Portland Brewfest
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Seattle Sojourn 1 of ?
July 16, 17, 18, 2004
The time had come for me to finally visit Seattle. I was trying to do a cool audio journal of my trip, but somehow I managed to mess up my audio posts, and none of them posted to the site, which really bums me out. It will be harder to recreate the weekend from memory, but I will try my best.
Felicia decided to take her summer vacation in July this year. She had extra hours this month, and would not have to use any PTO. I thought that was a great idea. Since she was off, I thought I would take off on a Friday and we could do a long weekend in Seattle.
During the planning phase I was trying to convince Felicia to stay in a Hostel. However, all the private rooms were booked and she was not down with sharing a room with complete strangers. I must confess that I was not very fond of the idea, although I do seem to have this romantic notion of running into an exotic foreigner, with an oh so sexy accent, and proclivity for long romantic weekends. It is probably for the best to keep that one a fantasy and not get smacked with the reality of hostelling. We did find this cool little cottage to stay in during our visit.
As I was searching for an affordable and not ghetto place with a hint of character I ran across some cottages on bedandbreakfast.com. I ran them by Felicia and she thought they looked like fun. So we booked the little cottage with the big view at Swallow's Nest Guest Cottages on Vashon Island, in the Puget Sound. Here is the little cottage we stayed in called the "Nest". It was a tiny little thing, under 900 square feet. It did have a little kitchen, and bathroom. The queen size bed was nearly wall-to-wall in the bedroom. Still there was room to make breakfast in the morning, and plug in the blender for Adam Sunrises as night.
Friday night we decided that we would cross to the Island from Tacoma, Washington at Pt. Defiance. Was I glad that we made that decision as traffic was terrible in Tacoma, and I could only imagine how bad Seattle would have been. So we drove up on the Ferry. It was a bit odd driving onto boat I have to say. I really could not sit in my car and feel the motion of the boat; it made me kind of light headed for some strange reason. Once out of the car though, I was fine. I don't normally get sea sick, but for some reason, I just could not sit in the car while the boat was in motion. Honestly though, I didn't want too as the Puget Sound is incredibly beautiful. We spotted a seal swimming along the boat during our crossing. I am not sure how well my picture of the seal turned out. If you can make him out, I will post it. Our short crossing ended at Pt. Tahlequah on Vashon Island. The directions provided by the cottage were almost good enough not to get lost, however we managed. I am not sure exactly what the cottage owner was smoking when he wrote out the directions, but he managed not to use any street names in the directions, and guide us only by landmarks. "At the radio tower, turn left." Now, I am city folk. Us city folk, don't do miles, and we don't do land marks. We do street names and times. Amazingly, I only made one wrong turn, and after a quick phone call was back on track and heading the right way. Thank God for cell phones. Along our rout, we were suppose to use some golf course and country club as a landmark, but to this day, Felicia and I swear we never saw the place. I think Purple Haze was in the cottage owner's head.
We managed to make it up to the bluff where our cottage was located, which happened to be next door to the owner's own home. Very small town, and very quaint. The owner was waiting outside for us, as he had just given us directions and new we were on our way. He had long gray hippy hair and a long gray hippy bead, and his teeth confirmed that he smoked something. Or he had at one time anyway. He was nice enough, but loved to chitchat. Chitchat, chit chat, he rambled and went on and one and on about...well really nothing...he just enjoyed a good conversation. Or should I say, he enjoyed talking, we really could not get in a word.
Eventually, we managed to check ourselves into the cottage, unload Crayola and relax a bit. We had decided that we were not going to go into Seattle that night, but rather explore the Island a bit. That really did not take much time, as there was not much too the Island, and it shut down at 9 PM. Well, the bars stayed open a little later, but everything else was locked up. We went to town, ate an okay dinner, and did a little light shipping, where I bought a card for my Mom, and then found a bar for a drink beheading back to the cottage. It was like Paris and Nicole walked into town. Of course, Felicia and I were slamin' as we always are, but it was truly city come to country, and the locals all knew it. We conquered and managed to fit in at the bar just fine. Then headed back to the cottage to make some drinks and just enjoy the night and the stars. A million stars hung in the sky over Vashon Island. They were a truly beautiful sight. It is not often clear in the Puget Sound, and Felicia and I were blessed with two beautiful nights.
***end part 1***
The time had come for me to finally visit Seattle. I was trying to do a cool audio journal of my trip, but somehow I managed to mess up my audio posts, and none of them posted to the site, which really bums me out. It will be harder to recreate the weekend from memory, but I will try my best.
Felicia decided to take her summer vacation in July this year. She had extra hours this month, and would not have to use any PTO. I thought that was a great idea. Since she was off, I thought I would take off on a Friday and we could do a long weekend in Seattle.
During the planning phase I was trying to convince Felicia to stay in a Hostel. However, all the private rooms were booked and she was not down with sharing a room with complete strangers. I must confess that I was not very fond of the idea, although I do seem to have this romantic notion of running into an exotic foreigner, with an oh so sexy accent, and proclivity for long romantic weekends. It is probably for the best to keep that one a fantasy and not get smacked with the reality of hostelling. We did find this cool little cottage to stay in during our visit.
