Rendezvous in Seattle for Third Party Pick-up

Dear Blog Readers,

This is Lisa coming at choo from the NorthWest hizzy seattizy near the Space Needlizzy… perhaps that should be saved for L.A.

Jarrett and Melissa arrived at SEA-TAC airport Saturday afternoon to pick me up.  As they drove by, the side door flung open and I jumped in hobo-hoppin’ train style.  We were off to down-town Seattle. I was pleasantly surprised at how organized and clean the van was as Jarrett showed me the ‘living room’, the ‘bedroom’, ‘pantry’, and even ‘bathroom’ (don’t ask).  The van is covered in Velcro with various items from wallets, leathermens, ipods and even pens stuck to the dashboard. I have been convinced that attaching Velcro to my iPhone is a good idea. It is currently stuck to the ceiling of the van.  I may adopt this concept in my own vehicle when I return.

We pulled into Capitol Hill and drove around the blocks to find a parking spot.  There were many folks of eccentric nature walking the streets. We were told by this lovely gay man that we were on candid camera and the police were about to pop us for stealing cars as the van security alarm went off (the van’s security alarm is a little sensitive and it sounded as we were gathering our urban-hiking gear.)

We begin our trek down town first stopping at Pike’s Place Market (bustling with shoppers); meandered to the Seattle Center where the Northwest Folklife Festival was occurring (free and WOW!); saw the Space Needle (it’s orange on the top; however all formal pictures of it show the top to be white); cruised back to Pike/Pine St areas on the Monorail (a product of the World’s Fair); investigated the Seattle Public Library (this is how libraries should be); found some home-made fro-yo (I had Honey Lavender flavor); ate Pho; and sought out a nice hotel for my pampered self to shower and sprawl out on a bed.

Upon waking up in the luxurious Econo Lodge, Jarrett exclaims ‘ I feel like this is so excess! Who needs all this bed and running water? I don’t need this.’  This is after two weeks of Jarrett and Melissa camping the entire way to Seattle, not staying one night in the comforts of a hotel.  We eat our complimentary carb-fest breakfast and return to the city for a second gander.

After attempting to find a bike for me to cruise around on in the city, I decided to go by foot and Melissa and Jarrett hopped on their wheels. Renting a bike costs $35 a day or buying a cheapo bike from Walmart costs $119.  I decided to pass (for now) and began to pound pavement, rendezvousing with Melissa and Jarrett at the Experience Music Project museum at 4:45 pm.

The Experience Music Project (EMP) museum was great. We didn’t get to see all of it and could have spent the whole day there as most good museums go. They had exhibits on AC/DC, Nirvana (and the grunge scene), Avatar, Can’t Look Away (Horror film obsessions), Sound Room (a place to play around on various rock’n’roll instruments), and a sweet concert (The Royal Sea- check’em out) going on in the main lobby.

After the Museum, we were famished and ready for a real seafood dinner at Ivar’s Miles of Clams seafood restaurant. I boarded the Monorail and Jarrett and Melissa biked to the waterfront where we discussed the day’s events while eating dinner.  Jarrett and Melissa biked to see the famous giant troll eating a Volkswagen Beetle. This sculpture lives under the bridge in Fremont.  They biked the canal and saw boats being lifted through the locks. They even saw many mini-sailboats being played with on the water.  They also saw the Adobe building and looked around the large REI store where they had a mountain bike trail and a rock-climbing wall to test equipment.  Melissa, upon arriving at Ivar’s, had a large hula hoop hanging on her shoulder as she came to a stop on her bike. She had bought it on the black-market from an illegal hippy hula operation on the festival grounds as they passed through. Luckily, the police didn’t confiscate the paraphernalia as they put the kibosh on future hula transactions.

My adventures for the day led me back down to Pike’s Place Market where I ate fresh donuts from Daily jDoughnut Dozen (featured on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations), watched the fishmongers toss fish and call out orders, perused the artistic fare (purchased myself a fine pair of earrings); took pictures of the very first Starbucks; smelled the many bouquets of flowers lining the aisles; and chatted it up with a nice man that I purchased a magnet from (to be added to my refrigerator collection). Before I ended up at the EMP, I walked through the Northwest Folklife Festival where there were loads of folk-festers, food stands, booths with all kinds of artistic pieces and the obvious skunky aroma of the Pacific Northwest’s finest green.  This is what a festival should be: free, a ton of stages with all genres of music, real authentic one-of-a-kind crafts, delicious food (not just deep-fried potatoes and cake batter), and great exhibitions.

Our meal at Ivar’s was tasty (expensive) but prepared well.  Heading back to our vehicle, I prepared myself mentally to sleep crammed in the belly of the van for the night. If you know Jarrett and Melissa well, you may be able to understand my concern.  

First night in the van was not at all bad.  There seemed to be a steady breeze that kept us cool and provided fresh air.  I awoke at 6:30 (still adjusting to west coast time) wide-awake and ready to go. I jumped in the front seat and drove off to McDonald’s for a bathroom break and morning tea, Jarrett and Melissa still wrapped up in blankets and asleep in the back.  They finally woke up as I brought them back to Pike’s Place Market before skipping town.  We couldn’t leave without first getting a Piroshky from Piroshky Piroshky, fresh doughnuts, a bag of fresh fruit (kindly washed by the bearded and flannelled vendor), an espresso, some salmon jerky (bought from those fish tossers) and Flagship cheese from Beecher’s Handmade Cheeses.  We attempted to get some meat from Salumi but they were unfortunately closed.

Off to Olympic National Park! Vanderstinks out!