Day 8: Seattle

Day 8 stats:
Miles: 0 driven (about 5 walked)
Highway Patrol: 0 (but a few of Seattle's finest)
Tolls: 0
Hitchhikers: 0

This day was the first - and only - day I didn't drive. I did however take a monorail and walk a decent amount. I won't say I walked a lot, because for me a lot is about 12+ miles in a day. I was able to see a variety of sights in a a day.

1. Seattle Art Museum. Primarily a modern and contemporary art museum, but they did have a great exhibition called "Inspiring Impressionists," which talked about how impressionist were influenced by old masters, 17th century Dutch landscape painters and the works they say at the Louvre. On display were not only the impressionists works, but also their "muses." A great start to the day!

2. Pike Place Market. Kind of touristy, but lots of good fresh food.

3. Space Needle. I took the monorail to the Space Needle and felt like I was on a very large Disneyland "land" (e.g., Tomorrow Land, etc). Surrounding the Needle was like a carnival, complete with a Ferris Wheel, some spinning rides and of course the Bumbershoot music festival, which is apparently the largest music festival in Seattle. I didn't know this was going on until I arrived in Seattle. Thankfully it was a clear day - a rarity in Seattle - so I had some great views. But after looking at the views for about 5 minutes I realized I spent more time standing in the ticket and elevator lines than I was going to spend looking at the view. Oh well.

4. Seattle Waterfront. I decided to walk back from the Space Needle to Pioneer Square (birthplace of Seattle, but more about that later). My first stop on the waterfront was the Olympic Sculpture Park. Lots of very large modern and contemporary sculpture including a series of 20-30 foot tall orange traffic cones. And then a very disturbing fountain. I continued my walk along the piers.

5. Seattle Underground. No it's not a subway system. It is a tour that I would totally recommend to anyone going to Seattle. I learned so much about the history of Seattle...did you know that for decades the streets and sidewalks were 10-35 feet above the store fronts and people would have to go up and down ladders and stairs just to walk a couple blocks. Eventually a series of underground walkways were created, which considering the rainy weather...walking underground is much preferred than climbing a slippery ladder while wearing a petticoat (at least for women). We walked on and under Pioneer Square.

Homeward bound...

Day 8: Drive to Seattle

Day 8 Stats:
Miles: 300-ish
Highway Patrol: 3
Tolls: 0
Hitchhikers: 2 (there was a sign on the highway that said "Hitchhiking Permitted"....but no one was there)

I didn't really expect it to take almost 6 hours to drive across the state of Washington, but it did...those dirt roads leaving the winery took a while.

During the drive I was somewhat surprised about the landscape of central Washington, it was almost desert-like, and the scenery reminded me somewhat of Lake Havasu in Arizona! And I found what I call a "mini-me" Grand Canyon - it is about 1/10 of the one in Arizona and not as colorful, but other than that a dead ringer.

Once I got about 100 miles outside of Seattle something expected occurred: rain. Throughout the trip I have been blessed with blue skies and sunshine, with only about 5 minutes or rain in Montana, but then again Seattle isn't the rain capital of the US for nothing (I don't really know if it is true or not, but it sure seems like it).

Normally rain isn't a big deal to me, but as I drove down some very steep mountains on some very windy roads adding rain to the mix is a recipe for disaster. Thank you state of Washington for having guard rails...there tends to be a family history of windy mountainous roads, absent guard rails and disasters....

By the time I got into downtown Seattle I was ready to check into my hotel - a very cool former early-20th century gentlemen's club (not a strip club, but a place were actual "gentlemen" socialized) - but my room wasn't ready, so I hung out in the Polar Club bar.

Next stop: touring Seattle....

Day 7 (night): Winery

The thought of spending the night at an organic winery in rural northeastern Washington, sounded like a nice, relaxing idea, and oh was it.

It turned out that the winery was a croquet-playing, organic hippie commune, from actual hippies. The early 70s were frequently looked backed upon as the good ol' days before "the big guys" took over organic farming, people donate plasma for money and when William Shatner would pick up hitchhikers twice - and give them $20 - twice. I am not exaggerating, these were stories told to me by a random community of people who live/work on and around the winery.

Before I begin I should say that everyone was extremely warm, friendly, hospitable, truly some of the nicest people I met on my journey, but they were an interesting collection of personalities...

The Vintner: He had two names, one I think his parents gave him and one I think he gave himself. A tall thin man with a white beared and long-ish curly white hair. He loves all things organic, including organic jalapeno cheese puffs and croquet. He is rather cryptic about his background beyond that his family was in agriculture and he has been a vintner for 15 years. He kept saying "Do you know how you make a small fortune in wine? Start with a large one."

The Writer/Musician: A tall, thin man in mid-50s who was very proud of his recent tan. He is planning to go on a music tour in 5 days, just completed his second novel, and in his spare time plows forest land to create a regulation-size croquet field on the winery's property. He hopes to have a US Open tournament there. The court will include a bar (plumbing has been laid) and bleachers. He and his wife have a home near the winery, but he has recently chosen to sleep out of his car (note: he and his wife are not separated, he talked about her planned trip to Wal-Mart).

The Organic Farmer: A woman in her mid-50s, who spent 13 years as an organic farmer. She owns her place/property, but does not have running water, so she often uses the showers in the local laundromat or on the winery. The purpose of her visit this evening was to collect some water. She is extremely passionate about organic farming, and how fertilizers should not be used..the soil should be replenished through crop rotation.

The Vagabond: I believe he is/was homeless. Another tall thin man in his mid-50s, who talked about his new false teeth within 3 minutes of meeting him. I don't think he had been around a new woman in sometime, since he found me quite fascinating. He talked about how he was originally from the Chicago area, his hitchhiking adventures up the Pacific Coast, and how even though he doesn't have a lot of money and he is still learning "country etiquette" the people at the winery were very nice to him. He also gave me a tour of the land.

After watching a croquet match between the The Vintner and The Writer/Musician on a much smaller croquet field, but still following Oxford-something rules (something to do with chess). I was treated with some homemade (organic, of course) chili in the cannery where The Organic Farmer and I talked about organic farming, vegetarianism and gas prices.