Did a lot of reading today. Then decided I could read and workout, so went to the gym too. I'll be missing out for a while with working in Stockton this week and next.
Will talk about books I finished today in next post.
Jennifer is back from her trip to Seattle. She just got back about an hour ago, so no it's time for sleep.
Showing posts with label Seattle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seattle. Show all posts
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Seattle - Monday
Monday morning Dian was nice enough to care for my blisters by draining them and rebandaging them. After that, shoes were not so insanely painful.
For breakfast, we drove (thank you) to a restaurant in the University district. I had challah French toast that was incredibly good.
Then we drove downtown and parked at the Seattle Library. That is one amazing building. Dian got me good by making me go up several escalators to look out the top. She knows my fear of heights (note how I never said I went up in the Space Needle), but this wasn't too bad. I was able to distract myself with the architecture and the scenery. Then she made me ride the elevator back down.
Then we walked (much more slowly than Saturday and Sunday) to the Utilikilts store. We had to kill some time at another book store until Utilikilts opened, but when there I bought a heather gray Mocker. Just like the one in the picture. It's kind of like a dress slacks version of the utilikilt. I had wanted a denim one, but they've been discontinued.
But we did a little more walking and I can use this picture to prove I was really there.
And then it was time to go home, so I was driven to the airport, and Dian went on to a meeting and rehearsal for her next show. The flight back was a little rougher with a young boy behind me who kept kicking my seat. I would look back at his mother who would apologize and then reprimand him by holding him down or something. At that point he would begin screaming because he was (apparently) being stifled. I was glad to have my headphones on at that point.
Then I got home and Jennifer took me to La Piñata for a return margarita. And that night I related her my entire trip.
For breakfast, we drove (thank you) to a restaurant in the University district. I had challah French toast that was incredibly good.
Then we drove downtown and parked at the Seattle Library. That is one amazing building. Dian got me good by making me go up several escalators to look out the top. She knows my fear of heights (note how I never said I went up in the Space Needle), but this wasn't too bad. I was able to distract myself with the architecture and the scenery. Then she made me ride the elevator back down.
Then we walked (much more slowly than Saturday and Sunday) to the Utilikilts store. We had to kill some time at another book store until Utilikilts opened, but when there I bought a heather gray Mocker. Just like the one in the picture. It's kind of like a dress slacks version of the utilikilt. I had wanted a denim one, but they've been discontinued.
But we did a little more walking and I can use this picture to prove I was really there.
And then it was time to go home, so I was driven to the airport, and Dian went on to a meeting and rehearsal for her next show. The flight back was a little rougher with a young boy behind me who kept kicking my seat. I would look back at his mother who would apologize and then reprimand him by holding him down or something. At that point he would begin screaming because he was (apparently) being stifled. I was glad to have my headphones on at that point.
Then I got home and Jennifer took me to La Piñata for a return margarita. And that night I related her my entire trip.
Seattle - Sunday
Oh the distances travelled on foot this day...
Sunday began with a walk uphill on Queen Anne to a cool breakfast place that was originally a house. I had a waffle this time, and while it wasn't very warm, it was good and came with some really good bacon.
Then we walked down Queen Anne, back to Seattle Center and went to the Science Fiction Museum. I made a long list of books that I want to read, and enjoyed lots of cool props from television and movies.
And so, we went back up hill.
We stopped for a snack at Chocolopolis. They had a wide selection of chocolate bars, and then some crafted pieces of chocolate. I got a bar of 94%, a dark chocolate truffle with nibs, and a butter chew with gold flakes.
And then down hill (a little) and across the Highway 99 bridge. Under the bridge we saw the Fremont Troll, and then we headed down hill to the Fremont Sunday Market. We walked through the market, and headed around to Theo Chocolate. That's Theo, short for Theobromine. And at Theo, they had borken up samples of every bar they sell, all for the tasting. If I had not jsut bought some 94%, I woudl have bought their Theo Venezuela Dark Chcolate 91% bar. But I had enough samples to carry me through. I did get Jennifer a Dark Chocolate With Orange bar, a bag of roasted nibs, and two peanut butter confections that turned out to be like butter fingers.
We walked back through the market, adn I found a Herkimer diamond with two little crystals growing on it's side. When i get a picture taken of ti, I'll be sure and post it. Dian immediately asked what I plan to do with it.
...
I said figure a way to display it with the other two that I ahve.
After the market we had lunch, and then walked to the Gasworks Park. At teh top of a hill there is a human sun dial where you stand at a specified location depending on the day of the year, and your become the gnomon for the sundial. It's very pretty with bronze inlaid in concrete in the form of signs of the zodiac.
From the gasworks we walked to the University, and hit several bookstores including two comic book shops.
And we then walked back to the apartment taking the lower Fremont Bridge back to Queen Anne.
Total round trip at least 12.5 miles.
Here and here you can see my blisters if you really want to. The one on my right foot had a little blood in it.
I put band-aids on them to protect them, and we went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. I enjoyed it, and now I have to take Jennifer to see it too.
