Part 2 of our West Coast long weekend was a day trip to Washington. The day started out with a three hour drive from Portland north to Seattle. It was a Sunday so traffic was light and the weather beautiful. We had been frequently warned to expect cool, damp or rainy weather, but all we encountered during our entire stay were sunny skies with temps in the 70’s and nights only dipping into the mid 50’s. While in Seattle we went to the top of the famous Space Needle. Built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the 605 foot tall tower is celebrating its 60th anniversary and its worth the $35 admission to ride to the top. You can have a cocktail at the top, enjoy the spectacular observation deck, and look down through the glass floor while the viewing platform rotates giving everyone a panoramic look of downtown, Mount Rainier, and Puget Sound.
When our Space Needle pit stop was over we hopped in the car and headed 83 miles southeast to Roslyn, Washington, home to the oldest bar in the state, The Brick Saloon. Operating since 1889, The Brick and the town of Roslyn served as the backdrop for the Northern Exposure show of the 1990’s. The famous series was shot in Roslyn where it masqueraded as the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska. We even met Steve, a frequent extra on the comedy-drama who on that Sunday was manning the Northwestern Mining CO. otherwise known as Cicely's Gift Shop. We had a great time talking to Steve, as he related stories about his 80’s grunge band, filming the show, and inside stories about Roslyn and The Brick. Oh yeah, The Brick, that’s why we were there.
The Brick has a few unique characteristics that make the tavern a classic. Steve gave us the tip to ask our server for a tour of the basement. She graciously obliged and took us downstairs. There we saw: the entrance to a tunnel that went under the town to facilitate the clandestine movement of goods and “services”; a veritable mountain of wood for the approaching winter; and jail cells, among other cool things. Back upstairs, we also saw a first for us, a 23 foot running water spittoon that ran the length of the bar. Ain’t seen that before. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at The Brick and in Roslyn. We even debated finding a room and staying the night, but it was still early evening so we decided to head back to Portland, a three and a half hour ride. We arrived safe and sound, completing our mission of visiting the oldest taverns in Oregon and Washington, ringing up states 27 and 28 in the process! Our next adventure will take us out of the country…to Greece. I bet we’ll find some old taverns there. Until next time fellow tavern explorers!
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