On the Bike Path in Woodinville, WA

Woodinville and the surrounding communities have many bike trails, some along the Sammamish River, others leading all the way to Seattle (21 bike miles (34 km) away).  The Sammamish River Trail follows the river past parks, farms, and vineyards.  Our hotel (and the Chateau Ste Michelle winery where we have lunch and then attend a Lyle Lovett concert in the evening) are near the river in the middle of this trail.  We borrow bicycles from the hotel and start peddling.

Along the bike trail

Along the trail are parks, fields, wineries, playgrounds, and other interesting places to stop and explore.

Places to stop

Fun bridge

Arriving back at our hotel, Willows Lodge, we return our bicycles and explore the extensive and intriguing grounds of the hotel.

Hotel grounds

And, as we explore, we run across a few interesting, whimsical, signs.

Hotel signs

This has been a fun overnight trip to Woodinville: a winery visit, a great concert, and some exploration!

A Weekend Trip to Woodinville, Washington

We just ran across our pictures of a quick trip to Woodinville, WA in the fall.  Woodinville is northeast of Seattle and located on the Sammamish River, historic territory of the Sammamish people.  The town began as a logging community in the late 1800s and is now the home of approximately 130 wineries and tasting rooms.  We are visiting one of the large wineries, Chateau Ste Michelle, for a Lyle Lovett convert on the winery grounds.  We walk over to the winery past fields of lavender and grapes.  At the winery, we meet friends for lunch on the grounds and discover our new favorite go-to white wine:  Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay (Columbia Valley).

Lavender

Grapes

Winery grounds

Soon the sun begins to set, the band sets up, we purchase a bottle of the Indian Wells Chardonnay (2 glasses), and take our seats for the concert.

Sun setting

Night falls

Lyle Lovett

Lyle Lovett has been performing here for many years as part of the summer concert series at the winery and we now know to look for the next year schedule.

Dining in Grand Case: Calmos Cafe

We dine several times at Calmos Cafe.  The cafe originally opened in 1996 and reopened in March of 2023 after being closed due to damage from Hurricane Irma in 2017.  We wandered in in 2023 and dined there several times that year and this trip.

Our first meal we share an appetizer of puff pastry with cheese, followed by triggerfish meneuier, shrimp, and ahi.

Appetizer

Main course

View from our table

Our second meal starts with smoked salmon and tuna tartar, followed by grouper and triggerfish [again].

Starter

Salad, frites

Mains

Today's view

Our third dinner (yes, we're in a rut, but what a great rut!) starts with roasted camembert, followed by triggerfish (again) and duck confit.

Roasted camembert, salad

Main courses

We've enjoyed every restaurant we've dined at in Grand Case, but particularly like the casual atmosphere, fabulous view, and great food at Calmos Cafe!