A Seattle trip report

Ghoulish Delight · 01-18-2005, 03:02 PM

Man it's hot here.

This will be pretty short. Most of our time was spent with family, celebrating my aunt's 100th birthday, plus we were at the whim of either my parents or my cousins for transportation since we didn't rent a car of our own. As a result, we didn't do a whole lot, but we enjoyed what we did.

First off, it was cooooold. When we landed on Saturday (about 2PM), it was rainy. That quickly turned to ice pellets. When we got to our hotel, the fountain out front was beginning to freeze over, and we saw a few flakes of snow (never hit the ground though). Coooold. We stayed in Redmond. What a different town than 5 years ago! The Redomond Town Center has gone up, and it's really quite nice. Some unique little eateries (we had late lunch at a family run Turkish restaurant), and things to do. But I think the holiday weekend and the cold kept people away 'cause it was kind of quiet the whole time. But it's nice to see SOMETHING in Redmond.

Unfortunately we went to Pukea di Bepo for dinner. There really aren't many choices when trying to have a dinner out with 22 people. Man do I hate that place. At least the food was better this time than the last time we at at one, but it's got to be the tackiest restaurant on the planet. I don't get it. Who enjoys going to dinner, and then getting into the bathroom to find it covered in photographs of little kids pissing and old men mooning (and you could see more than the moon between the clouds in some of the photos, if you catch my drift)? Or advertisements for home enema kits on the wall? What?!?! People are crazy.

For desert we headed to my cousins place which is in the hills on the northwest side of things (Lynnwood, if I remember correctly). THAT was a fun drive as up there, the roads were slushy and icy. Made all the more fun by my dad's wonderful driving philosophy of, "slam on the brakes for everything" and my mom's navigating philosophy of, "start yelling any time I don't know exactly where I am." I was really hoping the only fish tails I'd experience were at Pike's, but no such luck.

From there we headed down into the Pioneer Square area with my cousins. Our original plan was to hit up this place, but my cousin was driving, it was rainy, it was getting late, we got a little lost because people stopped listening to my directions, and one of my cousins was cranky and car sick.

So we just kind of gave up and hopped into the first bar with a decent crowd that we saw. I didn't have much hope for it, it just looked like some lame bar. But once we got it, we started to notice the building. It was old. Real old. Ornate carved ceilings, gorgeous woods. There was one little alcove that they had hung a bunch of mirrors in a really interesting way. I wanted to take pictures, but decided against it 'cause I didn't want to seem too much like a tourist. I did get one, of the mirrors, I'll see if it turned out well or not. It turns out that the building was built in 1889, right after the fire that destroyed the area. The music wasn't my favorite (90s hip-hop mostly), but as bad music goes I can deal with that, and it was live DJs so that's always a plus. We hung out, had a drink. The people were a little pushy, so we bailed after not too long. We probably should have tried to find somewhere else, but the cold rain and whiney cousin sort of just made us head back to the car. Oh well.

The next day, there wasn't a drop of rain all day. A nice change. The highlight of that day was our tour of the new library downtown. The place is a marvel, I'm sure CP will fill you in on the details as well as post the photos she took. It's huge, gorgeous, and functional. I'm glad we got around to that. After that we just kind of met up with my cousins, and rode the monorail back to their car.

One of my cousins, who was supposed to fly back before everybody got bumped from her flight so instead she was staying an extra day. Isntead of paying for a hotel, she actually has a friend from college who just moved to Sumner, so we tagged along to drop her off. Got a nice view of the new football stadium, it's gorgeous, really adds a nice touch to the skyline. And oh man, my cousin's friend got a mansion of a house, 3 car garage, right on the edge of the woods for $450k. Of course, you have to live in Sumner, but man what house!

And that was the end of our excitement. The rain returned the next day. Nothing drastic, just steady rain, no harder than what we'd been getting down here in SoCal. The airport was on the edge of getting fogged in, though, so that was a nail biter, but we made it out with no problem. And after 2+ days of 30 degree weather, it was sure nice to step off the plane in Long Beach!

I do so love Seattle, I could definitely see myself living there, rain and cold be damned.

