Hello again, family, friends, and everyone else. The pictures from our 2015 trip to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (and much more!) are now online! We had a great time and so did our friends. Take a look at the pictures!
If you are thinking of going in 2016, let me know!
If you have any questions, just ask. And leave a comment if you want….
2015 Seattle and Bumbershoot photos
What we did on the 2015 trip – part 1
Wait! You should read part one first.
Already did that? Then let’s continue with our Seattle and Bumbershoot trip for 2015…
Sunday September 6
After a leisurely morning, we went for lunch to Veggie Grill, a chain of vegan restaurants that we’ve loved in many cities now. This was the downtown Seattle location and, while the food was delicious, it was more remarkable that Karl and Betty came with us to eat. Why? Well, Karl is a notorious carnivore but he humored us and even found a tasty sandwich that he devoured. A win for the veg people! Then we headed out to day two of the Bumbershoot festival. The first act that we saw was Eliot Sumner and her band. All through the set I kept thinking that she sounded a lot like Sting (in a good way) and that the music was a bit Police-like (later police, not the earlier reggae-incluenced stuff). It was uncanny how much she sounded like him. We were right up in front and Petra managed to get the set list and had Eliot autograph it! As we walked to the stage for next act, I googled her and discovered why the resemblance. She is Sting’s daughter. Doh! It was not mentioned on the web site, in the app, or anywhere, but true nevertheless. Moving on, we watched part of set by Mikal Cronin. His music is kind of power-pop, a bit jangly, and while not bad we soon ventured in search of the next act.
It was time for our annual trip to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. We go every year, since 2001, making this our 15th year in a row. And we love it more than ever.
I’ll post some pictures soon, but first, here’s what we did on our trip.
Wednesday September 2
Nine of us were headed to Seattle this year, eight from Sacramento and one from Portland. We had various flights and ways to get there. Karl and Betty were taking the same flight, in the late morning. They came to our house and we took the Blue Van (Super Shuttle) to the airport. We took Southwest to Seattle, a quick and smooth flight. Once at the Seattle airport (SEA/TAC), we caught the convenient Light Rail and a bit later we were checking in to our condos at The Camlin.
Click here to read part one first
I’ll post some pictures soon, but here’s part two of what we did on our trip.
Saturday August 30
This is the day I have been waiting for, the start of the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. We took the monorail to the Seattle Center, the site of the festival, and yes we were early. That’s how I like it. At 11:00 AM, we entered the festival and headed immediately to the Starbucks Gold Lounge, for a free coffee drink. Then we walked over to the VIP Hospitality Lounge and had some snacks there. OK, now time for music. First up was The Lonely Forest in the KEXP lounge (the secret stage). This show and their outdoor show later today were going to be their last shows ever. After some 10 years together they were calling it quits. Too bad, too, because their set was great! Now I discover them!
It was time for our annual trip to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. We go every year, since 2001, making this our 14th year in a row. And we love it more than ever.
I’ll post some pictures soon, but first, here’s what we did on our trip.
Tuesday August 26
We usually fly out on Wednesday but we added an extra day this year so we could get to Seattle on Petra’s birthday. We left in the early morning to give us more time there. We caught the Super Shuttle (Blue Van) to the airport, where Mama O (Linda) and Aunt Sam met us and off we went. It was a quick Southwest flight. In Seattle, we took the convenient light rail and soon arrived at our hotel, The Camlin. It was too early to check in so they held our luggage for us while we went out in search of some fun. First stop was lunch at Cyber-Dogs, an all vegetarian hot dog place, very funky and very cool. After that we caught the monorail over to the Seattle Center. We sat a while at one of Petra’s happy places, the International Fountain.
Hello again, family, friends, and everyone else. The pictures from our 2013 trip to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (and much more!) are now online! We had a great time and so did our friends. Take a look at the pictures!
If you have any questions, just ask. And leave a comment if you want….
For the thirteenth year in a row, we traveled up north to Seattle for the annual Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. I’ll get some pictures on here soon. We had a few extra days too, to see the city, but of course the festival is the big draw. As in most years, some friends travel along, this time it was Cal and Laura, along with Sam and Mama O. What did we do? Well….
Wednesday August 28
All six of us had the same Southwest flight in the morning. Once in Seattle, we separated at various points. Petra and I took the light rail to our hotel, The Camlin. The room wasn’t quite ready so we had them hold our luggage while we went to lunch at one of our favorites, Cyber-Dogs, a wonderful vegetarian hot dog place. These dogs are more like meals and really delicious. After that we walked over to Whole Foods and got some supplies for the week. Then it was back to the hotel. Now the room was ready and we went up and unpacked. In a bit, we took the monorail over to the Seattle Center and met up with the rest of the party for a while. Then Petra and I had a nice vegan chinese food meal at Bamboo Garden, where everything is animal-free! And then the monorail back to the hotel. It was a good start for the trip.
Hello again, family, friends, and everyone else too. The pictures from our Seattle 2012 trip are now online! We had a great time as usual. There are Seattle pix, Bumbershoot Festival pix, and just some other weird pix we took on the trip.
