Starbucks v ABC Stores

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Ya reckon Vancouvers got a homeless issue? HA! Seattle laughs in your face. In comparison, Vancouver is a veritable Monaco. Seems like every second person has an angle for some sort of freebie. It's a downsided backdrop on what is otherwise a seemingly fantastic city, an enigma if ever there was one. A modern skyline is punctuated by Bohemian enclaves, bustling waterfront markets, groovy cafes and bars, and trendy shops, all with this infusion of down-and-outers loitering amidst.
A wonderful day was spent delving into the bowels of Seattle but with one eye constantly on our valuables. Highlights? Well now you mention it:
1. The weather - it may have been patchy at best but we did manage to unfurl the sunnies, if only for a few minutes. In a city that "boasts" 300 days of rain per annum, we were thankful to be around on one of the other 65, even of the mercury didn't crawl beyond 8 degrees.
2. The Sky Train - it's not often a transport system squeezes into a highlights package but Seattle's Sky Train is of Singaporean cleanliness, speed and efficiency with an Indian price tag. Mind you, it's only been in operation for a couple of weeks. Let's see how it's faring in a year or two.
3. The Purple Cafe - chic and sleek with an international wine rack where you have to crane your neck to see the apex. But where were the Oz grape juices?
4. Marcelo's Creole Kitchen - Anthony and his wife Marcelo hightailed out of New Orleans (be sure to pronounce it Noo Orlins) apres Katrina and opened up their quirky little restaurant in Pioneer Square. Anthony inquired whether we'd ever eaten traditional Noo Orlins Creole cuisine. The reply:
"Ocajunally". Guffaw guffaw guffaw.
I was on a roll so when ordering the appetiser, who could resist:
"I'll have the fried alligator, AND MAKE IT SNAPPY"!
O.K., so that one fell a little flat, but the food didn't (except for the gator itself, which really does taste like bland chicken). The gumbo, jambalaya and crawfish pie were another story. May I quote Homer? (not the philosopher but the Springfield version):
"It was like there was a party in my mouth and everyone was invited".
5. A miracle, if you will. Yep, on our last wee stroll back to the Sky Train, we went two entire blocks without passing a Starbucks.
And that was our day in Seattle. A lot of people sporting limps and as one old fella, Spencer, informed me, his particular leg injury was caused by a bullet. "But if I ever get my hands on that sonofabitch I'm gunna shoot him back". Perhaps one full day was enough and it was time to scattle out of Seattle and a bunch of degrees south to warmer climes.
Thus Hawaii, the Coulters settling into their 20th storey view over Waikiki and Diamond Head, the Colvin/Yeates with ours over the Outrigger carpark. Day one dawns fine and sunny over Oahu and the surf report bleats out a headhigh swell on the North Shore with light variable trade winds. Sounds great, if you happen to be on the North Shore and in possession of a surfboard. Where were we and what didn't we have? It seemed almost sacriligious to be embedded on the south side sans board. Of course we could have hired a 12 foot 80 kg plank and paddled out in town with the other 200 desperados trying to eke something out of the 1 foot dribble but that seemed a particularly lame substitute. Better off forgetting the surf and plunge into the Waikiki maelstrom, which is fun in a mid-western vacation kind of way. If kitsch is your itch then Waikiki is Shangri La. It is entertaining but for us can become a tad constrictive and grating plus the food is an ode to all things American - fry it up and gimme plenty!
Fortunately we did squeeze in time for a dash up to the North Shore on our last day. Double fortunately I still hadn't procured a board - double fortunately because the swell was around 25 foot plus with only Waimea Bay holding it. Great to see but I found the surrounding circus as intriguing as the action in the water. Anyway, I'm not overly confident my 6 foot fish would have handled the drops as competently as the 10 - 12 foot rhino chasers everyone else was riding.
The end of Hawaii signals the end of our month. Honolulu has been a veritable "Vegas by the sea" but at least the Starbucks have thinned out a little. However, whilst they are more spread out, they have been replaced by ABC convenience stores. I'm gunna google the ratio of Starbucks per block in Seattle and put it up against the same ratio of ABC stores in Waikiki. It won't be an exciting contest but it will be a close tussle and an exercise in studying market saturation. I reckon the ABC boys might just take the blue ribbon with one count being 4 in one single block. C'mon the pineapple state.

More images at:

www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com

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Photos

Seattle waterfront market
Use black and white to hide the grey weather

Belltown Seattle
Street art?

Seattle Space Needle
Through the bus stop window.

Waikiki
A sunset is a sunset is a sunset.

Waimea Bay
Struggling to get over the top and not washed into oblivion.

Waimea Bay
The lads armed to the teeth.

Waikiki
Gas lamp by the pool.

Waikiki
The cliched view over the beach.

Waikiki
Iconic Island Paradise Hotel

Waikiki
Diamond Head backdrop

Waimea Bay
Rescue boards at 25 foot Waimea Bay.