November 4th – November 17th, 2007
Getting to know Seattle
Sleepless in Seattle pretty much sums up our last two weeks in Seattle. Talk about Shrek and Donkey on a whirlwind big city adventure – that was us! During the days, we continued hiking everywhere, from short jaunts up the hill a few blocks to the Victrola Coffee Shop for some business sessions, to the Broadway Grille for brunch, to the Seattle Art Museum (known as SAM in these regions) for an extensive tour, to the waterfront where we saw Pike Place market again and browsed the shops along the waterfront.
We made several trips to REI where we got a chance to scope out some of the equipment we have looked at online. It was a wonderful opportunity to see in person how things work, and what we definitely want to add to our list – like the MSR Dragonfly stove, bear canisters, and the GCI Outdoor Everywhere chairs. We also got a chance to return our sleeping pads – both of which had faulty air valves – and we scored some Chaco sandals for when we hit warmer weather. I also scored on some North Face Espial pants on sale – they are so comfortable that I take them off long enough to wash and then I wear them again!
Another major project at REI was checking out the Novara (an REI brand) Safari touring bike. I’ve been doing a phenomenal amount of research on bikes for months now, trying to figure out what we can afford to buy for our travels south of the border, and what we even want. While still in New Hampshire, I stumbled across the Safari, and at $850 it sounded like the most likely possibility for us. We got a chance to talk at some length with folks in the bike shop at REI, get measured for the right size, and talk about the bike some more, although all the 2007 models were sold out and the 2008 models had still not arrived. We were disappointed at not getting to ride one, and we both felt very queasy buying a bike without trying it out at all. But I must say, it seemed like the best possibility we had come across yet.
We loved wandering along the waterfront – we came across a map store and were lucky enough to get a great map of Baja in Mexico –which is our first trek out of the USA, so we’ve had fun looking at that several times. We also came across a North Face store, and had great fun trying on cycling related clothing. We met Alesandra, who is the manager, and she took great care of us. We ended up getting the Impulse Hoodie, which we will be using as a cycling jersey, and a pair of Everest pants, which are durable, stretchy camp pants, and good for our “sightseeing” too. (Postdated note – the pants and Hoodies are truly awesome – more later on them – they were a seriously great choice). We loved working with Alesandra, and we are going to let her know how awesome her advice was. If you are near there in Seattle (North Face next to Pike Place Market) drop in and tell her we said hi.
Moving AB and Pat; the social life
Meanwhile, mixed in with all the hiking around Seattle, was our job of helping AB and Pat move. We helped AB pack the household goods and helped ferry over carload after carload of boxes and furniture to their new place, and then we helped unload and put away everything immediately. Twice, they got a U-Haul truck, and we helped load it up and get it over to the new place. AB treated us well through all this – he made sure we had enough to eat to keep our strength up. In fact, the mornings that he got up and cheerfully made a big breakfast for us, we knew we were in trouble – he was fattening us up for the kill, so to speak – ensuring we could keep working through a very long day. 🙂 The new place is just beautiful, by the way!
As if all this weren’t enough, we then had the evenings, when our social life kicked into high gear. We had at least 4 out of seven nights a week when Alex Jackson and/or Brian Schlittenhardt would come over and hang out, talking and laughing till the wee hours, or we’d be invited out to dinner, to a club, or to Alex’s house for dinner. And the nights we stayed home weren’t any better for sleep, as AB got home at 10:30 at night, we’d talk awhile, then he’d go to the clubs. He’d get back at 1 a.m. or later, so we were awakened then, and then Pat would get up at 7 a.m. or so to get off to work. Sleeping on the front room couches didn’t afford a lot of extra sleep time under those conditions. We figured we were averaging no more than 5-6 hours a night of sleep. I don’t know how these guys do it! But wow, were we having fun! The conversations were always incredibly interesting and very entertaining, and we frequently laughed until we cried.
Brian and Alex
Brian and AB sing a capella, and every night when Brian would come over, they’d start singing. They both have beautiful voices, and they invited us to join in. Brian plays the piano, too, and one night he brought over his keyboard and played until probably 2 in the morning. He is an extremely gifted player – he came back the next afternoon to pick up his keyboard, and we were lucky enough to have him play for another hour or more for us. I could have sat for hours more, just listening to him.
Brian is also incredibly talented at graphics work. He’s the one who did our Photoshop file for us for our new banner (our Hero of the Day for that one!), and he has created a logo for our new t-shirts. He also came up with several other ideas for our site that are really unique and very fun. We wish we could clone him and bring him with us! We’ll work on getting you access to his online portfolio. He’s interested in acquiring some private clients so if you need someone who does creative and original work, let us know and we’ll get in touch with him. We may be putting him on our About Us page.
Alex Jackson is another one with whom we had great fun. Alex took us on as a project, and did some research to see who might sponsor us. After a morning of research and phone calls, he got us lined up with Nike, and gave us the information to follow-up with them. We did go into the Nike store in downtown Seattle and talked to the manager, just to check out what Nike offers, but it turns out that since Lance Armstrong is no longer so active, Nike has cut back on their cycling apparel – they had ramped it up while Lance was reigning king in the cycling and international media. Meanwhile, Alex went over our website with us, had us to dinner, visited with us in the evenings, and made a number of calls to REI for us on the last day we were in Seattle. He gets another Hero of the Day for all that!
