Hector’s Big Birthday Tour – Seattle WA, The Final Four Nights

Friday, May 15^th, 2026

Amtrak 502 – Fast – it says on the timetable. Due in Seattle WA at 11.55, aye right. The 08.30 from Portland OR to Seattle WA required an early rise, silly o’clock. The lunchtime train was double the price. It was agreed we would rendezvous at Portland Hbf before 08.00, just in case. Last time we had to check our bags in, today this was still an option, declined. I managed to secure a cold drink for the train at the single shop. The poor Doris having to make coffee, various, for idiots who could not remember what they had ordered, or even their name as it appeared at one point.

Once again we were marshalled on to the train. A long line had formed when I emerged from the shop to join Dr. Stan and Prof G. Someone did remark on me joining the line in the middle.

I’m on his ticket – shut them up. Why is boarding a train in the West Coast such a palaver?

Once aboard it was made clear that the train would be full, we should not block any seats, fair enough. There was a classic announcement:

The cafe is at the rear end of the train, that’s the opposite to the direction of travel.

For – Tourons.

A scheduled three and a half hours for the equivalent distance of Glasgow to Lancaster. We were almost an hour late arriving at King Street, delay repay? No way, Pedro.

Prof G, who had resisted going to the travel centre to get his Orca Card at the corporate office, Jackson Street, on Monday, was duly marched there. We made it just before the lunchtime closing. Thereafter, 1 Line up to University District.

With check-in at the Marco Polo Motel, yes Dr. Stan and Hector are back there, not until 15.00, the plan was to visit Chili’s South Indian Cuisine once more. So impressed was Prof G, it was declared we would return on Sunday.

Had the train been punctual, we would have had time for a swift half at Big Time Brewery & Alehouse, but having gone 14.00, it was felt that we could blag our way into Marco Polo. Bus 44 took us along the well trodden route towards State Route 99 and the thankfully downhill walk on Aurora Avenue to the Motel.

A more efficient check-in, this time we didn’t have to wait for The Archers to finish.

Prof G decided he wanted to be a tourist, he is not in this saga any more today, but who knows, he might make an appearance regardless, such is A-one.

If Dr. Stan has ever expressed any regrets about our 2018 visit to Seattle WA, it was that we did not get back to Fremont Brewing. A ten minute walk, downhill, we re-enacted our first day here eight years ago.

Two bars, only the main one was open, and the overflow duplicated what was on here anyway.

Last time, they had a different range on the second bar, seemingly no longer the case.

Lush IPA was had in 2018, first up today: Head Full of Dynamite. A 6.8% Hazy IPA – NEIPA with a decent haze. Dry, with a slight sharpness, a bit short of excellent, but hey-ho. The hops: Idaho 7, Idaho 7 Cryo, Cashmere Cryo / LupoMax, Chinook.

With nowhere to set up a tripod, the Hector hired a private paparazzo to secure the required memorial photo. But only after we had replenished our glasses.

Hazeltine, another 7.0% Hazy IPA – NEIPA, proved to be a tropical, juicy delight. The full milkshake haze, a rich body, smooth and an impressive hop balance. The hops: Amarillo, Dolcita, Nectaron, El Dorado Cryo, Krush. First brewery of the day, the temptation to simply put down roots here had to be overcome. Who knows what lies beyond? The brewery now closest to our accommodation, yet the likelihood of a return looks minimal, and the walk home would be uphill.

How better to show Prof G what he was missing than to include him in?

It looks like Prof G is still in this saga today.

Outlander Brewery, our local in 2018, has gone, yet still there was a walk to Fremont proper to pick up Bus 40 to Ballard.

The rush hour, traffic delays, but another opperchancity to take in the statue of Lenin, We stood on this very spot in 2018. The statue, privately owned, was rescued from a scrapyard in Slovakia in 1993.

On the southern extremity of Ballard lies a three venue conundrum. Potentially three breweries at one site. On arrival it started to become clear.

Rooftop Brewing and Maritime Pacific Brewing share different parts of the same building. Also, integral at this site is the Jolly Roger Taproom. A waiter explained that Jolly Roger was always the Taproom for Maritime whose owners wished to retire. A younger family member moved Rooftop in beside them, and so we have it.Another single Hazy option, with the Rooftop brand, Tropical Staycation at 6.9% A Hazy IPA – NEIPA, with the full milkshake haze, a body so thick, almost chewy. The hops need more oomph – Mosaic, Citra, El Dorado.

The flag was not a good omen for 04.00 on Sunday morning. It is all kicking off back home, reports of a penalty awarded to guess who, a blatant penalty denied elsewhere. Penalties used to be so much clearer: hand to ball v ball to hand.

The Famous are well out of it.

It was a whole five minutes walk to Lucky Envelope Brewing in the main Ballard brewery cluster. This was our last brewery port of call in 2018, though our final Bier was at Trailbend Taproom. Marg and I were also there in 2024, however, they no longer stay open as late as before, so them and the adjacent Wheelie Pop Brewing may well be give a miss on this trip.

A good chap behind the bar, who did not recognise the young Doris who so ably served us back in 2018.

Again, a single Hazy option. 11^th Anniversary Ramosa at 6.9%, a DDH Hazy had the appropriate haze and body. An unusually fruity top flavour over a juicy lower one, complex. Ramosa hops, a first.

Seattle Beer Week? Nobody has mentioned this.

Badges, badges, you can keep your stinkin’ badges. (sic)

Four breweries in one day, the final stop had to be in Reuben’s Brews. With the best range of Hazies in the city, this has to be declared – our local. A 22.00 closing time, we were finally able to unwind, and even have more than one Bier.

Krush Krush at 7.0%, featuring Citra and Simcoe in addition to Krush hops, was smooth, comfort drinking. One sip fruity, the next tropical, an adventure in a glass.

For the final stretch, time for the Imperial Hazy IPA – Hazy² (squared), a party in a glass. Full of everything, the hops: Citra, Strata, Comet and Simcoe. One cannot start the day at 8.5%, somehow, it’s OK to finish on this, or even higher.

Straight up the road from Reuben’s, the stop for Bus 44, though Google correctly did show a pedestrian detour due to ongoing roadworks. How can they get this right?