That evening we drove into Seattle where we would stay for a few nights, visiting friends. I'd never been to Seattle, but since college, I'd had a utopian vision of its grandeur: good music, good coffee, coast line, ideal temperatures (I like it cool). I'd put up with the rain for the rest of it. Seattle did impress me. Though a visit to anywhere that begins with a weekend tour of donut shops would. Still, it didn't feel like the Eden I'd always thought it would be. I'm not completely certain about this, and of course I need to explore more Pacific corridor before I make my conclusion, but I think I might innately be more of an east coast girl. Sorry Tupac.
That said, I do love Seattle. I'd be perfectly content if life brought me to this city, I thought, standing in line for a piroshky--a supremely amazing Russian "hot pocket" stuffed with meat and cheese. What's not to like: great skyline; nearness to natural beauty (constant view of Mt. Rainier from many parts of town); awesome donuts; good food; accessibility to fresh products at markets like Pike's Place; and yes, amazing coffee. Seattle-ites are just as obsessed about coffee as we think they are. While Starbucks is popular, in Seattle, it has become like the Target of coffee: it will suffice, but it's pretending to be a higher-quality than it really is. I had plenty of other far superior coffee in Seattle. The options are limitless. If food and natural wonders aren't your thing, then go visit the gravesite of Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Lee. Something for everyone.
A few things were a bit foreign to me. First, nine in every ten grocery stores was a local chain of a natural/organic foods market. I'd have serious trouble finding fruit roll-ups in this city. Second, being green-conscious is a really really big deal. I saw several national parks and natural wonders in a short span during my trip. For those of us too distracted to think about it, visiting a place like Yellowstone will get you thinking about recycling and conserving energy in a snap. So I appreciate all places where there is an emphasis on saving the environment. Seeing recycle bins in hotel rooms is nice. Reusing bags and dishes is swell too. Sometimes the green-ness was a bit overwhelming in Seattle.
Girl at donut shop: "Those cups are made out of corn starch."
Me: "Uh huh." (emphasis on the Uh)
Girl: "So, they're completely compostable."
Me: "Oh. Um. Cool?"
It occurred to me later that she was subtly signaling me to drop the cup in the compost bin instead of the recycle bin as I had done. I'd never been to a donut shop with a compost bin. Later, I also heard that many people don't mow the grass in the Seattle area. Instead, they bring in sheep herds to graze on the grass and essentially mow it for them. Only in Washington.
Oh and the clouds creep me out. Not in a it's-so-bleak-and-depressing kind of way. More in a sci-fi kind of way. The thick clouds in the mountain ranges seem like giant living organisms that will soon take over the horizon. I know Mt. Rainier is there. I've seen it. But on a partly cloudy day, the poofyness that covers the peak is like a giant fungus come to life. Then there's the random gray plates of cloud cover. Literally plates. There is clear sky for miles, and suddenly you pass under a 50-mile wide disc of gray cloud like that scene in Independence Day when the camera passes under the space ship. Seriously, it's a space ship cloud. You can see sky and horizon in front of you and behind you, but directly above you it's a water vapor alien-craft.
I've finally made it to Washington from Connecticut. The road trip is over. Eighty-miles south of Seattle in Chehalis and Adna, Washington, the new adventure begins!
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| Famous fish-throwing fishmongers at Pike's Place farmers market |
That said, I do love Seattle. I'd be perfectly content if life brought me to this city, I thought, standing in line for a piroshky--a supremely amazing Russian "hot pocket" stuffed with meat and cheese. What's not to like: great skyline; nearness to natural beauty (constant view of Mt. Rainier from many parts of town); awesome donuts; good food; accessibility to fresh products at markets like Pike's Place; and yes, amazing coffee. Seattle-ites are just as obsessed about coffee as we think they are. While Starbucks is popular, in Seattle, it has become like the Target of coffee: it will suffice, but it's pretending to be a higher-quality than it really is. I had plenty of other far superior coffee in Seattle. The options are limitless. If food and natural wonders aren't your thing, then go visit the gravesite of Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Lee. Something for everyone.
Girl at donut shop: "Those cups are made out of corn starch."
Me: "Uh huh." (emphasis on the Uh)
Girl: "So, they're completely compostable."
Me: "Oh. Um. Cool?"
It occurred to me later that she was subtly signaling me to drop the cup in the compost bin instead of the recycle bin as I had done. I'd never been to a donut shop with a compost bin. Later, I also heard that many people don't mow the grass in the Seattle area. Instead, they bring in sheep herds to graze on the grass and essentially mow it for them. Only in Washington.
 |
| This is what I'm talking about. Spotty, disc cloud cover, with the mountains clearly visible many miles in the distance |
I've finally made it to Washington from Connecticut. The road trip is over. Eighty-miles south of Seattle in Chehalis and Adna, Washington, the new adventure begins!
 |
| Watching the opening of the locks, dividing Lake Washington and Puget Sound |
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