Any questions, just ask. Besides Petra and me, you will see some pictures of our friends Karl, Betty, Mama O (Linda), and Sam. Even Karl’s brother Ron and his son Antonio are in a few. Take a look! Leave a comment if you want, I’ll be waiting….
The third and final installment in our exciting vacation saga. And soon I will post the pictures too! Oh be still my beating heart!
Monday September 3
Of course Happy Birthday to the daughter. Meanwhile , back to our vacation. We headed out to the last day of the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. As per our routine, we first went and got a free Starbucks drink then went straight to the VIP hospitality area for some food and to finish planning the day. Petra’s first destination was a dance-related performance called Maximum Velocity, while I went to watch Seattle-based Seapony. I liked the band, they were pretty young but have potential. Then I watch a stripped-down mini-set (was it four or five songs?) on the Toyota Free Yr Radio Stage by England’s The Wombats. They were really likable and really good, ending with a highly-modified (with banjo) version of their song Let’s Dance To Joy Division. Petra meanwhile caught the end of rocker Reignwolf’s set, and we met up after at the “secret stage” for a performance by Low. They are aptly named, the music was very downbeat and while it was ok it was not really that interesting for either of us. That changed soon, though, since the next show in that stage was Passion Pit. They are getting radio play and a lot of press for their new album Gossamer so we were curious. This show was three of the members in a stripped down session, three keyboards/synths. The main guy opened the set with just an acoustic guitar for one song and the rest were the three of them. This was a great show, with enough electric to be cool but still fairly intimate. We both liked it a lot.
Looking for part 1 – click here
Saturday September 1
Today was the first day of the happiest place on Earth. No, not Disneyland, sheesh! This is way better. Three long days of music, comedy, dance, and most of the other arts. We discovered the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival in 2001 and attended that year and every year since, making this our twelfth year. Some people travel with us, sometimes different people every year and then again some come year after year. We certainly do and hopefully this will continue. Heck, we already have a room reserved for the 2013 Festival and so does our friend Linda!
By the way, best improvement ever, this year: giant video screens at almost all the outdoor venues, so everyone can see!
We just got back from our annual trek to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (and more). I’ll post some pictures soon, but in the meantime here is a short overview of what we did. This year our friends Karl and Betty went too, first time for them. And of course our friend and festival veteran Linda Orozco went again with her friend Sam (first time for Sam too).
Maybe we’ll see you there next year…!!
Wednesday August 29
As usual we arranged for the Blue Van to pick us up. Karl and Betty came to our house to leave with us. We always allow for plenty of time to get to the airport in case something doesn’t go as planned. And this year, sure enough, the van was supposed to arrive between 7:25 and 7:40. Well, finally at about 8:10 the van finally showed up. This still let us catch our flight but it was more rushed than it should have been and pretty stressful. Shame on you Super Shuttle, I will be writing a separate letter to you. But anyway, it worked out and we had a smooth and quick Southwest Airlines flight to the Emerald City of Seattle. Did I mention that I love Seattle?
Did you miss the first two parts? Read part one here and part two here. And there will be a bunch of pictures soon too…
Monday September 5
Last day of the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival and the routine is familiar. A bit of food in the room and then we took the monorail over to the festival. Once there, we snacked at the hospitality room and pondered the myriad of possibilities for the day. At one of the booths we watched a song or two by Lemolo, which I didn’t really like. It was very low-key female vocal but much too low-key. Today we had decided to see some comedy too, not just music. Our VIP passes got us to the front of all the comedy lines so we wanted to take advantage of that. The comedy show we went to had a short funny introduction by Baron somebody (I think), didn’t catch the last name. But the main show was two fairly well-known comedians, Amy Shumer and Eugene Mirman. Seriously, Amy was so funny I barely stopped laughing for her whole set. Politically incorrect. Yep. Funny? Hilarious! And Mr. Mirman was very funny too. Great show. After that, we watched a four-person panel discussion about being vegan, featuring the Black Metal Vegan Chef. He is so cool, check out his videos on YouTube. The panel was humorous at times and informative.
We just got back from our annual trek to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (and more). I’ll post some pictures soon, but in the meantime here is a short synopsis of what we did. Enjoy, and maybe we’ll see you there next year…
Wednesday August 31
We flew to Seattle (Southwest Airlines) and arrived in the afternoon. Seattle has a great light rail train system that took us from the airport (nowhere near the actual city) all the way up to three blocks from our hotel. For just a few bucks! We checked in at The Camlin and then walked about five blokcs or so to the nearby Whole Foods Market, to get some supplies. You know, chips, salsa, cereal, fruit, soy milk, bottled water, wine, just the necessities. We lugged all that back to the hotel and then we were truly ready for anything. Well, pretty much. But we were hungry too! We were walking the block or so to Cyber-Dogs, a great vegetarian hot dog place, when we bumped into a couple of our fellow Sacramento friends, Mama O and Liz. We chatted a bit on the street (sidewalk actually) and then went to Cyber-Dogs for our meal (menu). This place gives you a lot of food, not just a measly hot dog. Next it was back to the room to plan out the event of the next couple days. Yes, I love Seattle!
