February 2008
I’ve been slacking; we arrived in Seattle from Mexico and got caught up with seeing old friends; we were only just here last June on holiday from London so we dropped back in to an easy familiarity. Helped paint and decorate Evan and Amy’s house in Richmond Beach; they’re due twin boys in a matter of weeks and need to get moved in. Tony and Sandra came to town, I attended my first babyshower and we house sat for Joni and Eric. All this and more in only 10 days. But I’m ahead of myself…first things first. We are staying at our old friend Bruce’s in the Maple Leaf area of Seattle with his girlfriend Deb…and Bella their dog…blind in one eye and totally deaf, beautiful and very strong.
Peggy, Bruce’s neighbour, lives across the back road from him; last Friday she drove Dave and I out for a crepe breakfast with her daughter Sue who in turn took us to an area called Wedgewood; a 10 minute drive from Bruce’s to see her beautiful 1960’s house. She bought it from an advert seen in a conservation magazine. The house is situated in the woods with its own creek and an acre of private woodland, currently unoccupied as they decide what to do with it. Many houses of this era suffer the fate of being demolished; they call it tear-down, re-building on the same plot. I’d seen a 1950’s funky ratpack style 3,400 square feet house in an area called Innis Arden with Evan and Amy, a massive refurb project but fabulous. The pound strong at 2 for 1 against the dollar; we entertain thoughts of buying here; so much space, glorious landscapes, a lost world of character in these architectural diamonds which don’t glitter but glow softly in lovingly sanded beams and Douglas Fir clad walls.
I went to my first babyshower on Sunday…Evan’s sister Marcy hosted it at her house for Amy. A lot of people; we ate great food, played baby related games; I wasn’t very good – I can’t guess what a ‘pureed veggie dinner’ looks like and I wasn’t going to taste it. Baby gifts; lots of doubles because they’re expecting twins in 4 weeks. We bought her stuff from her baby gift register, similar to a wedding gift register; we’d never heard of this before but it’s common practice in the US. A room full of women saying oooh and aaah and welling up generally was actually pretty good fun. Joni was there… Kathleen too, an old friend of Evan’s who I last saw staggering out of the Oaxaca bar in Ballard last June, a fun night out we need to repeat.
We spent time with my Joni at her house, once a single storey 2 bed and now a large 2 storey family home. Her husband Eric works in construction, he said the original building came down in about 20 minutes…he timed the wrecking ball. Many American homes are made from wood rather than brick like we’re accustomed to in the UK. Joni’s daughters Elsa 5 and Ava 3 gleefully used Dave as a human climbing frame and made supermarket shopping more fun than usual.
Sandra and Tony old friends from London who moved to Vancouver Island a couple of years ago, hopped on the ferry with their car and came to stay with us at Bruce’s for 3 nights. Beth’s cafe for breakfast…laughing at the hand-drawn pictures stuck on the walls. We hung out at a bar in Ballard called Flowers where we met an odd Glaswegian man and looked at ourselves in the mirrored ceiling whilst drinking margaritas. Tony found a skateboard park but thankfully had no skateboard with him; too cold to be spectators. Explored our favourite shops in the U-District like Red Light, a vintage place I’ve bought from before; Sandra tried on eccentric hats, a June wedding she’s attending in the South of France in mind.
We’re Europeans…and as often as we see them we are still shocked by the presence of places selling guns in the US. You rarely see a police officer with a firearm in England unless he’s stationed outside a high security risk building like the Houses of Parliament.
There’s a lunar Eclipse over Seattle. We stood on Bruce’s deck to watch, gifted with a near cloudless sky. A lunar eclipse only occurring when the Earth and the sun perfectly align during a full moon; a rare event because the orbits of the moon and Earth are not on the same plane.
You would think I had all the time in the world to be updating this blog – but I find since going away that a certain lethargy has fallen upon me. Sleeping in past 9am, sitting in bars passing the time of day, wandering around city sights. Apologies, are you all busy at work? We wandered China Town yesterday, for political correctness recently rebranded The International District. We stuffed our faces with noodles and orange chicken, peanut sauce and rice. We walked the huge Asian supermarket and checked out the train station timetable on King Street for trains to Portland, Oregon and up to Vancouver, Canada; deciding where to explore next. We rode the underground bus back to Westlake Centre. The bus system is great – it runs overground as normal buses do and on a lot of the routes you can access free wi-fi on your laptop. As the bus hits downtown Seattle it goes underground like a subway service and for all the underground stops the service is free.
Last Sunday…another breakfast jaunt, this time with Deb, Bruce, neighbour Peggy and neighbours Darin, Sherry and his Mum and Dad who were in town. We went to the Rickshaw, an Asian themed bar and diner decked out in black lacquer and red booths. Unusual surroundings for a 3 egg omelette Sunday breakfast but excellent food.
