Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Travel Vlog: Seattle, WA
In which Emily recounts her time in Seattle, kindergarten friends for life, Pho, bike contests, classy and trashy tributes to MJ, thinks about tiny cities and eats some figs.
They were delicious.
Seattle
For some reason, I didn't expect to like Seattle. Maybe this was intensified by my mother insisting that I would. Maybe not.
I got in late Friday evening. Alyssa and I sat on the couch, chatting and catching up. We went to Kindergarten / 1st grade together. I then moved away, and we would see one another sporadically. Alyssa is now married to a Navy guy, living in Seattle, going to school. Her husband is a homebrew fanatic. There is a kegorator in their kitchen. Alyssa has become interested in eating healthy. She has been reusing the spent grains from his beer-making to make muffins. Maybe we do have more in common than 1st grade.
Saturday we got up early and took the bus to the Space Needle. She has a season pass, which means she gets to bring a guest each time she goes up. Sweet free Space Needle.
I always find myself at the top of things. If there is something to climb for a great view, I do it. I've found that great views don't differ in huge ways. Perhaps the type of buildings that are tiny are different. Perhaps the colors are different. If you have climbed a structure of get a view, you are probably viewing other structures. Tiny.
We stopped by an amazing record store. Two days after the passing of MJ, they had the appropriate homage.
We went to Pike's Market. AMAZING. It is a farmer's market on steroids, and maybe speed.
Produce is delicious and inexpensive. Some fruit sellers told us that they were "fruit pushing fruit." I believe this was their selling point.
I was especially enamored with the neon.
The first Starbucks, and the quickest exploitation of MJ's death:
Alyssa told me about the city wide compost. WTF? Why can't we have this? They just put compostables in with the sticks and leaves. It is all one, with a special trash bin. Why is this system not in place everywhere?
Some other things we saw en route to the bike drawing:
Please notice the sweet Scubacide leg tat. Scubacide. You can't hang yourself underwater.
Alyssa, her husband and I all entered our names into a drawing for the chance to win a bike. You had to be present, at the optometrist's office, when the drawing was held in order to win.
They had a reception, complete with wine, beer, grapes, fancy cheese and crackers. It felt very much like an art opening. This was only intensified by the art work on the walls.
A woman was selected to draw an entry. She spun around. The woman holding the container of entries spun around.
We were not selected.
I took some pictures of myself in the bathroom.
Things seen on the way home:
When we got on the bus, a crazy woman turned and shouted toward the back of the bus: "WATCH YOUR F***ING MOUTH!"
Ironic? Crazy. The pink sweatered woman:
On the way back to their home, we stopped and got Pho (Fuh). This is a vietnamese soup that is quite ubiquitous in the Seattle area. I have made this before, maybe eaten it at Van's....but maybe not. There are enough Pho restaurants in Seattle that they get cute with the names.
Example: What the Fuh.
Brilliant.
Verdict?
I like Seattle.
I got in late Friday evening. Alyssa and I sat on the couch, chatting and catching up. We went to Kindergarten / 1st grade together. I then moved away, and we would see one another sporadically. Alyssa is now married to a Navy guy, living in Seattle, going to school. Her husband is a homebrew fanatic. There is a kegorator in their kitchen. Alyssa has become interested in eating healthy. She has been reusing the spent grains from his beer-making to make muffins. Maybe we do have more in common than 1st grade.
Saturday we got up early and took the bus to the Space Needle. She has a season pass, which means she gets to bring a guest each time she goes up. Sweet free Space Needle.
I always find myself at the top of things. If there is something to climb for a great view, I do it. I've found that great views don't differ in huge ways. Perhaps the type of buildings that are tiny are different. Perhaps the colors are different. If you have climbed a structure of get a view, you are probably viewing other structures. Tiny.
We stopped by an amazing record store. Two days after the passing of MJ, they had the appropriate homage.
We went to Pike's Market. AMAZING. It is a farmer's market on steroids, and maybe speed.
Produce is delicious and inexpensive. Some fruit sellers told us that they were "fruit pushing fruit." I believe this was their selling point.
I was especially enamored with the neon.
The first Starbucks, and the quickest exploitation of MJ's death:
Alyssa told me about the city wide compost. WTF? Why can't we have this? They just put compostables in with the sticks and leaves. It is all one, with a special trash bin. Why is this system not in place everywhere?
Some other things we saw en route to the bike drawing:
Please notice the sweet Scubacide leg tat. Scubacide. You can't hang yourself underwater.
Alyssa, her husband and I all entered our names into a drawing for the chance to win a bike. You had to be present, at the optometrist's office, when the drawing was held in order to win.
