Seattle September 2019

My first trip to Seattle was over 20 years ago. It was a high school graduation present from my parents and a trip which only involved me and my older cousin. I was a huge fan of alternative rock and a die-hard Nirvana fan through most of my high school tenure (I had a Nirvana shirt for every day of the week and then some). It was a great trip which involved two separate excursions to Canada (one day to Victoria on Vancouver Island the other to Vancouver) and some solid memories of visits to places like Pike's Place Market and lunch in the Space Needle. This is my fourth trip to Seattle since then and a lot has changed. I remember that they only just broke ground for the Museum of Pop Culture at my first trip and I also wasn't a coffee drinker at the time (which is a bit of blasphemy now). I don't think Starbucks made it to Arizona quite yet (or just got there) and I can't even say if my cousin and I went to the first Starbucks at Pike's Place (I don't think we did). Incidentally, I have only waited in line once to actually buy something at the original Starbucks (my last trip there) and mainly because we got there pretty early / before the crowds. I do recommend going there if you are a Starbucks fan but just be prepared to wait in a designated line outside the store.

As much as I like Seattle, it is one of my least-favorite airports to fly into. The layout of the terminals is poorly designed for proper flow and it all-together has an overly busy rundown feel to it...not LAX rundown but rundown nonetheless. Much like the Portland airport, there is a light rail conveniently located at the airport, which will take you into downtown and all the way to University of Washington (which I believe is the last stop). Of note is that the airport is not particularly close to the downtown area / it takes about 30 minutes (without traffic) to drive there and about 45 minutes on the light rail. To my son's chagrin, we took the light rail namely to save about $30 on the trip (it was only $2.50 a ticket for the light rail). The initial grumbles from my son became ever increasing when we actually made it onto the light rail as I didn't pay attention to the weekend schedule / didn't realize that we got in at the time everyone decided to head to the Huskies game. We were jammed into the cars at the first stop and more people attempted (successfully) at each subsequent stop to further cram themselves into crevices. It reminded me of the subway ride in Tokyo when we were packed like sardines but unlike Tokyo it was not completely quiet and civil. Once we reached our destination the exit doors (of course) were on the opposite side of where we stood. When a raised voice advising of desire to exit didn't seem to work I had no choice but to throw elbows and dirty glances as I shoved my way through the mass, my son in tow.

Luckily, our hotel (Hyatt Grand Regency) was only about a 5 minute walk from the station. We didn't take advantage of all the amenities of the hotel but as far as location and cleanliness I was pretty impressed with it and highly recommend it if you plan to stay in the downtown area.

It was great having both the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and the Cinerama within walking distance. If you haven't heard of either place you're missing out as they are where dreams are made. Coffee and movies. That's fifty-seven and a half percent of what is important in life. Starbucks is a strange beast for me. I'm not a fan of their straight coffee blends (like Pike Place Roast) as I think they are all too bold / dark (and I am a fan of dark roast) but their single origin reserve roasts are pretty awesome. Their reserve roastery is where the magic happens. I'm not positive but I believe there are unicorns and centaurs roaming in the back area. I first visited the roastery with my mom during my last Seattle visit and marked it as a must-do for this one. Walking into the establishment is pretty stunning not only from its sheer size but with all of the brushed copper, elitist drink choices, and special edition merchandise. They have a roastery in Tokyo but we didn't make it to that area and I was recently sent an article by my mom noting that the largest Starbucks in the world (a reserve roastery) is opening in Chicago...but it (of course) opens a few weeks after my trip out there in November.

Going to the roastery this time around was awesome but the circus-like crowds made it feel like the last time I went it was still a bit of a well-kept secret and now the entire world knew of its existence. Luckily, my ability to deal with crowds has become better over the years; that being said, Starbucks obviously didn't get the memo that I was going to be there as they likely would have closed the doors to the general public and allowed me to run gleefully throughout the store hopped-up on caffeine. I was somehow able to get there early enough to grab a table but it seriously felt like it became exponentially busier within about 10 minutes of my getting there. My timing was lucky and my family and I pretty much copped a squat there for the next few hours. I am usually one for straight black coffee but I was intrigued by their Whiskey Barreled cold roast concoction (The Salted Honey Bee). It is easily one of the best coffee drinks I have ever consumed. It was a pretty big hit with the rest of my family as well as we ended up ordering 4 total. We won't get into the monetary logistics of how much was spent that day, we'll leave that for the minstrels and their playful sonnets...it just comes down to what I have always felt in that I have no problem paying a premium for a great experience / memory versus something which will just sit on a shelf and collect dust. I left with some goodies and splurged on a bag of the Whiskey Barrel roast coffee (I had to do a bit of a double take at the cost after they range it up...five dollars an ounce...yes, an ounce). For any coffee aficionados you really need to check this place out, even if you regularly aren't a fan of Starbucks coffee.

We went to the Museum for Pop Culture which had a new Prince exhibit and a Nirvana exhibit which was recently re-installed from initially being there years ago then going on tour.