Green Links and anti-war demonstrations
Seattle is a multi-faceted city, and we had two more items of note while we were there – we witnessed an anti-war demonstration and we got invited to a Green Drinks networking event.
The anti-war demonstration was held in downtown Seattle, and we happened across it while hiking back up the hills from Pike Place Market. Our first clue that something was up was the huge line-up of motorcycle police hanging out in the middle of the street. We figured something important was going on, as it was quite a mass of police. Then we saw the demonstration covering a large square lined with stores. And last but not least, we saw all the police cars lined up down the rest of the street – everything from the local city police cars to the dark and menacing black Suburbans with black tinted windows, lined up, one after another after another. Seattle is very conscious of any activity of this kind after the huge riots in 1999 protesting at the World Trade Organization summit. Tens of thousands of protesters showed up, and the police reacted with tear gas and arrests. Businesses were closed, shops storefronts were smashed, and the clean-up bill ran to the many millions. This protest was very quiet and organized. I’m sure everyone was greatly relieved. If you haven’t yet, go check out our photo gallery.
Another very interesting event was the Green Drinks evening, put on by Green Links, a national organization devoted to networking among those interested in all issues “green”. We had been invited by a wonderful young woman, Daniela, whom we met at REI while we were checking out the shoes. She was very interested in our trip, and she sat and talked to us for a long time. She is interested in getting some kind of group going for women where she would emphasize physical activity, nutrition, and support, but all from a fun point of view. She’s still in the process of figuring out what it would all look like, but we think she’s on to something great, and we asked her to stay in touch with us. Daniela was really articulate and very bright, and a complete joy to be around.
Rather than getting together for coffee, Daniela invited us to the Green Drinks event. It was very interesting – a classic networking event. They had snacks and wine and beer, and lots of business cards were being passed out. We met a group from a bio-diesel company, and met a guy who owns Emedia Music (his site is www.emediamusic.com). He is building a cabin and came to the group to see what kinds of green technologies might be available. He was a very nice guy, and when I looked up his website, I was very impressed at his success. He develops and sells software to play the guitar and piano, and has gotten extremely good feedback (testimonials) on the quality of the programs. The company itself has also won a number of awards. Do check it out, especially if you are interested in learning the guitar or piano.
Chelsea’s new/used touring bike
One of the really big events that happened in Seattle is that Chelsea found a touring bike she wanted. We were on our way back to REI on our last afternoon when we passed a used sporting goods store, called Play It Again Sports. Lo and behold, there sat a Novara Safari. We nearly tripped over ourselves we were so excited to get in and see it! Turns out that it is a 2007 model, in perfect condition – it looked like it had barely been ridden, and was selling for $499. We each got to take it out for a spin, and Chelsea knew immediately that it was what she wanted. We talked at some length with the owner of the store, Dave Paterson, and he was wonderful – very knowledgeable and very patient, with great comments. He volunteered to put a hold on it, knowing how interested we were, and then dropped the price another $100! We agreed immediately, and decided we were going to figure out a way to buy the bike.
AB and Pat – Heroes of the Month
We’ve known Pat for many years now – I met him through my oldest son Paul, when he and Pat met each other in Los Angeles many years ago. I became friends with Pat when I lived in the Czech Republic and got stuck in New York on a return trip from California. By that time, Paul was now living in New York working for Continental Airlines, and Pat was back in his home state of New Jersey. I had been to California and was back in New York flying stand-by to Frankfurt, and I couldn’t get out on any flights. Pat picked me up and took me on the insider’s tour of New York – we saw Central Park; had dinner at a café where they offered a free 3 minute telephone call anywhere in the world; saw the Blue Man Group in an off Broadway show back when they were still new; and so many more things that I can’t even remember.
Back then, Pat would work like mad for 8-9 months a year, saving money, then he would take off and travel somewhere overseas for the next 3-4 months, or until he ran out of money. We were lucky enough to have him come and visit us two years in a row while we lived in the Czech Republic. He immediately felt like family. He’d be in and out of our lives for 10 days to 2 weeks, then we wouldn’t see him again for a year. But life moves on – we moved to Florida, and Pat moved to Seattle, and we didn’t see much of each other for several years.
We finally had a chance to see Pat again in 2005, and got a chance to meet AB for a few minutes, but that was all. I got a chance to get to know him better when I came through Seattle twice last year (2006) after our cross country bike ride, and really, really liked him. So it was a special treat to see him again this year and get to know him so much better. He is just wonderful – so even-tempered, always has a smile on his face, he’s a great cook, and he’s always interested in things, and willing to talk.
Between the two of them, Pat and AB are like our extended family. They are always welcome wherever we may be, and I know that we are always welcome wherever they are. The two of them certainly deserve the Hero of the Month award for their wonderful generosity and for the great fun we had with them.
Good-byes
Saying good-bye was very poignant, as we had had so incredibly much fun with our new “crowd”. Alex treated us to a last brunch at Broadway Grille; Brian treated us to a final café mocha at his favorite place; and we had a final good-bye dinner at a great Mexican restaurant with Alex, Brian, Pat, and AB, followed up by a long evening gathering back at the now empty apartment on Capitol Hill. We are going to miss these guys tremendously. We said good-bye to Pat early in the morning, and then AB took us to the airport. We were through security and ready to board our flights by 10 a.m., ready to move to the next part of our amazing journey.