Day 4

We started our morning meeting Marty - Evergreen Escapes and Lisa - Washington Tourist Board who would take us on the next part of our adventure.

As we passed through the suburbs, Marty explained that Lake Union is freshwater and Puget Sounds is cold water and Ballard Hill is where it connects.

To get to Ballard Hill, we drove through Fremont and Wallingford, both artsy fun neighbourhoods. The troll in Fremont was built and installed in 1990 alongside landscaped areas to combat homelessness and make the area a bit prettier. They built it around a VW Beetle and it is a big tourist attraction today.

Ballard Hill is a very family friendly and farmers market / boho style neighbourhood with lots of nordic history after the fisherman came over and created the community it is today. It is more affordable than most areas but it is starting to get pricier as it becomes a hotspot to live and raise a family.

Ballard (Hiram M Chittenden) Locks - Opens for boating every day of the year for kayaking, paddle boarding and yachts. Also home to the Carl S English Botanical Garden and is a lovely place to go and have a picnic and admire the scenery.

National Nordic Museum - Opened in 2018. Talks about history & culture spanning 12,000 years. Organised around a central Fjord Hall with galleries upstairs. Seattle has very close ties to all 5 Nordic regions and people still come from Norway to live here today.

Leaving Ballard Hill to get to Woodinville, Marty explained that there are now 150 wineries in the area, however the grapes aren't grown here as it isn't hot enough, they are grown over on the Eastern side. 95% of the wine produced for Washington State can be tasted in Woodinville.

We met Adam from Woodinville Wine Country and he led us though some wine tasting and a beautiful lunch at Maryhill Winery before we went across to a very different venue, the Darby Winery, that was much more modern and had it's own speakeasy built in to the bookshelves. 

We made our way across to a Willow Lodge - Opened in 2000, 84 rooms, luxurious but also eco friendly as the building and interior is made from recycled materials.

The front entrance is warm and welcoming and around the back the Fireside Lounge is open for happy hour and welcomes local musicians for entertainment in the evenings.

We viewed a 'nicer style' king-size room and suite during our visit. Both had a king size bed, sunken bath and shower, seating areas with a large TV and a small bar with tea and coffee making facilities. The apartment had separate areas and a 3 seater sofa in the lounge. Both had balconies with outdoor furniture.

We then went outside to the beautiful landscaped gardens and met their truffle hunting pigs. There is a farm to fork restaurant called The Herb Farm with a 9 course tasting menu. The hotel also has a restaurant called The Barking Frog with a very similar ethos to the local food movement. There are also lots of other independent restaurants within walking distance. There is a spa with 6 treatment rooms, an outdoor hydrotherapy pool plus a sauna.

Our final stop of the day was the Gilham Shopping Village, located in Issaquah and is made up of Frontier style buildings that houses independent businesses selling everything from clothes to plants. There are also a couple of restaurants and bars and we enjoyed a local dinner here at Wells & Table with Lisa before checking in to our next hotel, the Fairfield Inn.

Issaquah is another family friendly town with lots of quirky things to do like troll hunting and visiting the Boehms Chocolate Factory.Leer más