It probably doesn't need to be noted that this was Prince's shirt

As noted previously, I was a huge Nirvana junkie in high school so when I took my sons to the museum a few years back and saw the exhibit for the first time I was like a kid in a candy store. Of course, my sons could care less as they only really listened to Nirvana when they were forced to do so as kids riding around in my car. The current exhibit (which appears to now be permanent) is not as large as the first one but it is still pretty awesome for anyone who grew up listening to Alternative music as it delves into other bands during that time frame as well.

Speaking of 90s alternative rock, they also had a temporary Pearl Jam exhibit. It was pretty nostalgic seeing a lot of merchandise on display that I had not seen for over 20 years. It brought me back to the time I saw them in concert mid 1996 at the Veteran's Memorial Coluseum in which The Ramones opened for them. It was one of my first major concerts and the first time I experienced the crazy awesomeness that is the Pit. My friend and I stood outside the venue in the sun for hours before the concert just to get the coveted Pit wristbands and it was definitely worth it as I still have vivid memories of the experience. There's nothing quite like being shoved up against tons of sweaty people who are hopping around and crowd-surfing as the band is playing on the stage right in front of you. On a side note, my one and only foray into crowd-surfing was at a Bush concert in which I went up, "surfed" for about one second then fell straight to the ground. As I was in a dazed state on the floor I remember there was a unanimous "Ohhhh" from the surrounding spectators who saw me drop followed by a guy putting a hat on my head...which was then taken off about a second later by someone else (in a pretty violent fashion). My experiences of being on the floor of a concert has changed greatly since my high school years. When I was lucky enough to get floor tickets to Radiohead in Pittsburgh (see prior post) I found a nice spot where I was able to lean on a fence if needed and was far enough away from any congestive crowd issues. I learned my lesson previously at an Atoms of Peace concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl in which some guy found the absolute need to perform some interpretive dance, ramming into people and actually crushing a limited edition poster I purchased about 20 minutes earlier. At the Radiohead show I staked my claim early enough and vowed not to move until the concert was over. It's a good thing that I didn't need to go to the restroom as things could have turned out a bit more messy.

But enough about my past concert-going experiences. Well, maybe a few more...probably the coolest thing was when my friend Ed was able to get us backstage after a Deftones concert. I still have the shirt they signed for me and we spent a decent amount of time just hanging out / chatting with the drummer (Abe Cunningham). He seemed high as a kite but was a really nice guy. Ed also got Jimmy Eat World to sign a drum head on my birthday when we went to a show at Temple Bowl; they headlined a concert with JeJune and Piebald. Easily one of the best concerts I went to in high school.

Ok, back to Seattle and the Pop Museum. This is one of my higher recommended places to check out in the city, especially if you are into anything music, movies, etc. The Space Needle is in the same center as the museum and you easily can go to both the same day. If you really wanted to, you could make a day of the area and also go to the Chihuly Garden and Glass (which is really stunning) and the Discovery Center (which was worthwhile but will likely appeal more to children). We didn't go up the Space Needle this time around but it is a must-do for anyone visiting the city for the first time.

That evening my son and I went to the Cinerama to watch Stand By Me. Seeing that I am a huge movie buff I try to make it to a film at the Cinerama at least once each time I am in Seattle. I really want to check out one of their 70mm festivals some year (note that they just put out a notice of it being this year from Sept 27th to Oct 2nd), most notably to finally catch Lawrence of Arabia in 70mm format. If you ever check out the Cinerama make sure to get some chocolate popcorn, it is ridiculous.

Original costumes in Cinerama

The Pike's Place Market has more than enough nooks and crannies to probably spend a day or more checking everything out, including the pretty gross gum wall. They also have an aquarium and Argosay Bay tour in the area, which are worthwhile but not repeat items (in my opinion) so we didn't partake in either this trip.

Gum Wall

A new place we visited this trip was a restaurant called The Pink Door. Located in an alley near Pike's Place Market it (surprise, surprise) can be found by the single pink door entrance. The building structure is a bit fascinating as you go down a flight of stairs directly upon entering the establishment into an open room but it wasn't until I searched for a restroom that I saw just how big it was. I initially thought it was just the one small area but it stretches back pretty far / has multiple rooms, many of which give a nice view of the bay. Apparently there is a different form of entertainment each night of the week. While we were there an aerial performer was there, which was a pretty nice touch.

Inside the Pink Door

Although this was a quick Seattle trip in which we were in town for less than 48 hours and pretty much stayed in the downtown area, based upon prior trips I highly recommend heading to the University of Washington. Aside from it being a stunning campus, you can rent canoes or kayaks near the football stadium (which is right next to the water) and check out Union Bay. The views on the water are pretty awesome. If I would have visited the University area prior to college I probably would have had it as my top destination based upon the miraculous surroundings alone.

Next up : Los Angeles / Burbank / Disney Studio Tour