I love staying in random cities I've never really considered visiting. When we decided to Amtrak from Portland to Seattle we thought we'd make a pit stop along the way at a new destination. With its location on the southern tip of Puget Sound, and being the Washington State Capital, we figured Olympia, WA would be a lovely place to check out. Its preponderance of B&Bs was a good sign (must have lots of B&B-type visitors!).We decided on the Swantown Inn for two main reasons - it was walking distance to Olympia's wee downtown, and it offered on-site massages (including prenatal!) in The Attic Spa. So a couple hours after we left Portland we disembarked in Olympia (actually, in a neighboring town), saw a public bus that said "Olympia," and climbed aboard. The ride was only $1 (versus $30 for a taxi) so it was a real score.
The driver was so nice and helped us figure out where to get off - smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It was one of those "hope we're in the right place!" moments as we carried our luggage through the light drizzle and past cute little bungalows. We turned a corner and voila - a huge, gorgeous 19th century Victorian house, our new home for the next two nights!
And it did not disappoint. The owners, Nathan and Casey (and adorable five-month-old daughter Lauren) were terrific hosts, and their breakfasts were the best. I still crave their cranberry scones and decadent french toast! The Attic Spa is a total score - a brilliant way to use the attic space, and a real delight. (I wish there were some photos from their site I could include here). We had a 30 minute foot soak while sipping hot tea and nibbling chocolate truffles. Delightful! Then we each had a great massage and then, I think, took a nap (because our room, the Percival, was so incredibly comfy). Now that's a vacation.
Between the B&B being so nice and the weather being so cold, we didn't explore the town a whole lot, although we did visit the lovely state capital. I'm sure Olympia and its environs have much to offer, but all I can really attest to is the lovely Swantown Inn. Here's Eric at the bus stop as we await our ride back to the Amtrak station. Onward to Seattle!
3 comments:
Oh Cari that sounds so great!
Thank you so much for the kind words Cari! We actually have a professional photographer coming this week to take photos of the Inn and Day Spa. Guests like you guys make this a lot of fun and interesting.
We have some photos now on the Day Spa web site. It was pretty hard to get some good ones, but now your friends can see the shower and relaxation room.
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