, swimming and boating (you can rent pedal boats and canoes).

Being so entranced by Green Lake Park, I was ecstatic that I was going to be living across the street! We stayed in the Greenlake Room of the Greenlake Guesthouse. This was definitely one of the best B&B’s I’ve ever stayed at. Everything you needed was either in your room or just a few steps outside your room. The bed was so comfortable, it was hard to get out of bed in the morning and we definitely used the jacuzzi tub in our bathroom every night. The large bookcase in the hallway held a wide array of DVDs and there was a mini fridge on the other side stocked with water and drinks (genius!). Breakfast was light, yet filling and pastries and fruit were available all day in case you needed a snack.

Seattle is breathtakingly beautiful and it was such a pleasure to walk around its most popular areas. Yes, Pike Place Market is very crowded and touristy, but there are so many great food shops. I bought some cheesecakes from Confectional and a few bottles of flavored olive oil from Sotto Voce. I had clam chowder with a crab roll at Pike Place Chowder and for dessert, I had gelato at Bottega Italiano. I also got a front row view of the fish tossing, which to me is synonymous with Pike Place Market. Too bad I couldn’t get a clear picture of the fish in the air!

I also visited the Seattle Public Library because I heard so much about its architecture and interior decor. I walked to the library from Pike Place Market because on the map, it didn’t look too far away, but the map wasn’t detailed enough to tell me that I would be walking UPHILL for about 5 blocks! I guess the sweat was worth it because the library was amazing! Bonus: padded seats near bookshelves. I wish the libraries I went to when I was younger had these.

I had two last minute changes to our intinerary: dinner at Art of the Table and a sunset kayak tour with Alki Kayak Tours. Being that these were last minute additions, it’s funny how these two events became the highlights of our trip! Definitely meant to be, right?

Art of the Table, home of the “weekend supper club”, is located in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. The supper club is an intimate dining experience, with seating for about only 18 people. There were several tables for 2, a couple for 4 and one large table that seated 6. The kitchen was open for anyone to walk through to the backyard garden or to take pictures of Chef Dustin Ronspies working his magic (like I did). Before dinner, Chef Ronspies provided us with a brief introduction about himself, his background and his passion for using fresh and local ingredients. Most of his supper clubs are themed and when I dined, it was all about the Mediterrenean. As we began each course, he shared the inspiration behind the dish. It was fascinating to hear his stories of traveling the world, especially since they revolved around food. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, from beginning to end. Everything was so fresh and delicious, but the one thing that stood out the most was the saffron ice cream. WOW! Talk about save the best for last.

I usually don’t like booking “tours”, which was why I didn’t initially sign up for the sunset kayak tour with Alki Kayak Tours. I’ve always thought of tours as being too expensive for something you could do yourself for free, with a little bit of research. But I couldn’t get the image of the Seattle skyline during sunset out of my head so I bit my lip and reserved our spots only 2 days in advance. I’m sure glad I did because how can you say no to this?