Washington State! Live Music, Cider, Chihuly Glass & graffiti in the big city.

michellepfeiffer
Sep 22, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Sep 24, 2025

Wheel Line Cider - Harvest Host

Hey friends! So happy you are here! We are Pat and Michelle, born and raised in Minnesota, and currently taking our 'GAP' year in our 50's. We have decided to leave normal life behind in search of something different... We recently launched full-time travel life in our Brinkley travel trailer with our dogs, Indie and Louie.

August 14 - 20, 2025

We started our Washington State Adventures with an overnight at Wheel Line Cider in Ellensburg, WA. Thanks AGAIN for another great spot, Harvest Hosts!

Maryanna welcomed us like old friends and told us her family's story. We got our own tour of the grounds and learned about the hands-on process her family uses to bring the goods to our glass. So fun! We tasted out of the Airstream 'Mobile Cider Bar' and got some goodies to take with us for unwinding after travel days. Then we walked the farm property at golden hour with the dogs...the quiet, wide open spaces and fresh air were so nice after a day on the road!

Loved our stay! Thank you for your hospitality, Maryanna and Wheel Line Cider.

Golden Hour on the Wheel Line Cider Farm, Ellensburg, WA

Seattle, WA

Our next stop...the big city. Seattle. We originally had a whirlwind three days planned, but quickly added a fourth night to our camping reservation as we are noticing that picking up and moving every couple of days is a lot. Especially with a full 'schedule' of things to do while in the city. Having fun can be exhausting. :)

We had back-to-back concert tickets for Saturday/Sunday nights and saw

The Lumineers (with The Head and The Heart!) at T-Mobile Park

and Trampled By Turtles (with Shakey Graves!) at The Woodland Park Zoo.

Two amazing outdoor concerts with perfect weather (nope it didn't even rain!)

The Lumineers lit up the night!

We could not have asked for anything better...we had never been to The Lumineers before, and they blew our minds...the clip above was just one of many we grabbed during the concert. The night was magical. All the other artists were their incredible selves as well...we are turning into Trampled Groupies (ha ha, and of course they remind us of home), Head and the Heart are a longtime fave (Rivers til I reach you...), and Shakey was his usual vibrant, awesome self...(Let's take a chance, yeah, and roll the bones) - there was no one not dancing. Gotta love him.

There's just something about live music, feeling so lucky! What a great reminder to buy the tickets when opportunity presents itself. It just never disappoints!

With one day left to explore, we headed into the big city with Chihuly on our minds...

Seemed like the perfect way to truly appreciate the Pacific Northwest and round out our art in the big city tour. You guys. The Glasshouse and garden are like nothing we have ever seen before. This entire museum and its exhibits are full of light and color.

We have been admirers of Dale Chihuly for a long time. I (Michelle) have loved him from the time I first set out to The University of Puget Sound in the summer of 1992. Seeing his work up close and in such volume was just incredible. The scale and scope of his work is beyond prolific. The way the glass mingles with the outdoor garden plants and vegetation is inexplicably perfect.

I was ready for my phone to tell me I could not take any more pictures because I literally just couldn't stop. These images may not do the work justice. You will probably have to go see it for yourself (do it!) Color and light and glass and curiosity and ingenuity. There are no words.

Chihuly Magic.

Oh, almost forgot...as for 'graffiti'. It is literally eVeRyWheRe in this city. What the hell. Like spray.paint.on.every.thing. Now don't get us wrong, we are all about freedom of expression and being an artist and no censorship. And in the interest of keeping things positive, we will simply add this as an observation we couldn't leave out. Interesting. Graffiti. Everywhere. Please don't paint on trees.