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Published: August 22nd 2007
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070820 Seattle, Washington
Seattle is a huge city with road that criss cross everywhere and it’s much more hilly than I though. The streets are narrow and there are so many one way streets and odd traffic directions I had a rough time navigating. I didn’t know where to go but had heard that downtown was cool so I headed there.
After find a spot to park at an exorbitant 6 bucks for 2 hours I began my self guided tour. At the corner of Yessler and 2nd I saw a large crowd of people surrounding a man who was speaking. I edged closer and head the Elvis look alike talking about the history of the building he was standing next to. He finished his spiel and began walking down the sidewalk, the crowd followed and so did I. My self guided tour turned into a guided tour, free of charge.
The tour took about an hour and went though Pike Market (the place where they throw fish), Occidental Park, and a few other interesting locals. After the tour I went to the main public library which is an amazing 10 story building that seems more sculpture than
building. Inside the library I jumped on Couchsurfing.com and sent out a bunch of request to find a place to stay for the night.
My parking time was almost up so I went to my truck to continue to my next destination. My computer showed a huge park called Discovery Park not too far away. On my way to the park I got a phone call from a woman named Angela who I had sent a Couchsurfing request to. She said I could probably stay with her after a quick meet at a coffee shop, so I turned around and went back to downtown near where she lived.
Angela is a recent transplant from Las Vegas. She hadn’t hosted anyone from the site yet. We had coffee and talked for a while. Eventually she decided I could stay with her and we decided to walk around downtown. She showed me a few cool local hangouts and we stopped in the REI motherstore so I could buy some waterproofer for my tent.
Later we went to an irish pub called Patty Coynes for a 3.99 steak and chips and a few beers. We were joined by her friend
Todd and another woman who had called me and offered her place for me to stay, Belle. After dinner, good conversation, and a few beers we decided to check out a nearby German bar called Fire Brau or something like that.
Inside the bar I was waiting in line for the bathroom and I noticed that there was a door that led to the condos above the bar. That’d be awfully convenient to have a door to a bar right from your apartment stairwell! After a beer a piece we were finished…they were huge German steins, probably about a liter and a half each.
Belle decided to call it a night, so Todd, Angela, and I decided to get some more beer and head to Angela’s apartment. In the course of the conversation I asked what I should do the next day. Todd suggested Discovery Park. Seeing as that’s where I wanted to go anyway I decided to make a day of it.
The next morning I got up and headed to the coffee shop where I originally met Angela, Caffine. I checked e-mail and then headed over to Gasworks park, a park I heard about online.
It used to be a synthetic natural gas production site, but was eventually turned into a park. A lot of the machinery was left there. I thought it was going to be more interesting than it was, but I got a couple cool pictres and there was a really sweet compass/sun dial that was about 15’ in diameter. After leaving Gasworks Park I made my way to Discovery Park. After missing my exit on the freeway and taking the next one I made my way through a really nice neighborhood. I love the houses here…they’re all different and cute. I had to wait to cross a waterway at the Freemont Bridge while a sailboat passed under the upraised bridge.
It’s about 3:30 and I’m still at the park as I write this. I got here about 9 and have spent my time wandering the many trails in this huge park. The park is probably about twice the size of Encanto Park for those of you familiar with the big park in Phoenix. The park is on a peninsula that juts into the sound. I haven’t seen much wildlife other than squirrels and birds. The trees and undergrowth are amazing. There are a million little narrow mazelike side trails that snake through the forest, each promising secret nooks and hidden treasures. One such treasure is an abundance of blackberry bushes. I followed a side trail and was thrown into a cul-de-sac of blackberry bushes. The spiky bushes were covered with plump ripe berries. I plucked so many my hands turned purple from the juices. I was never a big fan of blackberries, but fresh off the bush they are delicious.
After leaving the park and driving across the Freemont Bridge I parked in the Freemont district and walked around, looking through all the odd shops, intriguing restaurants, and cool sculptures. Freemont is a very artsy district. There is a huge troll under a bridge (check out the picture, you can barely see me!)
I’m staying with a guy named Matt from Couchsurfing tonight. I have to meet him later tonight. I’m chilling at the Freemont Library which looks like a pretty big house, it’s pretty much one big room, very interesting.
Even though I’ve only been in Seattle since yesterday it feels like I’ve been here a long time. I’m not sure what I’m going to do tomorrow. I was thinking about going on a ferry, maybe to Vashon Island or Orca Island.
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sara
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i'm so glad ytou got to see the troll! the top of his head is my very favourite place on earth to blow bubbles. :)