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Hidden Gems

September 12th, 2014

I always like to go on vacation to a place where I can cook my own food, or I can find good food and great coffee out and about. Yesterday we headed over to Volunteer Park and stopped at Victrola Coffee on the way, when I saw they had single origin espresso I knew it would be a good cup of coffee, and it didn’t disappoint. I tend to find most coffee shops have coffee that’s far too “bright” for my liking, I tend to prefer a dark chocolatey roast. Since Mr Chiots and I roast our own coffee, we try single origin espressos quite often, though they often lack the complexity of a blend, they are quite good in their own right.
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We decided to stop at St Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral since the conservatory didn’t open for a few minutes and it was recommended to us. I need to read up a little more on this building because it’s really unique and interesting.
seattle day four 3
After that we went to Volunteer Park to see the conservatory, which is under construction, but the corpse flower and half of the building was still open.
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The dahlia garden was right across the street and was fabulous, I love that the dahlia society takes the time to plants and label so many wonderful varieties in one place.
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We then stumbled upon a gem that has never been mentioned to me, at least not that I remember. I have visited Seattle many times and have read lots of blog posts on things to do and see while there. The water tower observatory was never mentioned, which is rather odd since it was wonderful. There is pretty much a 360 degree view, you can see the city, Mt Rainier, and the Cascades. There are a few steps to climb, but not enough to keep it off of anyone’s list of places to go while in the city.
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Since we were still in the neighborhood we decided to go Southern for lunch at the Wandering Goose. A delicious salad with eggs, smoked tomatoes, buttermilk dressing and fried chicken was the perfect meal to fuel our next garden visit.
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We hopping in the car and headed up to the Dunn Gardens, which was night, very historic. I can only imagine how beautiful they are in spring when the azaleas and rhododendrons are in bloom.
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After getting stuck in traffic for and hour, we decided to call it a day and head back to our bungalow to eat the double chocolate cake we got to go from the restaurant. We were both tired and wanted to rest up for our trip down to see Mt Rainier today.

Have you ever discovered hidden gems while traveling?

One Comment to “Hidden Gems”
  1. Nebraska Dave on September 12, 2014 at 9:11 am

    Susy, sounds like you are really having a great time. I am fascinated by how many garden things you are finding in the Seattle area. During my youth days, our vacations were spent fishing in Minnesota. It never got boring for me. The beauty of the water against the shore line trees with an occasional view of wild life feeding or drinking along the shore were majestic. Many picnic lunches were eaten along shorelines in secluded rustic places while fishing. Those were very memorable days. Today my favorite spot to contemplate life is at Terra Nova Gardens around the picnic table. Although Terra Nova Gardens is surrounded by city, it is a secluded area with many trees around the perimeter. It is becoming a place of sanctuary for me.

    Have a great vacation touring day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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