August 2nd: The Schlep to Dingfelder’s Deli in Seattle
By: Steve Goode
Edited By: Judi Goode
August 2nd- Ride to Dingfelder’s Deli in Seattle, WA
It was a one-hour ride to the center of Seattle, on a sunny cool morning which was just what I had hoped for. I arrived early, as always, and set myself up to take the mandatory photos, etc. A few minutes later a representative of the Jewish community showed up and we had a very nice conversation. A few minutes later, Vance Dingfelder arrived along with Laura Miller, a daughter of a friend of mine. And right on schedule our conversations turned to putting people and places together.
Half way into our conversations, a reporter showed up at the deli to interview me. I casually mentioned a friend of mine who lives in Boston by name. The reporter immediately stopped me and said that she went to college with his daughter and that she had stayed at their home. For the millionth time, it’s a small Jewish world!!
Vance spent 2 hours with us, kibitzing and talking about the beginnings of his deli and the importance of a good deli in Seattle. He was a wonderful host and served a mean brisket sandwich, with coleslaw on top, just like the delis in New York that he used to go to as a kid. Again, a New Yorker making the West Coast more welcoming to fellow Jewish visitors.
I was asked where I was heading next, and I told them Fargo, ND, which was approximately 1,500 miles east of Seattle with no delis in between. I commented to everyone that I wasn’t sure how I was going to survive!!
I left Seattle and I picked up Rt. 2 just outside of Seattle and rode thru the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. One of the cuter towns along the route is Leavenworth, WA. It has the distinct personality of a Bavarian town. Every single building is designed to look like you are riding into a Bavarian town in the Alps. Even the chain grocery stores were included in the Bavarian design. Of course, the hotel prices were double what they should have been since because of the “cute” atmosphere so I decided to keep riding and find more reasonably priced hotels. I figure that since I am a solo rider, I really care less about cuteness than reasonable prices and so I motored onto Wenatchee, a working-class town.