Sunday began with a walk uphill on Queen Anne to a cool breakfast place that was originally a house. I had a waffle this time, and while it wasn't very warm, it was good and came with some really good bacon.
Then we walked down Queen Anne, back to Seattle Center and went to the Science Fiction Museum. I made a long list of books that I want to read, and enjoyed lots of cool props from television and movies.
And so, we went back up hill.
We stopped for a snack at Chocolopolis. They had a wide selection of chocolate bars, and then some crafted pieces of chocolate. I got a bar of 94%, a dark chocolate truffle with nibs, and a butter chew with gold flakes.
And then down hill (a little) and across the Highway 99 bridge. Under the bridge we saw the Fremont Troll, and then we headed down hill to the Fremont Sunday Market. We walked through the market, and headed around to Theo Chocolate. That's Theo, short for Theobromine. And at Theo, they had borken up samples of every bar they sell, all for the tasting. If I had not jsut bought some 94%, I woudl have bought their Theo Venezuela Dark Chcolate 91% bar. But I had enough samples to carry me through. I did get Jennifer a Dark Chocolate With Orange bar, a bag of roasted nibs, and two peanut butter confections that turned out to be like butter fingers.
We walked back through the market, adn I found a Herkimer diamond with two little crystals growing on it's side. When i get a picture taken of ti, I'll be sure and post it. Dian immediately asked what I plan to do with it.
...
I said figure a way to display it with the other two that I ahve.
After the market we had lunch, and then walked to the Gasworks Park. At teh top of a hill there is a human sun dial where you stand at a specified location depending on the day of the year, and your become the gnomon for the sundial. It's very pretty with bronze inlaid in concrete in the form of signs of the zodiac.
From the gasworks we walked to the University, and hit several bookstores including two comic book shops.
And we then walked back to the apartment taking the lower Fremont Bridge back to Queen Anne.
Total round trip at least 12.5 miles.
Here and here you can see my blisters if you really want to. The one on my right foot had a little blood in it.
I put band-aids on them to protect them, and we went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. I enjoyed it, and now I have to take Jennifer to see it too.
Seattle - Saturday Night
After getting cleaned up, Dian and I went to sushi for dinner. It was a really good restaurant she knew of that has happy hour food. We got three rolls, a sushi assortment, a tempura plate, and my beer for less than $30. The dinner experience was great too with some more good conversation (like we hadn't been talking all day while we walked), and she dropped some hints about the musical. All of which would become obvious during the show, but I went in completely ignorant about.
Then we drover over to the theater, and stopped at a nearby place for dessert. I had an excellent chocolate cupcake that had that fancy hard and smooth icing on it with a soft icing flower on top. All in chocolate. And combined that with a nice lemonade. Dian had a German chocolate cupcake with tea.
And then I finally decided this event was worthy of taking pictures. Only two, but I did at least take some.
Then we moved on to the musical. "Gutenberg! The Musical!" is a very funny show. It mocks big musicals (smoke and fog, turntables, multiple musical styles), as well as the selling process of a new production. It's a two man show with a pianist present for the music. All characters are denoted by cheap baseball caps that have the character's name written on the front. Very smart and very entertaining.
After the show, we went back to Dian's apartment and crashed to be ready for Sunday's incredible amount of walking.
Then we drover over to the theater, and stopped at a nearby place for dessert. I had an excellent chocolate cupcake that had that fancy hard and smooth icing on it with a soft icing flower on top. All in chocolate. And combined that with a nice lemonade. Dian had a German chocolate cupcake with tea.
And then I finally decided this event was worthy of taking pictures. Only two, but I did at least take some.
Then we moved on to the musical. "Gutenberg! The Musical!" is a very funny show. It mocks big musicals (smoke and fog, turntables, multiple musical styles), as well as the selling process of a new production. It's a two man show with a pianist present for the music. All characters are denoted by cheap baseball caps that have the character's name written on the front. Very smart and very entertaining.
After the show, we went back to Dian's apartment and crashed to be ready for Sunday's incredible amount of walking.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Seattle - Friday and Saturday
The flight to Seattle was uneventful, and I got some good views of the world on the way. It was kind of cool to be flying over some glaciated mountains, and then suddenly this hummocky area. I couldn't see the volcano itself, but I knew from my old topographic map studies that Mt. Shasta was on the other side of the plane. And the flight was relatively quiet. It turned out there was a baby behind me the whole flight, but it never made a noise until we were on our descent.
Dian picked me up and we went back to her place and set up my palatial air mattress. It was my choice to stay with her because it just seemed like it would be easier than doing the hotel shuffle and coordination. Then we just chatted about things until after 11:00.
The next morning we started the day with breakfast (egg and sausage quesadilla for me), and then the walking began.
We continued downhill to the Olympic Sculpture Park. Wake was the most impressive, and I probably should have taken pictures, but there just wasn't a good way to get the impression of them in a picture. Their scale is such that it wouldn't carry over.
Then we looped around and walked through the Seattle Center. I didn't take a lot of pictures over the trip just because I didn't want all the typical touristy pix. I saw the Space Needle (whee.), and the remnants of the 1962 World's Fair.
