Note: Be sure to check out some of the links too!!

Wednesday 8/27

We flew into Seattle. Actually the plane did, but we were on it. There was me and Petra, friends Larry and Robin, and Mama O (who would meet up with the rest of her posse later). We took a crowded bus to the Camlin hotel. It let us off right across the street which was very convenient. We checked in and took a quick look at the nice rooms. But of course we were all hungry so we walked a block over to Cyber Dogs Internet Cafe and Vegetarian Oasis, a great vegetarian hot dog place. The dogs are meatless but good and the toppings more than make up for that. I’ve tried a couple different ones over the last few trips and all were great. The menu is here, check out the specialty dogs. After food, what else is important? You guessed it. We took a quick and easy bus ride to the state-run liquor store. Yar!! Then we started walking back to the hotel and stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few breakfast and snack items for the week ahead. Then it was back to unpack. Of course, after that we were hungry again! It doesn’t take much to talk me into eating, so we walked up toward Capital Hill and a small but tasty vegetarian Asian place called In The Bowl. Mmmm. Next time I gotta remember to order the peanut sauce, it is killer! Now we had to walk off a little food, so we took a pretty long walk to and through the nearby Belltown area. We ended up near the Seattle Center so we took the monorail back most of the way, walking the last four or five blocks. We would walk a lot on this trip. A lot. But you can sure see more that way, instead of speeding by things in a car. Once back at the hotel, we fixed ourselves a drink (or glass of wine as appropriate in some cases). And, like the prescription said, repeat as necessary.

Thursday 8/28

Rise and shine. Well, rise anyway 😉  It was a little late and Petra and I started out by taking the monorail back to the Seattle Center. We would meet up with our friends later in the day. We popped into a burger place (Kidd Valley) for a veggie burger (was it Kidds?) and some Walla Walla onion rings. Then we got serious and shopped a couple record stores. Easy Street is a great store in the Queen Anne area of Seattle and we found some music there. Then blocks away we stopped at Silver Platters and picked up a few more CDs. Everything at both stores was used (except one) and everything was under $10. What bargains and the more you buy the more you save! Or something like that. Whatever. We stopped at a local coffee shop for some liquid rejuvenation, then headed out on foot, back into the nearby Belltown area. We saw a bit of the Olympic Sculpture Park and an ultra-modern furniture store, but time was limited because we were headed to the nearby Spitfire restaurant/ bar where the large back room would be broadcasting Barrack Obama’s convention speech on a large screen for us and other supporters. There were several hundred Obama fans there to watch the speech and cheer, since it was an impressive and inspiring speech. And it was so cool to be watching it, 800 miles from home, with all those other fans, bursting into applause and cheering throughout. Go Obama! After that, we were pumped up and hopeful. We walked back to the hotel and talked for a while, ending a fun and enjoyable day.

Friday 8/29

Another day, another monorail trip to the Seattle Center. And did I mention that Seattle has a wonderful transit system, with easy and convenient busses, some on the street and some in tunnels? And plus the monorail of course. As for the busses, the whole downtown area and nearby is a ride-free zone most of the day so you can hop on and off as much as you want. Even the long ride from the airport had only been $1.50 for, what 20 miles? You can’t even get on a bus here for that price! Anyway, our first destination was the Experience Music Project (EMP), the world’s coolest museum. Lots of music-related displays and exhibits in a Frank Ghery designed futuristic building. And now it also houses the Science Fiction Museum, which is included in the price. We spent a couple hours there then got our wrists stamped to come back later. There is so much to see and do there. We walked across the Seattle Center and checked out the preparations for tomorrow’s Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, then picked up our passes for the festival. We’re so ready. Actually, I’ve been ready since the minute last years festival ended! That’s how unbelievably awesome it is.

We wandered across the street for some lunch at Chutney’s, an Indian food buffet where everything except two items were vegetarian! And all you can eat. Life is good. Then is was back to the festival grounds, where there was a preview of all  the visual arts exhibits. You get to see them the day before the big crowds get there and that is just what we did. Cool stuff. Then back to the Experience Music Project for a couple more hours to see more of it. Petra and I also checked out the Space Needle gift shop close by, but didn’t buy any overpriced souvenirs (this time). In the evening we had reservations for a free advance showing of some films related to the Film Festival that is part of Bumbershoot. We saw about 90 minutes worth of very strange but mostly interesting short films. One in particular about a mumbler gave us all the creeps but overall it was interesting and worthwhile. Next, we took a walk down the street to the lower Queen Anne area for a quick slice of Pagliaci pizza or slow vegetarian lasagna in my case. Good though and what is the hurry anyway? It’s vacation. It’s Seattle. It’s almost Bumbershoot. Does it get better than that? We wrapped up another full day back at the hotel with a few drinks and some friendly and lively banter. I always wanted to use that word in a sentence. Hahaha!

Read more about the Seattle trip soon…  Check back!!!

In the meantime, leave me a comment about this exciting trip!