Burger Seoul

This is my first food truck recommendation.

Located along one of my bicycle routes in Tacoma at South 19th and Prospect Street, this truck specializes in burgers and fries, Korean style. This is the cleanest food truck I have ever seen.

First visit, I had the Bulgogiger and garlic fries. I didn't misspell. Thin sliced bulgogi and a lot of it with a delicious Korean twist along with really good garlic fries that I munched all the way home.

Second and third visit was for the signature Seoul Burger. A generous burger patty is complemented with a Korean-style spicy slaw. This was great on a hot day at our backyard picnic table with a cold beer. I made the mistake of leaving the wrapper on the table and Dakota the dog got it only to learn that she really doesn't like spicy food.

Cooks Tavern

This new Tacoma restaurant inspired me to resume posting.

From the team at CHOW Foods with 5 neighborhood restaurants in Seattle, this eatery really made a great first impression on me and my 17 year-old son on our visit last weekend.

The best part of the experience was the servers seemed to be engaged in their work and ours added to our experience. There were at least 3 menu items that I have to try and on this late-morning visit I decided on the Enchiladas Desayuno. Aidan had the Tavern Burger, which he rated very high and his sample size for burgers is vast. Enchiladas were just what I wanted, brunchy and flavorful without being too spicy. Next on my list are the brisket sandwich named 1/2 Smoke and Cochinita Pibil.

The "feel" was busy without being too loud and I was very comfortable being there. Parking is limited, but if you have to park in the neighborhood and walk a few blocks it is a very nice neighborhood. Only 6 blocks or so from the heart of the Proctor Business District.

The Seattle Great Wheel !

This new Seattle waterfront attraction opened this summer (2012) and the only comment I have heard was about lines to get on that reminded one of Disneyland. With family in town for Thanksgiving, we decided to take the ride.

Wow. I think this will be a hit. The Seattle Great Wheel is a 16-story wheel with 42 climate-controlled gondolas. The views are pretty spectacular during the 4-lap ride. I thought the staff that took care of guests did an excellent job. For example, on boarding we were shown a button to push in case of emergency. As we left the gondola we remarked how much we liked it and the agent said "You should come back for a night ride". I'll be doing that and I will recommend this especially for out-of-town visitors because it gives you an aerial view of downtown and the islands just west of Seattle.

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we found the visit to be a breeze. We parked right on the street on Alaskan Way, got our paid parking sticker and walked across the street to the ticket window. Our wait in line was only about 15 minutes under the covered area below the wheel.

For fun, we took the Edgar Martinez exit from I-5 and drove by the stadiums to Hwy. 99 north, then took the Seneca exit and blocked around to the right to get to Alaskan Way.

From here, it is a short walk to Pike Place Market, one of Seattle's top visitor attractions.

Chetzemoka

On a beautiful April Sunday, we drove 10 minutes from our Tacoma home and walked on to the new ferry on the Point Defiance to Vashon Island trip, Chetzemoka, just for the ride over and back. Chetzemoka is the first of the Kwa-di Tabil class ferries in the fleet. Originally assigned to the Port Townsend to Keystone route on November 2010, she was moved to Tacoma in October 2011.


For just 9 bucks, two people can ferry over and back and get out on the water for about an hour. At the end of your trip (back at Point Defiance) there are lots of options in this gem of a park.




Point Defiance Park is one of my favorite places for a run in my 23 years of running. There are 3 pretty well marked trails that take you through the beautiful urban forest for 3 to 4 miles, a long run for me. The allure of these trails is that you're never really sure exactly where you are, how far you've run or how far you are from the finish line, so for me the run goes by quickly. I like to start at the Pagoda and pick up the trails at the Rhododendron Garden just after the Zoo on the left side of the road on Five-Mile Drive. Thre is a pretty steep incline here for a short distance and after that it is all rolling terrain.

Mt. Rainier National Park

The day started cloudy and overcast as it sometimes does during summer in Seattle.

If you're waiting for the sun to come out, take the drive up to the Sunrise Visitor Center at 6,400 feet elevation, the highest elevation that one can reach by vehicle in Mt. Rainier National Park. By the time you return to the Puget Sound area, the sun will most likely be out. On this day, the park was in full sun.

The drive from Kent or Tacoma is about 2 hours, so find Highway 167 where it connects with Highway 410 just north of Puyallup. The route takes you through the growing communities of Sumner and Buckley, then Enumclaw, the last town before the park. A good pit stop in Enumclaw is a very nice Starbucks on the left just before you leave town. From Enumclaw, the park is 39 miles and the Sunrise entrance (fee required) is 5 minutes further. After paying the $15.00 fee, we were on our way on the 14-mile journey to Sunrise. Open from July to late September.

This is the view from 6,100 feet along the road at Sunrise Point, just a few miles before Sunrise. Here, you'll find a parking lot with glorious views and the trail to Upper Palisades Lake Camp.

At Sunrise, you'll find several trails for hiking including the 93-mile Wonderland Trail that circles the entire park. We didn't have that much time, and easily found the Sunrise Rim Trail with beautiful views of the mountain and wildflowers. This trail was wide and fine for us to do in running shoes.


By mid-September this year, the visitor center was closed for the season, so remember to bring food and water.

Omak, Washington

This is a part of our state that doesn't see as many visitors as the Seattle area, but it has many reasons to visit. Our reason to visit the Okanogan was to see family that we hadn't seen in at least a year.

There aren't a lot of hotels, but there is a great Best Western in Omak where we spent the night. This is a new facility opened within the last 3 years and the facilities are top-notch.

Our family really enjoyed an authentic Mexican restaurant housed in the former A&W named Tequila. I'll always remember this meal with Jake and his family who are regulars there and because it was my first taste of octopus. This is a Mexican restaurant with a more authentic emphasis on seafood specialties.

Our route over I-90, the north on Hwy. 97 at Cle Elum is scenic, but on the way home I wanted to take the North Cascades Highway which had just opened after being closed for the winter. This has got to be one of the most beautiful drives in the state. Don't miss the Mazama Store!

Rosewood Cafe in Tacoma

Rosewood Cafe is a great little neighborhood restaurant that our family enjoys often. Mother's Day lunch was just right. The staff was truly engaged and the food has always been fresh and uncomplicated. The Salmon Caesar Salad, Rick's French Dip and Split Pea soup all got rave reviews from the family tasting panel.

I like the location near the Proctor Business District and the University of Puget Sound, the Beautiful Angle posters and the wine selection that features a lot of Northwest wines. This neighborhood is also home to Metropolitan Market, the source of ingredients for the cheese plates that we offer during the Tuesday night guest welcome reception at Plaza by the Green. Many of our guests ask where to find the cheeses or Peppadew peppers, Castelvetrano olives, savory jams and the like.

After lunch, it is not far from the Museum of Glass or Point Defiance Park, 2 of Tacoma's top attractions.