Then we went to the NFFTY animation show. It was pretty cool with a couple good entries including an hour long LEGO animation. Not really a short with that length, but still pretty impressive. It took the kid who did it three years to make (20 minutes each year).
Then we walked downtown.
We followed the monorail (with the Simpsons song in my head) until it ended, we passed by Pike Place Market (we'd come back to it), and went on to Pioneer Square, and past that to a big bookstore. The cafe below ground at the bookstore is the one that they used as a model for the TV show Frasier. And on the way we passed the Seattle Utilikilt store. We were kind of... moving with purpose, so I got a promise that we'd come back later in the weekend. We backtracked to Pike Place Market, and wandered through that seeing the original Starbuck's store.
Then time was pressing, and we walked back to Dian's apartment to get cleaned up for dinner and Gutenberg! The Musical!...
The walk turns out to be over 7 miles, and is probably closer to 8. With lots of hills. And that was just a warm up for Sunday.
Dian picked me up and we went back to her place and set up my palatial air mattress. It was my choice to stay with her because it just seemed like it would be easier than doing the hotel shuffle and coordination. Then we just chatted about things until after 11:00.
The next morning we started the day with breakfast (egg and sausage quesadilla for me), and then the walking began.
We continued downhill to the Olympic Sculpture Park. Wake was the most impressive, and I probably should have taken pictures, but there just wasn't a good way to get the impression of them in a picture. Their scale is such that it wouldn't carry over.
Then we looped around and walked through the Seattle Center. I didn't take a lot of pictures over the trip just because I didn't want all the typical touristy pix. I saw the Space Needle (whee.), and the remnants of the 1962 World's Fair.
Then we went to the NFFTY animation show. It was pretty cool with a couple good entries including an hour long LEGO animation. Not really a short with that length, but still pretty impressive. It took the kid who did it three years to make (20 minutes each year).
Then we walked downtown.
We followed the monorail (with the Simpsons song in my head) until it ended, we passed by Pike Place Market (we'd come back to it), and went on to Pioneer Square, and past that to a big bookstore. The cafe below ground at the bookstore is the one that they used as a model for the TV show Frasier. And on the way we passed the Seattle Utilikilt store. We were kind of... moving with purpose, so I got a promise that we'd come back later in the weekend. We backtracked to Pike Place Market, and wandered through that seeing the original Starbuck's store.
Then time was pressing, and we walked back to Dian's apartment to get cleaned up for dinner and Gutenberg! The Musical!...
The walk turns out to be over 7 miles, and is probably closer to 8. With lots of hills. And that was just a warm up for Sunday.
Seattle - On Approach
As you can probably figure, I was kind of stressed by the time I got to the Oakland Airport on Friday. I hadn't flown Alaska Airlines in a long time, so I wasn't familiar with their wing of the terminal. But I was hoping for a drink. Something to take the edge off. And the Southwest terminal has that Gordon Biersch restaurant...
No luck there, but there was a Chili's Too (like an express, I guess), so I went into the bar and ordered a margarita. The bartender looked at me and asked me for my ID.
...
I'll be 40 in July.
I shrugged, and showed my license, and enjoyed my margarita.
When I asked for the check, the bartender apologized for carding me.
I really didn't have a problem with it. It's kind of a lift to be taken for someone that age.
No luck there, but there was a Chili's Too (like an express, I guess), so I went into the bar and ordered a margarita. The bartender looked at me and asked me for my ID.
...
I'll be 40 in July.
I shrugged, and showed my license, and enjoyed my margarita.
When I asked for the check, the bartender apologized for carding me.
I really didn't have a problem with it. It's kind of a lift to be taken for someone that age.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Blisters and the Women Who Love Me
I am back, safe and sound; with blisters popped and herkimer's found.
The walking just about did me in on Sunday. I have big blisters (one on each heel), but Dian popped and drained them this morning before we did our final traveling, and Jennifer has done the same again before we go to bed.
I'll get a play-by-play of the weekend out tomorrow.
The walking just about did me in on Sunday. I have big blisters (one on each heel), but Dian popped and drained them this morning before we did our final traveling, and Jennifer has done the same again before we go to bed.
I'll get a play-by-play of the weekend out tomorrow.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Ow, is me.
Just a quick bit using Dian's computer today. We've done a lot of walking these past two days. yesterday was big and so was today. today was a little bigger in fact. I've got two big blisters, one on each heel. I feel bad because Dian feels bad, but it's not her fault. I'd never had a problem with these boots before. I guess hiking and urban-hiking are significantly different.
I'll probably be better just in time to go out in the field the first full week of May.
I'll be sure to do a full rundown of the weekend once I get home.
With pictures.
I'll probably be better just in time to go out in the field the first full week of May.
I'll be sure to do a full rundown of the weekend once I get home.
With pictures.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Seattle - Phone Blogging
Today, lots of walking. Then sushi and the musical. Lots of fun and laughs. Tomorrow, the Sci-Fi museum, more walking, and maybe the Utilikilt store.
Friday, April 24, 2009
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