- Brian and I visited the Northwest over the weekend. I was born and raised there. I left Washington when I was 21. I want to go back, and this trip was meant to remind me of why.
- We were driven from SeaTac to the Seattle ferry terminal, and took the boat across the sound to Winslow. The sun was down by the time we reached the other side. And there at the end of the exit corridor was my dad! Yay.
- When we arrived at my dad’s, we were given some ice cream, then we sat around the table with dad and his wife L. and just chatted for like an hour. But we were pretty tired from a long day, and headed to bed around midnight or so.
- In the morning we had some bacon and eggs, then we took the ferry back over to Seattle to spend the day there. The weather was lovely. Had lunch at a brewpub near Pike Place Market with a couple of my interweb friends. Mmmm crab chowdah.
- Walked around the Farmer’s Market. This place always reminds me of field trips there in junior high. Being grown-up gives me a new appreciation for the fresh fish and produce they sell. We came back at the end of the day and I bought a ridiculous amount of king salmon (on ice), two jars of huckleberry jam (one for my dad), and an incredibly cheap large bouquet of flowers.
- There really is a Starbucks every hundred feet or so in downtown Seattle. I am only slightly exaggerating. Every time we turned a corner, there was another one. We didn’t enter a single one. We got coffees and free ice water from Tully’s. It was a hot day.
- Walking along the waterfront, I noticed that the water was startlingly blue. It reminded me of the very polluted SF Bay and how Puget Sound was cleaned up thirty years ago. The Olympic mountains in the distance made me very happy. The big tall cedar and pine trees were so familiar. Mt. Rainier floating on the southern horizon was like an old pal. Sigh.
- Sat in Pioneer Square drinking our espresso spinses, looking at the totem pole, briefly considering the 90-minute Underground Seattle tour I still have yet to do. There wasn’t enough time.
- We took the free downtown bus to Battery, then walked the rest of the way to the Seattle Center and the Space Needle. Looked at the Fun Forest where I spent many a weekend on the carousel. I wanted to take Brian up to the observation deck, but the line looked to be about two hundred people deep, all to ride in two small elevators. No thanks. Oh well. Next time for sure.
- Rode the MONORAIL!! from Seattle Center back to Westlake Mall. I explained to Brian how the MONORAIL!! came about during the World’s Fair here in (I think) 1963. The MONORAIL!! would be much cooler if they hadn’t covered the windows with ads, making it impossible to even see the passing view. Stupid.
- Finally grabbed the 4:20 ferry back to Winslow to avoid the commuter rush. My dad picked us up on the other side and the four of us went out for fish and chips in Poulsbo. More laughs to be had at dinner. Back at the house we were eager for some sitting-around time.
- The next day we kinda loafed around most of the day and stuck around the house and town. My dad was busy all morning helping his neighbor build a gate for his fence. Brian and I took the dog for a walk and discovered acres of blackberry briars. We came back shortly thereafter and picked about two pounds worth, which I later baked into a bigass blackberry crisp.
- Also marinated about half of the salmon all day in lemon juice, yogurt, and rosemary from the backyard. We grilled it outside for dinner. It was unbelievably good and seemed to have no bones. Must have been filleted by the experts.
- Brian and I did martial arts practice for about an hour outside before dinner. I learned a couple of good evasion moves and worked on kicking. Also training outdoors in the grass with bare feet is excellent.
- There was a massive spider on the outside of the house all day. I kept an eye on it. Also the lavender bush in the backyard was besieged by bees. These things don’t bother me nearly as much as mosquitoes.
- While eating dinner and dessert, we watched the Mariners game on tv. They clobbered the Whitesox. Payback for the night before, I guess. We also watched “Trading Spaces,” and Hildy destroyed yet another room by covering almost every surface in shades of black. Someone stop her, please.
- Sunday, Brian made French toast for breakfast and it was lovely. We laid around some more, then finally packed up and got ready to go. In the couple hours before our ferry departed, Dad drove us around the islands, all the way up to Port Gamble, where we visited the cheesy old seashell museum and I bought some dirt-cheap apricot-sized cowrie shells (35 cents each). I recall those selling for about $4 in Hawaii.
- We drove around Winslow a bit, and looked at the condo my dad owns that we may or may not live in someday. Fingers crossed! We’ll see.
- I ate a corn dog on the ferry and it was awesome. THEN we shared an ice cream sandwich on the sun deck and that was awesome, too.
- Our flight was about an hour late. Bah. But Brian helped me with my fear of flying (again) by talking me into looking out the window for the entire takeoff. Yay! And we got to sit on the Mt. Rainier side of the plane, too.
- We got to SFO and grabbed a taxi. The driver missed our exit off of the freeway. Sigh. He seemed very distraught and apologetic however. All I cared about at that point was getting to my apartment. He gave us a discount off the fare.
- Got home and relaxed. I unpacked while Brian finished off reading Ham on Rye. We went to bed around 11:30 and woke up a couple hours later being divebombed by mosquitoes. I turned on the light and we killed two of them with a folded copy of the “New Yorker,” which is one of the best weapons against skeeters.
- Glad to be home, but glad to know my future a little bit better today.
seattle recap
August 4, 2003 by Jane
5 Responses
Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: Well, sir, there’s nothing on earth
Like a genuine,
Bona fide,
Electrified,
Six-car
Monorail!
What’d I say?
Ned Flanders: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: What’s it called?
Patty+Selma: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: That’s right! Monorail!
[crowd chants `Monorail’ softly and rhythmically]
Miss Hoover: I hear those things are awfully loud…
Lyle Lanley: It glides as softly as a cloud.
Apu: Is there a chance the track could bend?
Lyle Lanley: Not on your life, my Hindu friend.
Barney: What about us brain-dead slobs?
Lyle Lanley: You’ll be given cushy jobs.
Abe: Were you sent here by the devil?
Lyle Lanley: No, good sir, I’m on the level.
Wiggum: The ring came off my pudding can.
Lyle Lanley: Take my pen knife, my good man.
I swear it’s Springfield’s only choice…
Throw up your hands and raise your voice!
All: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: What’s it called?
All: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: Once again…
All: Monorail!
Marge: But Main Street’s still all cracked and broken…
Bart: Sorry, Mom, the mob has spoken!
All: Monorail!
Monorail!
Monorail!
[big finish]
Monorail!
Homer: Mono… D’oh!
Jaydawg sayz
Your entry made me homesick. If it didn’t cost $500 to fly to Seattle I’d go back for a few days in a heartbeat.
Re: Jaydawg sayz
SNOHOMISH COUNTY IN THE HIZZZZOUSE!!!
Discouraging mosquitoes
There must be some kind of electronic zapper. I think I heard of one with CO2 as “bait”. Which should be reasonable safe environmentally, as long as the windows are open anyway. Love, Mom
you can’t move to seattle until I move to vancouver!!! I’ll be jealous!