Northwest Afternoon
It seemed easy enough at the time: Get off the bus, eat something, go to Scarecrow Video, check into the hotel, do something touristy, get some dinner, go see My Bloody Valentine. Naturally, that ain't what happened. While lots of the aforementioned list did happen, they didn't happen in that order. It was as if I forgot my plans when I got off the bus or something.
I spent the early afternoon walking through downtown Seattle, marveling at all the old architecture that somehow managed to coexist with the modern towers in the business district. I walked up 4th until I reached Westlake Centre. From there, it seemed like a good idea to hop the monorail and check out the neighbourhood I'd be leaving my stuff in. Considering the cost of the hotel and the amount of time I'd actually be in town, it seemed like a waste not to get as much use out of the hotel as possible. Besides, while I was around there, I could wander around Seattle Centre and not pay for any attractions. So that's pretty much what I did.
Imagine my surprise when I saw that the Space Needle was within injecting distance of my hotel. Seriously. I knew The Inn at Queen Anne was close to Seattle Centre, but I didn't know how close until I saw it for myself. Further wandering around the area revealed that my hotel was close to a movie theatre, two businesses that looked like movie theatres, two record stores, a 24 hour drug store, and a Fedex/Kinko's. It was also next door to a Dick's Drive-In, but the less said about that, the better. (Tiny burgers! Not like Sliders, but still small. Though their fries are admittedly good.) By the time I could check into my hotel, I'd bought N a floaty pen of the Space Needle, Tweeted about my afternoon, and promised myself a look around the record store and maybe even a trip to the Space Needle's observation deck once I got back from Scarecrow Video.
Of course, I managed to get lost along the way to Scarecrow. Not by taking the wrong bus, or by getting off at the wrong stop or anything like that. No, I'd transposed the numbers in Scarecrow's address so that what I thought was at 3050 Roosevelt was actually at 5030 Roosevelt. Big difference, especially considering how 3050 Roosevelt doesn't exist. By the time I made it to the store, I didn't have enough time to look around at all the shelves and have my mind blown by all the movies that I couldn't rent but oh so desperately wanted to. So I kept my browsing superficial, took some pictures, and bought a t-shirt for my dad. And a shirt for myself, natch. Realizing that I wouldn't have enough time for a proper dinner, I grabbed some Jack in the Box to go and ate it on the bus back downtown.
From downtown, I monorailed back to my hotel. I dropped off my goods, picked up my will call confirmation, then monorailed back downtown. From there, I navigated the Metro system to the Wamu Theatre at Qwest Field. I'd been up since too damn early o'clock and on my feet for most of the afternoon. I should have been tired, I should have been resting. But being tired and resting, I could do at home. The whole point of my trip was coming up, and I was as far from tired as I could get.
I spent the early afternoon walking through downtown Seattle, marveling at all the old architecture that somehow managed to coexist with the modern towers in the business district. I walked up 4th until I reached Westlake Centre. From there, it seemed like a good idea to hop the monorail and check out the neighbourhood I'd be leaving my stuff in. Considering the cost of the hotel and the amount of time I'd actually be in town, it seemed like a waste not to get as much use out of the hotel as possible. Besides, while I was around there, I could wander around Seattle Centre and not pay for any attractions. So that's pretty much what I did.
Imagine my surprise when I saw that the Space Needle was within injecting distance of my hotel. Seriously. I knew The Inn at Queen Anne was close to Seattle Centre, but I didn't know how close until I saw it for myself. Further wandering around the area revealed that my hotel was close to a movie theatre, two businesses that looked like movie theatres, two record stores, a 24 hour drug store, and a Fedex/Kinko's. It was also next door to a Dick's Drive-In, but the less said about that, the better. (Tiny burgers! Not like Sliders, but still small. Though their fries are admittedly good.) By the time I could check into my hotel, I'd bought N a floaty pen of the Space Needle, Tweeted about my afternoon, and promised myself a look around the record store and maybe even a trip to the Space Needle's observation deck once I got back from Scarecrow Video.
Of course, I managed to get lost along the way to Scarecrow. Not by taking the wrong bus, or by getting off at the wrong stop or anything like that. No, I'd transposed the numbers in Scarecrow's address so that what I thought was at 3050 Roosevelt was actually at 5030 Roosevelt. Big difference, especially considering how 3050 Roosevelt doesn't exist. By the time I made it to the store, I didn't have enough time to look around at all the shelves and have my mind blown by all the movies that I couldn't rent but oh so desperately wanted to. So I kept my browsing superficial, took some pictures, and bought a t-shirt for my dad. And a shirt for myself, natch. Realizing that I wouldn't have enough time for a proper dinner, I grabbed some Jack in the Box to go and ate it on the bus back downtown.
From downtown, I monorailed back to my hotel. I dropped off my goods, picked up my will call confirmation, then monorailed back downtown. From there, I navigated the Metro system to the Wamu Theatre at Qwest Field. I'd been up since too damn early o'clock and on my feet for most of the afternoon. I should have been tired, I should have been resting. But being tired and resting, I could do at home. The whole point of my trip was coming up, and I was as far from tired as I could get.