Dave and I went on the Bill Speidel’s Underground Seattle walking tour in Pioneer Square. Seattle’s first buildings were wooden. In 1889 a cabinetmaker accidentally overturned and ignited a glue pot spreading burning grease-based glue. The fire chief out of town, the volunteer fire department erroneously used too many hoses…the subsequent drop in water pressure led to the ‘Great Seattle Fire’ destroying 33 city blocks. Instead of rebuilding the city as it was before, Seattle made two strategic decisions, ordering all rebuilding use stone or brick and to regrade the streets one to two stories higher than the original street grade. To regrade, the streets were lined with concrete walls forming narrow alleyways between walls and buildings on either side and a wide “alley” where the street was. Through a series of sluices material was washed into these alleys effectively raising the streets to a new level approximately twelve feet higher, or in some places almost thirty feet higher than before. At first pedestrians climbed ladders to go between street level and the sidewalks in front of the the building entrances. Brick archways were constructed next to the road surface above the submerged sidewalks. Skylights with small panes of clear glass, (turned later to amethyst-coloured because of phosphorus in the glass) were installed, creating the area now called the Seattle Underground. Reconstructing their buildings, merchants and landlords knew that what was originally the ground floor would eventually be underground…and what was originally the next floor up would be the new ground floor.
Once the new sidewalks were complete owners moved their businesses to the new ground floor, although merchants carried on business in the lowest floors of buildings that survived the fire. Pedestrians continued to use the underground sidewalks lit by the glass cubes (still seen on some streets) embedded in the grade-level sidewalk above. In 1907 the city condemned the Underground for fear of bubonic plague; basements left to deteriorate or used as storage. Some became illegal homeless flophouses, gambling halls, speakeasies, and opium dens. Existing skylights mean that whilst underground you can still see people walking the pavement above.
Snowbound – almost…quite an adventure yesterday. Bruce and Deb drove us out in to the mountains about an hour and a half outside of Seattle and across St Stephen’s Pass. There are three main passes in this area and at different times of year they can be closed due to heavy snowfall. We had a great ride out and hung around at the foot of the ski slopes and walked Bella through the snow; snowball fights…saw some stunning scenery. Heading back we dropped by Roslyn; a small town where the series ‘Northern Exposure’ was filmed. We had drinks in the Brick tavern and wandered the streets at dusk.
The continuing journey was challenging. A blizzard blew in and it took three and a half hours to negotiate the road with more snow falling on accumulated 12 foot snowdrifts. Dark by this time the spiraling snow blowing in to the windscreen created a warpspeed vortex visual. Bruce’s skills were tested, he’s experienced with driving in difficult terrain but it was unnerving; the roadside barely visible…luckily he was able to tail a large lorry and we snailed back to Seattle, the truck illuminating the road. Dave and I haven’t been in a snowstorm for years; coming after 2 months in Mexico and a month in LA it was surreal being plunged in to this. Bruce is going to take Dave back to ski when conditions allow.
Last Sunday we joined Bruce and Deb on a trip to Skagit Flats; Bruce took his scope; we spotted several bald eagles, egrets, chickadees and swans. It’s also a popular hunting area for duck shoots. For all those skeptics out there like YOU Derek – yes Dave was birdwatching. The city boy is chilling out but we’re not yet in matching fleeces.
Stopped for lunch at Conway Tavern on the way back from Skagit…packed with weekend bikers, most of a certain age…several Harley Davidson riders and a lot of protective chaps; women were toting matching Harley handbags. It’s a look that doesn’t sit right in England but a part of the wide open landscapes here…the American retirement dream for many. A truck had three handsome dogs sitting up back; one shy the other two excitable, distracted by the noise of bikes pulling in.
Back in the 4 wheel drive last Friday with Bruce, Deb and Bella the dog, headed up to the Olympic Peninsula; the large arm of land in western Washington state that lies across the Puget Sound from Seattle. Bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the east by Puget Sound and the Hood Canal. We took the route from Seattle; down through Tacoma and Olympia then across passing through Aberdeen where Kurt Cobain came from and of which I can say is one of the most miserable towns I’ve ever been through. On to the 101 we drove on to the beach at dusk to join people digging for razor clams; Bruce had his gear, pulled on his waders grabbed his net and shovel and joined them. You need a license to go clamming here, limited to taking 15 per day. Within a short time Bruce had dug down to retrieve 13 clams. Whilst Deb and I were wrapped up warm Dave got dragged by Bella in to the sea…wearing his canvas trainers. Told you she was strong.
Taking our net of clams we drove off the beach 30 minutes up to Moclips to stay at the Gullwing Inn, a small 3 apartment motel based on Moclips Beach. Bruce cleaned and cut the clams and Deb cooked them for a late dinner before we all bedded down for the night in flannelette sheets just like your Grannie used to put on your bed when you were a kid. The Gullwing Inn is a real find – we loved it.
The next morning spent beachcombing, Bruce and Deb compared fossilised clams we picked through driftwood finds. We thought we saw remnants of an old dock or landing jetty; the sea washes in here…deep when the tide is in; but apparently these timbers are the remains of a warehouse.
Midday Saturday we left Moclips and drove higher up the western coast of the peninsula, inland through the Olympic National Forest to Lake Crescent. We stopped to take in more stunning scenery and wander through a forest of moss covered trees. Black squirrels chirped at us, deer and a lot of bird activity. Cloud hung low across the trees; a vast swathe of dark green towering in to the sky.
