Kayaking Lake Union!

What do outdoorsy types do when they have a full day in Seattle and the sun is actually shining? Go kayaking, of course! And on our way to New York City, that's exactly what we did.

The initial leg of our expedition to New York began with a flight from Juneau to Seattle. Scotty and I had both worked all day, then went home to collect our bags (mine with everything I thought I would need for the next seven weeks!) and somehow made it to the airport an hour before our flight took off at eight in the evening.

We got into Seattle around 11:30 p.m., picked up our rental car, and drove to the Edgewater Hotel. Another Hotwire "find", the Edgewater is within walking distance of downtown and Pike Place Market. But- light sleepers be warned- it's built right next to a train track, which is something to consider if you don't want to shell out extra dough for the water side (we didn't). That night, however, spirits were high and Scotty and I agreed that we liked the sound of the train, its whistle a salute to a bygone era. (I'll let you decide how long that kind of thinking lasted...)

View from our room at the Edgwater Hotel

On the plus side, the Edgewater's rooms are small but very cute with a north woods cabin theme and gas fireplaces. They also have an awesome bar. Here I am, admiring the decor:

In the bar of the Edgewater Hotel

The next day, we woke up refreshed and ready to kayak. Almost. First we walked downtown for coffee and a bit of shopping (there aren't any many places to clothes shop in Juneau). At lunchtime we retrieved our rental car from the hotel and drove north on I-5 for about 5 miles to Agua Verde Café and Paddle Club.

Agua Verde is situated on Portage Bay near the north end of Lake Union and on the University of Washington campus. Rather than try to describe the layout of these waterways, here's a map.

Full credit to Scotty for finding this little gem online. Not only does Agua Verde rent kayaks for very reasonable rates, their business doubles as a Mexican lunch spot, with an emphasis on fresh, healthy food. Yep, my man found us a place where we could kayak AND eat Mexican food on my birthday.

The dock at Agua Verde Paddle Club

Though Portage Bay and Lake Union have ocean connections, in good weather and low winds the current is calm. We paddled side by side towards Lake Union, our only direction to have fun and avoid boats because they have the right of way. (They didn't need to tell me twice!)

We passed underneath the very bridge we'd driven across on the highway and cruised past a small village of houseboats. I could totally live here:

Houseboat on Lake Union, Seattle

After we passed the houseboats we cruised into sight of Gas Works Park. A 19-acre park, opened to the public in 1975, Gas Works is a former Seattle Gas Light Company coal gasification plant. Our Seattleite friends had taken us there a some months earlier to see the city lights at night, so it was fun to see the park during the day and from a new perspective.

Scotty paddling in front of Gas Works Park

Kayaking is a great workout! On the way back we were going against the wind and got a bit tired by then. But we still managed to enjoy the view and cross the lake to look at more houseboats on the other side.

That night we met up with our good friends, Annie and John, at this amazing restaurant. Scotty and I found it by accident almost four years ago during a layover. It's pricey but so worth it for a special occasion. It was a great birthday!

The next morning we were back on a plane bound for Newark, and after that a drive to our next stop, camping in the Catskills. I'll be posting soon about what upstate New York camping is like (a first for us!), a great peak to climb, and if Woodstock really is where all the hippies still go.