Olympia Washington
Base Camp May 23 - 28, 2005
We Land
As I mentioned on the
previous page, we literally rode up at exactly the same time as Bill.
Exactly. That was pretty bizarre, really, but worked out really well.
Bill had got off a plane and stopped by a rental place to pick up his ride for
the week. We had decided to use Olympia, Washington as our Base Camp for
the week's rides.
I
had worked in Olympia in 2000 and chosen it for its ideal location.
Olympia is past the worst of the traffic in Seattle (which is BAD) and it is
right on the edge of the Olympic mountains as well as being close to Rainier and
St. Helens. We stayed at the Extended Stay America
(Extended Stay America 1675 Mottman Rd SW
Tumwater, WA Phone: 360-754-6063)
which was blazingly mediocre. It was nice and clean but it didn't have
even the basics of Extended Stay suites (things like sugar, salt, pepper).
Still, it was a good clean room in a great location. I'd stay there again.
Garrett
took the opportunity to pick up his Brand NEW CBR600rr with Tribal Paint (the
b@stard) while I cleaned up and took a brief nap.
About Olympia
Let me talk for a few minutes
about Olympia Washington. Olympia is a really neat little town.
Olympia is the capital of Washington and it is a very picturesque little city.
It is located on the water and on clear days there are terrific views of Mt.
Rainier. Olympia is a quirky little hippie town and I love it that way.
Admittedly, I am not only NOT a
hippie
I am generally pretty much a free market capitalist peeg. Still, I love
being in places where free thought is encouraged and where the locals are
colorful and uninhibited.
Life is short and I feel
sorry for people who hide in the suburbs (or in their gated high rise in the
inner
city) and don't get out and expose themselves to different people with different
ideas. Olympia is the weirdest place in Washington in my opinion . . and
that is saying a LOT. The other upshot is the town is so liberal and so
soft that it is almost completely safe. Most everyone who would be a
criminal is high or otherwise drugged (and it's obvious) so the chances of
getting jumped in Olympia are very slim. They're also used to the locals
and their level of 'softness' - so the thought that you'd actually stand up to
someone harassing you or begging for money or whatever just shocks the living
hell out of them. Basically, a guy like me can relax in Olympia. Nobody is
gonna tell me I'm nuts, no one is gonna give me a hard time for being
independently minded and practically NOBODY is gonna mess with me. It is a
FAR cry from a town like Houston (where I grew up) where you are either
lock-step with the mind numbing suburbs or you are fresh meat for some truly bad
people.
There are two places in
Olympia that every person must visit. One is
The Spar, a fantastic local
restaurant. The Spar is downtown and is THE place to get fed.
The
food is fantastic,
the
locals are friendly, the waitresses are perfect. I can't say enough good
things about this place. It is my favorite parts of Olympia personified in
a single place. It is great for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Visit
Olympia and don't stop at the Spar and you've wasted your time.
The second, and in no way
less important stop is The Filling
Station Espresso (728 E. 4th Ave Olympia, WA 98506).
The Filling Station is exactly what it sounds like, a remodeled
gas
station with drive up windows that serve, BAR NONE,
the best cup of coffee on earth.
There are other coffee places in Olympia, and some are quite good - but NOTHING
compares to The Filling Station. They make coffee drinks to absolutely DIE
for.
If
you like Starbucks (shoot yourself in the head) you have NO idea what good
coffee is like. Washington State is full of small coffee houses of all
makes and models, but I can honestly say that having spent over a year in
Olympia / Seattle / Vancouver BC and Portland that I have found no better cup of
coffee than The Filling Station. Every morning I would wake up around 7am,
get dressed and ride down to The Filling Station,
get
myself a Double Cappuccino and walk around downtown - it was just perfect.
Friendly people, great coffee, neat environment and unpretentious.
Plus which, they put up with all of our antics when I brought the whole crew over. Here is a picture of Bill preparing for the Honda CBR600rr suppository. The CBR is a terrific bike, so long as you don't mind riding in the pushup position with a stiff plank being forced sideways between your cheeks.