Untimely Travel Tales - Seattle Edition, Pt. 1

Back in November of last year, I took advantage of the "free room and board" invitation of my very good friend Blake and visited the city of Seattle for the first time. This is the first of a handful of blog entries that will feature my reminiscences and memories of the trip accompanied by the videos I shot each day.

Day One - I arrived in the Emerald City just as the sun was setting. My gracious host met me at the airport and whisked me into the city. We caught up with each other as we drove and after a quick costume change, we headed out for some Vietnamese food. (I won't name the restaurant, because (1) I can't remember what the name of it was and (2) it left a lot to be desired.)

Anyway, we met and ate with my friend Charlie and his boyfriend Brett at ... er ... the restaurant that shall not be named, and afterward the four of us walked down to Bleu Bistro for a cocktail. I'm a big fan of dive bars, and I'm especially fond of eclectic, bohemian-style bars with a long drink menu and multiple warnings from the fire marshall, so I liked it very much. All but one of us ordered drinks with dirty names (mine being the Lawn Boy), and we laughed and shot the breeze for a little while.

Sadly, Charlie and Brett had to leave us after only one libation, so Blake and I explored the area a little, walking through Cal Anderson park and ending up at Purr Cocktail Lounge. We had a couple more drinks, chatted, admired the tumbleweeds that rolled through the nearly-empty bar, and then headed back to Blake's apartment. On the way, we passed an art installation called "Oscillating Field" by Dan Corson. As I watched a pair of green lasers move strategically across a "field" of long tubes that looked not unlike large blades of grass, Blake explained that Seattle devotes a portion of public funds to art exhibits throughout the city, which I think is damned cool. (You can read more about it here.)

That was pretty much it for the first day, although I think we might have hit the Spooky Coke Machine for the first time that night. Blake had heard of it before, but he'd never gone looking for it - even though it ended up being mere blocks from his place. I guess it's the kind of thing you forget about until guests come to town. That is, guests who revel in odd, off-beat stuff. Anyway, it's this old Coke machine that features two "mystery" buttons. I hit that thing at least once a day throughout the trip, and I never got the same thing twice.




CONTINUED in PART TWO!