At long last meeting Mel and visiting Tom in his new home in Seaview – West Seattle.

The trip started with the two-hour drive (120 miles) from Sedona to Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. Fortunately, Southwest offers direct flights to Seattle and, gate to gate, the flight duration for the roughly 1,100 miles is a little under three hours. Getting from the Seattle–Tacoma airport to Seaview added just about half an hour.

Seattle welcomed us with Beautiful Weather

One of the absolute highlights of the trip was the stroll through West Seattle’s Lincoln Park (135 acres alongside the Puget Sound), offering views of the Southworth-Fauntleroy Ferry, Fauntleroy Cove, Blake Island, and South Beach on Bainbridge Island.

Hamilton Viewpoint Park, Don Armeni Boat Ramp, and Alki Beach are all located in North Admiral, West Seattle’s oldest neighborhood, located in the far North of the peninsula. Hamilton Viewpoint Park and the Don Armeni Boat Ramp (at sea level) offer the most beautiful views of the Seattle skyline, the Space Needle, and Queen Anne. The Don Armeni Boat Ramp is just east of Alki Beach, where on a cold, stormy day in November of 1851, the first white settlers had arrived.

A New Home

Tom’s new home is a modern and environmentally friendly, sea view cottage. The solar-ready smart home is crafted with a heavy reliance on green and repurposed materials, striking the perfect blend of farmhouse and industrial design, featuring unique custom woodwork, stainless appliances, classic tile work, and quartz countertops. It is only a few blocks away from local markets, eateries, and boutique shopping, with Lincoln Park and Alki Beach nearby.
We got treated to an all home made dinner including Lamb Meatballs and homemade Tzatziki and also got to meet the newest member of the family, a cat named Athena.

West Seattle .. Culinary

We got an awesome sandwich for lunch at Husky Deli & Catering & Ice Cream and later had dinner, just across the street at Talarico’s Pizzeria. They have super tasty huge slices of NYC-style pizza and a good choice of IPAs as well.

Coffee Break at C & P

C & P at 5612 California Avenue SW, is within walking distance from Tom’s new place and proudly serves Lighthouse Roasters’ fine coffees. If you like coffee and are in the area, don’t miss it.

The Grove, West Seattle Inn

We stayed at the Grove, a clean place at a good location, with friendly staff and excellent accommodations (free breakfast, fast WIFI, etc.). The Grove first opened in 1962, when Seattle hosted the World’s Fair and the landmark Space Needle opened. It reopened in Summer 2011 and yes, they are taking safety precautions against COVID-19.

The best little record store, coffee bar, and diner in West Seattle

It’s always the hardest part ..

As always, leaving Seattle is a bitter-sweet moment. Yeah, it was time time to go home, but kissing a child goodbye never gets any easier. At least we got the pleasure to see Mount Ranier up and close on an otherwise uneventful trip back to Sedona, Arizona.