As I was searching for an affordable and not ghetto place with a hint of character I ran across some cottages on bedandbreakfast.com. I ran them by Felicia and she thought they looked like fun. So we booked the little cottage with the big view at Swallow's Nest Guest Cottages on Vashon Island, in the Puget Sound. Here is the little cottage we stayed in called the "Nest". It was a tiny little thing, under 900 square feet. It did have a little kitchen, and bathroom. The queen size bed was nearly wall-to-wall in the bedroom. Still there was room to make breakfast in the morning, and plug in the blender for Adam Sunrises as night.
Friday night we decided that we would cross to the Island from Tacoma, Washington at Pt. Defiance. Was I glad that we made that decision as traffic was terrible in Tacoma, and I could only imagine how bad Seattle would have been. So we drove up on the Ferry. It was a bit odd driving onto boat I have to say. I really could not sit in my car and feel the motion of the boat; it made me kind of light headed for some strange reason. Once out of the car though, I was fine. I don't normally get sea sick, but for some reason, I just could not sit in the car while the boat was in motion. Honestly though, I didn't want too as the Puget Sound is incredibly beautiful. We spotted a seal swimming along the boat during our crossing. I am not sure how well my picture of the seal turned out. If you can make him out, I will post it. Our short crossing ended at Pt. Tahlequah on Vashon Island. The directions provided by the cottage were almost good enough not to get lost, however we managed. I am not sure exactly what the cottage owner was smoking when he wrote out the directions, but he managed not to use any street names in the directions, and guide us only by landmarks. "At the radio tower, turn left." Now, I am city folk. Us city folk, don't do miles, and we don't do land marks. We do street names and times. Amazingly, I only made one wrong turn, and after a quick phone call was back on track and heading the right way. Thank God for cell phones. Along our rout, we were suppose to use some golf course and country club as a landmark, but to this day, Felicia and I swear we never saw the place. I think Purple Haze was in the cottage owner's head.
We managed to make it up to the bluff where our cottage was located, which happened to be next door to the owner's own home. Very small town, and very quaint. The owner was waiting outside for us, as he had just given us directions and new we were on our way. He had long gray hippy hair and a long gray hippy bead, and his teeth confirmed that he smoked something. Or he had at one time anyway. He was nice enough, but loved to chitchat. Chitchat, chit chat, he rambled and went on and one and on about...well really nothing...he just enjoyed a good conversation. Or should I say, he enjoyed talking, we really could not get in a word.
Eventually, we managed to check ourselves into the cottage, unload Crayola and relax a bit. We had decided that we were not going to go into Seattle that night, but rather explore the Island a bit. That really did not take much time, as there was not much too the Island, and it shut down at 9 PM. Well, the bars stayed open a little later, but everything else was locked up. We went to town, ate an okay dinner, and did a little light shipping, where I bought a card for my Mom, and then found a bar for a drink beheading back to the cottage. It was like Paris and Nicole walked into town. Of course, Felicia and I were slamin' as we always are, but it was truly city come to country, and the locals all knew it. We conquered and managed to fit in at the bar just fine. Then headed back to the cottage to make some drinks and just enjoy the night and the stars. A million stars hung in the sky over Vashon Island. They were a truly beautiful sight. It is not often clear in the Puget Sound, and Felicia and I were blessed with two beautiful nights.
***end part 1***
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Festivals and more Festivals
June - a month filled with festivals and general mayhem. I loved every second of it. We started June with Portland's Rose Festival, a huge event that stretched on for most of the month. A big to do in the Rose City. Managed to get out with friends for the Starlight Parade. The night before, we managed to get to opening night fireworks. Not bad, and I finally learned how to take great firework pictures. I will have to find time to post some pictures. I have not done that in a while. Then in June, Pride hit. Now that is a party. Bars are packed, parades and festivals keep the party rolling. I managed to wonder my way down to the waterfront and enjoy the sights and sounds of Pride, and then managed my way back to the bars for a some cocktails before wrapping things up. I have to say my favorite event has to be Peacock in the Park. Sadly, it was my first and last as it was the last year for Peacock. It is always great fun watching drag queen trying desperately to keep their makeup from melting in the hot summer sun. Good fun. Then it was on to the 4th and Felicia and I made our way up to Vancouver, Washington for the "largest firework show west of the Mississippi". It was quite impressive. The fireworks were launched from a barge in the middle of the Columbia River. It made for a spectacular sight. We jumped a fence and made our way onto the banks of the Columbia to watch the show. Then...as if that were not enough...the Portland Blues Festival hit. I had a blast, and we got to see Jonny Lang, who was absolutely amazing. The boy can play his guitar, and everyone should take the opportunity to see him if they get the chance.
Alas, all the summer merriment has kept me away from my computer and my updates. But I can't burn the sun away, we only get a few months of it up here in the Northwest. I hope all are well. Drop me a line and let me know how you are doing.
For now, ciao from Portland.
-@
Alas, all the summer merriment has kept me away from my computer and my updates. But I can't burn the sun away, we only get a few months of it up here in the Northwest. I hope all are well. Drop me a line and let me know how you are doing.
For now, ciao from Portland.
-@
