(soon to be) Famous Flapjack Fandango.
OK, so it's an ostentatious title for a Sunday scooter ride, but I like the alliteration, don't you? And I suppose that "flapjack" is a rather earthy name for delicate, crepe-like Swedish pancakes. But it was a delicious breakfast, a great gathering of good friends, a lovely, sunny day and a grand tour through some out-of-the-way historic areas of NW Seattle.
(Click on title for full story!)
We have Alex to thank for alerting us to the monthly pancake breakfast put on by the Swedish Cultural Center. He told us about it at another scooter gathering at Krispy Kreme last month and it sounded like a breakfast too good to pass up. (He joined us for the meal yesterday but unfortunately couldn't ride due to a flat tire, having sold his only spare the day before, hazards of being in the retail business). So yesterday 15 scooters and 20 of us enthusiasts met around 9am on the lower side of Queen Anne Hill on Dexter Avenue and joined throngs of hungry Swedes lining up for the morning meal. And food wasn't the only attraction, there was even a live 12 piece "orchestra" with violins, guitars, a clarinet and recorder to entertain us plus a group of kids dancing and rolling on the floor.
Around 10am, tummies full of pancakes & lingonberries, we saddled up and headed north. Queenie led us first through "The People's Republic of Fremont" and then on to Ballard which at one time was the 3rd largest city in the Northwest, no kidding! It has long been considered our local Scandinavian capital although the ethnicity is becoming steadily diluted as years go by.
We traveled north on 32nd Avenue NW, a rather hum drum residential area of Ballard but then plunged into the exclusive and little known Blue Ridge Community. The streets are wonderfully hilly and winding and easy to get lost on (I do believe we had to backtrack a little at one point). Bill Boeing developed the area during the depression for some of his executives and it certainly retains a quiet elegance, with some of the most lovely water views in Seattle.
From there we went north a ways on 3rd Avenue NW but Queenie soon turned us off the main thoroughfare back west down into the Carkeek Park district. It was another charming, winding, wooded route taking us all the way to the Park commons where we paused briefly before heading back up, around Bonnie View Park, up 12th Avenue NW and finally back to 3rd.
At that point I took the lead, stopping right away at the AM-PM on Greenwood & 145th due to some urgent requests for "post coffee relief". Next we headed north on Greenwood past the Seattle Golf Club and then took the twisty road past Shoreline Community College and around Shorewood Park. We went over some roughly paved lanes in the Innis Arden subdivision (I don't mean for "rocky" roads to be a feature of all the rides I lead but it does seem to turn out that way, doesn't it?). Unfortunately Orin's PX150 succumbed to the bouncing and shaking by dropping its exhaust pipe off the connection to the cylinder. Good "Boy Scout" that he is, he calmly pulled out his toolkit and sat down on a curb to put it back together.
We all enjoyed the break anyway, and after repairs were completed rode up to the Richmond Beach Road and down to the Park itself. There happened to be a convenient concrete stairway at the NE end of the lot which was perfect to pose on for a group photo. Roger Tango & Hairy parked their classy looking rides in front so any not "in the know" would realize this wasn't just any old group but a Scooter group! Snap kindly took a few pictures, then Click took a couple so Snap could be in a photo too.
From there we motored sedately up the steep hill out of the park, then along the Richmond Beach waterfront and on through The Town of Woodway, known by the residents as "The Quiet Place" (I do hope our little machines didn't disturb the tranquility too much!). The community was actually started in 1912 at which time the only structure on the land was "The Brown Owl Tavern" (which is now a private home). I heard that the first houses built there went for around $3000. Just imagine! The aptly named Woodway Park Road then led us into Edmonds, one of the upscale bedroom communities of Greater Seattle.
Another historic "landmark", Edmonds was founded in 1890 and is now the 2nd biggest city in Snohomish County. Over the years it has turned into a bit of an artist community, hosting jazz concerts, a summer art festival and the performing arts. 2 years ago they opened the very chic Edmonds Center for the Arts that offers a busy and eclectic variety of live entertainment. We traveled along the waterfront, past the Edmonds-Kingston ferry dock, then turned onto Olympic Drive which took us on a meandering course through more shady woods, finally opening out to the "lost village of Perrinville". See Click's very nice description and photo on his "One A Day - Mostly Seattle" website.
Our northern objective was "Tazza Bella", a quaint and cozy coffee house with something of the ambience of C&P Coffee in West Seattle. We shared coffee, and sandwiches and snacks while we warmed up and reminisced about the ride and all things "scooterish". From there we scattered like birds on the wing, heading back south to fill in the rest of our afternoon, only too anxious to do it all again . . and soon!!
Submitted by Doc