We drove across to Port Angeles and instead of stopping over went on to Sequim where we visited the 3 Crabs restaurant and were serenaded by an elderly couple called Jany and Hugh. They go to the restaurant every other week for dinner and gave us an impromptu performance of some old show songs from their dinner table, before Hugh went outside to feed his favourite seagull who waits patiently for him every week. After a hearty meal of crab and unexpected free entertainment from the regulars; we drove to Kingston around 8pm and caught a ferry back to Seattle. No photos as I didn’t realise we had left port and were actually moving – it was that quiet. We spent the 20 minute journey racking our brains for the name of the group who sang ‘In the Year 2525’ which I had been humming most of the weekend. We later worked it out – but do any of you guys remember the song and the artist(s)?
Another day wandering the city of Seattle. The Smith Tower used to be the tallest building in Seattle but is now dwarfed by new buildings. There’s an observation room at the top and Evan has been in it many years ago; it’s not open to the public but he knew a guy who lived in an apartment in the whole top triangle of the building. There’s a Totem pole in Pioneer Square; apparently years ago some drunken pioneers pilfered it from an Indian reservation…or so the story goes. It’s not the original stolen totem but a copy made by the same tribe after the first one got destroyed. The most obvious landmark is The Needle with surrounding sculptures in the park. I’ve been to Seattle several times before so we skipped revisiting Pike Place Market and the EMP museum of music designed by Frank Gehry. In Freemont we saw artist Mark Stevens’ ‘Jewels of Heaven’ silver sculpture entwined around the Epicenter Building.
We hung out at Peggy’s in her 60’s style house lined with fir tree timber designed by her late architect husband. Quirky place, inviting atmosphere and glorious wrap around windows.
Evan and Amy have twins! Amy gave birth yesterday 19th March at around 11am to twin boys; Oliver and Henry. Dave and I happened to be downtown Seattle so we visited them in the Swedish Hospital set at the top of some very steep hills. We met the boys when they were only 3 and a half hours old. Evan was on top form; excited, picking them up by the twist of their blankets over their heads, passing them to Dave and I. We were a bit freaked out, we’ve never met newborns the day they were born…it was fabulous, an honour. Amy and babies are both healthy and doing great.
Skiing Dave! He was excited. He last went skiing 22 years ago for one week and won a skiing cup. Since then he’s always wanted to go again and it’s never happened….here is up on the slopes of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington State; only about an hour’s drive from Seattle. Bruce and Darin took the day off and went with him; Bruce swishing off professionally down the slopes and Darin showing off on a snowboard. With the ski lifts he managed to go up and down about 12 times; came home stiff as a board, knackered but happy. He now wants to come back in December for another go. Dave says this was the highlight of the 4 months we have been on the road; I reckon he’s just saying that because it was a whole day free from me.
Over the border to Canada, Vancouver. We left Seattle after 7 weeks of fun hanging out with friends. Thanks a million to Bruce for letting us stay for so long; we will be back. Cheerio to his girlfriend Deb and the dog Bella. It was hard leaving everyone but on to the next leg of our adventure. I’m actually writing this from Tokyo, Japan! We left Seattle by train which follows the water’s edge for most of the way leading in to Vancouver 3 and a half hours later.
The train moves pretty slow and rolls a lot from side to side (yes Darin you were right); and hand on heart the grub served up by the buffet car is even worse than British Rail. But it was a nice trip and a huge train compared to English trains, double the height. Back in the glamorous good old days of travel the trains were called Empire Builders.
Amtrak is not as pretty but still pretty impressive. That’s Sherpa Dave behind the pillar unloading our bag. We had to line up along the platform to be given the once over by sniffer dogs before getting our passports stamped by immigration to enter Canada.
Once in Vancouver we hopped on the skytrain; a small shuttle which took us downtown. We stayed at The Blue Horizon Hotel on Robson St right in the centre, great price for such a good place. Reunited again with Sandra and Tony who came over on the ferry from Vancouver Island to hang out with us for 2 days. We had breakfast in a cafe based on travel; lots of books to browse whilst stuffing your face with eggs and bacon. We didn’t take many photos as Dave and I were only in Vancouver last June and this time it was freezing cold and snowing. The 4 of us still managed to walk miles around the city and took a small boat across to Granville island.
Early Saturday morning we headed to the airport for a 9 hour flight, 1 hour train ride and a 15 minute subway ride with one change later; we arrived here in Tokyo……..and it’s MAD!!!!!!
Blog comments.
Sandra: Thanks for a great couple of days, it’s always magic spending time with you two.We miss you much and look forward to seeing you in Vancouver in March.xxxSandra & Tony (Feb 19th)
Sandra: Hey There,Cool that we were watching the same thing up here in Canada. We didn’t capture it as well as Deb though.xxxS (Eclipse). (Feb 22nd)
Tony: Hurrah for trains – first go down to Portland, you’ll love it – stay at the Mark Spencer in The Pearl, then come up and see us in the Great White North! Missing those mega breakfasts. (Feb 28th)
Sandra: So did you spot Chris in the Morning’s KBHR studio, too? (March 8th Roslyn)
The Travel Diarist 