On my second day at Seattle we met up with Caleb and Rob, to Aussie guys I knew from Big White who came down to Seattle so they could get a cheaper flight to New York.
They went and checked out the Space Needle (that big tower in all the photos of Seattle) and all the other things Simon and I had done the day before. We went walking up to Capitol Hill. Our destination was Volunteer Park where Bruce Lee is purportedly buried. On the way we found a lot of cool stores with old and random books and just the most random things that I want to buy and horde. If I had a magical suitcase that could weigh nothing no matter how much I put into it, I would probably go to town on my credit card.
We kept walking up to the point where I realised that we were well and truly lost. After some nifty directions from some helpful locals we eventually found the cemetery. When we got there it began to rain, as it usually does in Seattle. I realised that the place was an Asian cemetery and as such one in four of the people buried there were named Lee. Simon wanted to press ahead for the search but by this point I was cold and wet and well over Simon's search for some dead dude's grave. I also realised quite quickly that Simon's general sense of direction sucks the balls so I took charge and we eventually found a bus stop that took us about 2 blocks from our door.
That night we hung out with Caleb and Rob, and we watched a few episodes of Flight of the Conchords on Caleb's laptop.
The next day we all went down to the Pike Place Market across the road from the hostel. It was a pretty cool market. There was a rib cook off going on and it smelt pretty good. I also got my photo taken outside of the very first Starbucks (there really is one on every corner). We then went down to the Seattle Aquarium where I got some fun photos, which I someday hope to post up on the Ineterweb.
The next day, Simon and I parted ways with Caleb and Rob and we caught our bus to Portland. About 20 minutes into the trip the bus got rear ended by a mini-van and we were delayed by an hour and a half while we waited for the cops. I'm not sure what the big deal was because when I saw the damage it was only a fender bender, but the bus driver was fretting.
We finally arrived in Portland at abut 4:30pm. Simon wanted to walk to the hostel with our backpacks despite the fact we had no idea where we were or where the hostel was. I put I stop to his foolish notions and we caught a taxi for five dollars.
Showing posts with label Seattle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seattle. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Road Trip
On Thursday I left Big White once and for all and said goodbye to all the friends I had made there. The good news is that I'm meeting up with about a dozen of them down in Pourta Vallarta in Mexico in three weeks time.
I'm working my way down the west coast with Simon, an English guy I met at Big White. We're pretty much traveling together for the next month. On Thursday morning we caught the shopping shuttle from Big White down to Kelowna and got dropped off at the Greyhound bus station. The ticket woman at Greyhound was a real cunt. I won't go into details.
The bus trip to Seattle was 14 hours. I reckon long haul bus trips are worse then flights. You can't sleep very well on a bus and there's always that one lone drifter sitting at the back of the bus, clutching a bottle in a brown paper bag.
Simon and I finally got to Seattle at 11pm. We checked into the Green Tortoise Hostel, which seems to be a really good hostel. They have free internet access and free breakfast. It's also across the road from a Subway which does $5 footlongs.
The next day I went on a mission to get my ski bag sent back to Townsville by post. I had to fork out $300 in postage but it's a lot better then hauling around 50 pounds (that's right I broke out the empirical measurements) of skis, boots and winter clothes.
Once I got that sorted out I could relax and explore Seattle; home of Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana. First we went down to the Space Needle tower and checked out the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. I saw Captain Kirk's chair. I was disappointed that I couldn't sit in it and do William Shatner impersonations. It's behind a glass case. It really defeats the point. We then checked out the Experience Music Project which charts a history of American music and is full of hands on exhibits. It was pretty cool.
As nightfall came we brushed up on the Three B's; Basketball, Burlesque and Bitching good times. We went to nearby Key Arena and saw the Seattle Supersonics play the Charlotte Bobcats. We got seats in the nosebleed section but we moved closer after the first quarter when we realised that half the stadium was empty. It was a pretty scrappy game but it got close towards the end. The Bobcats won 98 - 94.
We then went to a little place across the road from the hostel where they were playing a live burlesque show. Form what I understand, the west coast has embraced ye olde burlesque as an art form and now it's considered classy. The place was a restaurant where you could have a sit down meal. The show was also pretty hot.
I thought Seattle was going to be a boring stop on my way down the coast but it seems this place really has quite a lot to do. It seems that off-beat and non-mainstream culture is the mainstream here. There is an anime convention going on at the moment and I've seen tons of people walking through the streets dressed as everything from Jedis to Vulcans.
I'm working my way down the west coast with Simon, an English guy I met at Big White. We're pretty much traveling together for the next month. On Thursday morning we caught the shopping shuttle from Big White down to Kelowna and got dropped off at the Greyhound bus station. The ticket woman at Greyhound was a real cunt. I won't go into details.
The bus trip to Seattle was 14 hours. I reckon long haul bus trips are worse then flights. You can't sleep very well on a bus and there's always that one lone drifter sitting at the back of the bus, clutching a bottle in a brown paper bag.
Simon and I finally got to Seattle at 11pm. We checked into the Green Tortoise Hostel, which seems to be a really good hostel. They have free internet access and free breakfast. It's also across the road from a Subway which does $5 footlongs.
The next day I went on a mission to get my ski bag sent back to Townsville by post. I had to fork out $300 in postage but it's a lot better then hauling around 50 pounds (that's right I broke out the empirical measurements) of skis, boots and winter clothes.
Once I got that sorted out I could relax and explore Seattle; home of Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana. First we went down to the Space Needle tower and checked out the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. I saw Captain Kirk's chair. I was disappointed that I couldn't sit in it and do William Shatner impersonations. It's behind a glass case. It really defeats the point. We then checked out the Experience Music Project which charts a history of American music and is full of hands on exhibits. It was pretty cool.
As nightfall came we brushed up on the Three B's; Basketball, Burlesque and Bitching good times. We went to nearby Key Arena and saw the Seattle Supersonics play the Charlotte Bobcats. We got seats in the nosebleed section but we moved closer after the first quarter when we realised that half the stadium was empty. It was a pretty scrappy game but it got close towards the end. The Bobcats won 98 - 94.
We then went to a little place across the road from the hostel where they were playing a live burlesque show. Form what I understand, the west coast has embraced ye olde burlesque as an art form and now it's considered classy. The place was a restaurant where you could have a sit down meal. The show was also pretty hot.
I thought Seattle was going to be a boring stop on my way down the coast but it seems this place really has quite a lot to do. It seems that off-beat and non-mainstream culture is the mainstream here. There is an anime convention going on at the moment and I've seen tons of people walking through the streets dressed as everything from Jedis to Vulcans.
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