Eliza Hodgkins 1812 · 01-18-2005, 03:31 PM

Ah, I'd like to venture up to the pretty, pretty North. Thanks for the reportage!

wendybeth · 01-18-2005, 03:33 PM

Moving to Seattle is a rite of passage for kids from Spokane, but most move back within a few years. I love to visit, but the traffic and expense would stop me from moving there. We eastsiders are also a little indignant at all the cool new stuff they get over there, while they hardly notice we exist, except during an election.

Still, I love the city, and I also love visiting the Washington coastline. It's wild and largely unspoiled, and there is even a rain forest. (The Lady Washington is berthed in Gray's Harbor- we saw it while it was under construction).

Cool report- thanks, GD!

Ghoulish Delight · 01-18-2005, 03:35 PM

Yeah, um, somehow I don't think "traffic and expense" would be on the list of complaints from someone moving from SoCal. That'd be a little like someone moving down here from Seattle and complaining about the rain

UvaGirl · 01-18-2005, 04:12 PM

I'd love to go to Seattle some time - thanks for the report

wendybeth · 01-18-2005, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Yeah, um, somehow I don't think "traffic and expense" would be on the list of complaints from someone moving from SoCal. That'd be a little like someone moving down here from Seattle and complaining about the rain

Lol! Very true. But a home costs a hell of a lot less over here than either SoCal or Seattle. Our house is in the median range here, but would have easily cost us around $450,000 in Seattle, and more than that in SoCal. Granted, our wages suck here, so it's all relative.

Not Afraid · 01-18-2005, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wendybeth

Still, I love the city, and I also love visiting the Washington coastline. It's wild and largely unspoiled, and there is even a rain forest.

We've gone to Lake Quinault several times and done lots of hiking in the Hoh Rain Forest. It's magical!

I've been longing for a trip North again. We used to go every 6 months or so but, sadle, it's been a few years for us.

wendybeth · 01-18-2005, 04:43 PM

Ooohh, maybe a Seattle meet sometime... Wouldn't that be fun?

sleepyjeff · 01-18-2005, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

We've gone to Lake Quinault several times and done lots of hiking in the Hoh Rain Forest. It's magical!

Had a trip there cancelled a few years ago....keep meaning to re-schedule it. Did it every rain durring any of your trips there?

Not Afraid · 01-18-2005, 09:32 PM

Rain? In Lake Quinault? Nah. The Hoh was COMPLETELY dry.

We stayed at Loch Airie all of the time we've visited. The cabins are charming. They have canoes that you can take out and we'd paddle around the lake while being followed by river otter famlies. Nothing like 5 little heads popping up out of the water to look at you in your odd metal, dented canoe.

I am in LOVE with that place. It's magic.