They had a reception, complete with wine, beer, grapes, fancy cheese and crackers. It felt very much like an art opening. This was only intensified by the art work on the walls.
A woman was selected to draw an entry. She spun around. The woman holding the container of entries spun around.
We were not selected.
I took some pictures of myself in the bathroom.
Things seen on the way home:
When we got on the bus, a crazy woman turned and shouted toward the back of the bus: "WATCH YOUR F***ING MOUTH!"
Ironic? Crazy. The pink sweatered woman:
On the way back to their home, we stopped and got Pho (Fuh). This is a vietnamese soup that is quite ubiquitous in the Seattle area. I have made this before, maybe eaten it at Van's....but maybe not. There are enough Pho restaurants in Seattle that they get cute with the names.
Example: What the Fuh.
Brilliant.
Verdict?
I like Seattle.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Missoula, MT
I woke up early (probably when the sun rose) in Bozeman and drove to Missoula. I parked in what may be a government building lot (city hall?) and fed the meter some quarters.
I went in a Bagel cafe to charge my laptop and use the internet.
I asked a question about a house bagel (turned out to be an "everything" type) and admitted that I was not from around here. I got into a little conversation with the cashier about my road trip. I told her that I'm from NY. "I went to NYC once," she said. "I sat down on the curb and whined: 'I miss my mountains!'"
I've had quite the opposite, complimentary experience. As I drive through the mountains I whine: "I miss my buildings!"
My friend had asked me to bring her a tiny bison she could sew onto a headband, so I decided that Missoula would be the place to find it. I asked someone in the bagel place where I could find this sort of souvenir. He directed me to the "Missoula Mercantile," and I drove my car a few blocks away, according to his directions. Though I didn't find the Missoula Mercantile ("That's Macy's now, it hasn't been Missoula Mercantile for 100 years!"), I DID find a million amazing antique shops.
One I found was packed, every square inch. It was a treat for the eyes, and for the camera. There were so many antique tools I wanted to bring home. So many knicknacks. Oh well.
I walked around a bit, and found a giant antique mall. I picked out a butter churn - $10, paddle, glass jar and all, some vintage maps of the west for myself and for presents, and a hand-crank meat slicer - $50. I approached the counter and asked if I could set my items down while I continued to look. The people at the antique mall talked to each other about what an idiot they think Al Gore is, and how An Inconvenient Truth is filled with loopholes and how he makes things seem urgent when they aren't ever going to effect humans. (I of course judge these folk in this mountain town because of this, and am later surprised to discover EcoGeek Hank Green lives in the same town, and is certainly of the opposite camp).
I ask the woman if she can do better on the meat slicer. She tells me that because it is below a certain amount, she cannot. I tell her that I will not take it, then. I watch her writing up my receipt, and I notice something that I hadn't noticed before ---the true price of the butter churn: $110.
Needless to say, I left only with maps.
I went in a Bagel cafe to charge my laptop and use the internet.
I asked a question about a house bagel (turned out to be an "everything" type) and admitted that I was not from around here. I got into a little conversation with the cashier about my road trip. I told her that I'm from NY. "I went to NYC once," she said. "I sat down on the curb and whined: 'I miss my mountains!'"
I've had quite the opposite, complimentary experience. As I drive through the mountains I whine: "I miss my buildings!"
My friend had asked me to bring her a tiny bison she could sew onto a headband, so I decided that Missoula would be the place to find it. I asked someone in the bagel place where I could find this sort of souvenir. He directed me to the "Missoula Mercantile," and I drove my car a few blocks away, according to his directions. Though I didn't find the Missoula Mercantile ("That's Macy's now, it hasn't been Missoula Mercantile for 100 years!"), I DID find a million amazing antique shops.
One I found was packed, every square inch. It was a treat for the eyes, and for the camera. There were so many antique tools I wanted to bring home. So many knicknacks. Oh well.
I walked around a bit, and found a giant antique mall. I picked out a butter churn - $10, paddle, glass jar and all, some vintage maps of the west for myself and for presents, and a hand-crank meat slicer - $50. I approached the counter and asked if I could set my items down while I continued to look. The people at the antique mall talked to each other about what an idiot they think Al Gore is, and how An Inconvenient Truth is filled with loopholes and how he makes things seem urgent when they aren't ever going to effect humans. (I of course judge these folk in this mountain town because of this, and am later surprised to discover EcoGeek Hank Green lives in the same town, and is certainly of the opposite camp).
I ask the woman if she can do better on the meat slicer. She tells me that because it is below a certain amount, she cannot. I tell her that I will not take it, then. I watch her writing up my receipt, and I notice something that I hadn't noticed before ---the true price of the butter churn: $110.
Needless to say, I left only with maps.
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