80 » OpenRoad Driver
O N E TA N K W O N D E R
Eastside Charms
KIRKLAND-REDMOND-BELLEVUE
Words and photos by Lauren Kramer
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We Vancouverites regularly head to Seattle
when we have a free weekend, a destination
just far enough to feel “away” yet close
enough to make it a decent commute for a
quick change of scene. If you’re anything like
me, you’ve knocked off all the city’s major
attractions over the years, from Pike Place
Market to the Space Needle. But here’s what
you don’t know: while Seattle swallows the
limelight from the cities around it, there’s lots
to explore on the periphery, specifically the
tri-city region that straddles the east side of the
glistening Lake Washington. Known locally as
Eastside, the cities of Kirkland, Bellevue and
Redmond are charming in their own right,
with a wide array of shopping, dining and
outdoor activities to keep weekend visitors
engaged and excited. On a recent three-day
weekend I zipped between the three, sampling
the best of what each has to offer.
D AY O N E - K I R K L A N D
My husband and I selected Kirkland as our home base, checking
into the Heathman Hotel on Kirkland Avenue. The privately owned
boutique hotel offers complimentary bikes for guests, a big attraction
because it meant we could commute south without hitching bikes to
the back of our vehicle. Newly renovated and smack in the heart of
downtown Kirkland, the hotel combines attention to detail, farm-to-
fork dining, and luxurious amenities with a property that’s intimate
enough to feel personal and welcoming. We ditched our luggage and
hopped straight on those bikes to explore, pedalling briefly through