01-18-2005, 03:02 PM	#1
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	A Seattle trip report Man it's hot here. This will be pretty short. Most of our time was spent with family, celebrating my aunt's 100th birthday, plus we were at the whim of either my parents or my cousins for transportation since we didn't rent a car of our own. As a result, we didn't do a whole lot, but we enjoyed what we did. First off, it was cooooold. When we landed on Saturday (about 2PM), it was rainy. That quickly turned to ice pellets. When we got to our hotel, the fountain out front was beginning to freeze over, and we saw a few flakes of snow (never hit the ground though). Coooold. We stayed in Redmond. What a different town than 5 years ago! The Redomond Town Center has gone up, and it's really quite nice. Some unique little eateries (we had late lunch at a family run Turkish restaurant), and things to do. But I think the holiday weekend and the cold kept people away 'cause it was kind of quiet the whole time. But it's nice to see SOMETHING in Redmond. Unfortunately we went to Pukea di Bepo for dinner. There really aren't many choices when trying to have a dinner out with 22 people. Man do I hate that place. At least the food was better this time than the last time we at at one, but it's got to be the tackiest restaurant on the planet. I don't get it. Who enjoys going to dinner, and then getting into the bathroom to find it covered in photographs of little kids pissing and old men mooning (and you could see more than the moon between the clouds in some of the photos, if you catch my drift)? Or advertisements for home enema kits on the wall? What?!?! People are crazy. For desert we headed to my cousins place which is in the hills on the northwest side of things (Lynnwood, if I remember correctly). THAT was a fun drive as up there, the roads were slushy and icy. Made all the more fun by my dad's wonderful driving philosophy of, "slam on the brakes for everything" and my mom's navigating philosophy of, "start yelling any time I don't know exactly where I am." I was really hoping the only fish tails I'd experience were at Pike's, but no such luck. From there we headed down into the Pioneer Square area with my cousins. Our original plan was to hit up this place, but my cousin was driving, it was rainy, it was getting late, we got a little lost because people stopped listening to my directions, and one of my cousins was cranky and car sick. So we just kind of gave up and hopped into the first bar with a decent crowd that we saw. I didn't have much hope for it, it just looked like some lame bar. But once we got it, we started to notice the building. It was old. Real old. Ornate carved ceilings, gorgeous woods. There was one little alcove that they had hung a bunch of mirrors in a really interesting way. I wanted to take pictures, but decided against it 'cause I didn't want to seem too much like a tourist. I did get one, of the mirrors, I'll see if it turned out well or not. It turns out that the building was built in 1889, right after the fire that destroyed the area. The music wasn't my favorite (90s hip-hop mostly), but as bad music goes I can deal with that, and it was live DJs so that's always a plus. We hung out, had a drink. The people were a little pushy, so we bailed after not too long. We probably should have tried to find somewhere else, but the cold rain and whiney cousin sort of just made us head back to the car. Oh well. The next day, there wasn't a drop of rain all day. A nice change. The highlight of that day was our tour of the new library downtown. The place is a marvel, I'm sure CP will fill you in on the details as well as post the photos she took. It's huge, gorgeous, and functional. I'm glad we got around to that. After that we just kind of met up with my cousins, and rode the monorail back to their car. One of my cousins, who was supposed to fly back before everybody got bumped from her flight so instead she was staying an extra day. Isntead of paying for a hotel, she actually has a friend from college who just moved to Sumner, so we tagged along to drop her off. Got a nice view of the new football stadium, it's gorgeous, really adds a nice touch to the skyline. And oh man, my cousin's friend got a mansion of a house, 3 car garage, right on the edge of the woods for $450k. Of course, you have to live in Sumner, but man what house! And that was the end of our excitement. The rain returned the next day. Nothing drastic, just steady rain, no harder than what we'd been getting down here in SoCal. The airport was on the edge of getting fogged in, though, so that was a nail biter, but we made it out with no problem. And after 2+ days of 30 degree weather, it was sure nice to step off the plane in Long Beach! I do so love Seattle, I could definitely see myself living there, rain and cold be damned. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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01-18-2005, 03:31 PM	#2
Eliza Hodgkins 1812 Sputnik Sweetheart Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Beach Posts: 2,685	Ah, I'd like to venture up to the pretty, pretty North. Thanks for the reportage!
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01-18-2005, 03:33 PM	#3
wendybeth Nevermind Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,847	Moving to Seattle is a rite of passage for kids from Spokane, but most move back within a few years. I love to visit, but the traffic and expense would stop me from moving there. We eastsiders are also a little indignant at all the cool new stuff they get over there, while they hardly notice we exist, except during an election. Still, I love the city, and I also love visiting the Washington coastline. It's wild and largely unspoiled, and there is even a rain forest. (The Lady Washington is berthed in Gray's Harbor- we saw it while it was under construction). Cool report- thanks, GD! __________________
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01-18-2005, 03:35 PM	#4
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	Yeah, um, somehow I don't think "traffic and expense" would be on the list of complaints from someone moving from SoCal. That'd be a little like someone moving down here from Seattle and complaining about the rain __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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01-18-2005, 04:12 PM	#5
UvaGirl Somewhere beyond the sea Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 396	I'd love to go to Seattle some time - thanks for the report __________________ Cause I'm a train wreck Waiting to happen Waiting for someone to come pick me up off the tracks
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01-18-2005, 04:43 PM	#8
wendybeth Nevermind Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,847	Ooohh, maybe a Seattle meet sometime... Wouldn't that be fun? __________________
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01-18-2005, 09:32 PM	#10
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	Rain? In Lake Quinault? Nah. The Hoh was COMPLETELY dry. We stayed at Loch Airie all of the time we've visited. The cabins are charming. They have canoes that you can take out and we'd paddle around the lake while being followed by river otter famlies. Nothing like 5 little heads popping up out of the water to look at you in your odd metal, dented canoe. I am in LOVE with that place. It's magic.
	Submit to Quotes