Four blissfully kid-free adults hop on bikes one sunny Friday afternoon in Seattle. Cruise by Green Lake, whiz through lush greenery along Ravenna park, onto the Burke Gilman and through a pleasantly unexpected and well marked detour through beautiful UW. As gorgeous as the ride is, beauty is not the goal. Nor is it fitness. The goal is drinking.

First stop is Aqua Verde along the canal. Badass Margaritas all around and out to the deck. It’s still early enough that it’s not packed. The drinks make the sun and conversation brighter. Travel seems to the a reoccurring convo-theme. Travel for work, family, friends, sharing crazy outlandish and all too true stories….the kind of stories that should have come to a halt after age 25.

Back on the bikes for the second stop on our drinking progressive; Westward. This place is getting lots of talk. It’s straight out of a scene from any San Francisco hot spot. Indoor/outdoor seating, minimalist menu, adirondack chairs off to the side around a fire pit, waterfront. It’s the type of place where the menu features seemingly singular foods like butter and lettuce in plural form.

We’d like to have a drink, can we do that? Well, you can’t sit in the adirondack chairs unless everyone has a chair to themselves (crowd control?)…we will check your options. A minute later; We are clearing a table for you. It will just be a minute. Ten minutes later; The table is ready.

The people here do not look very Seattle. No one looks like they biked here (except the four foul mouthed, slightly drunk people who DID bike here). No one is wearing REI. No one has tattoos or piercings. Either people from Bellevue have flocked here or Seattle has evolved to more stylish status. The patrons at Westward fall into three categories:

Metro Preppy; fitted plaid shirt, designer shades & dock siders

Retired but Well Maintained; Layered collared shirts, silk fabrics, dock siders

Hipsters with enough funds to care about looking good; pegged rolled-up pants, edgy T Shirt with a button down, fedora, dock siders

The waiter brings cocktails but there will be no lettuces or butters on order as the next high end watering hole is beckoning. Fremont Brewing. Delicious beer and a much more typical Seattle scene with kids and bikes and and the comforting presence of tattoos and skater style baseball hats (with the flat bill on the hat…is that skater style? not sure).

After three strong drinks at three different quintessential Seattle locations, the bike back STRAIGHT UPHILL is a breeze and feels amazing.

Oh, wait, now wine tasting is open……dock siders not required.