On the road.
It took me two hours to get to work this morning, because the trains were screwed. Again. Grr.
Last night I was thinking about Greyhound buses (don't ask), and I suddenly had an old memory come flooding back to me. I remembered a weekend which I had almost completely forgotten, and it was a really good weekend, so I am going to write about it here, now, so I can't forget it again.
I was in Seattle, with a group of friends from the university in Oregon where I was studying at the time. We had been there for a few days because there were no classes due to it being Thanksgiving break or something. So I was with some friends who either couldn't be with their families at that time, or else didn't want to be.
We were all meant to drive back to Oregon on the Saturday morning, but my friend Kevin and I had decided to let the others go ahead, and to stay in Seattle for an extra 36 hours on our own and then get a Greyhound bus back to Oregon on the Sunday night - just so we could go to the Seattle Seahawks game at the Kingdome that day. We both wanted to do it as an adventure and an experience, rather than for the game itself.
I knew Kevin would be a good person to have an adventure with. He was one of the guys who didn't want to be with his family for Thanksgiving, so he had come to Seattle with us. He also had a scar through his chin, because he had tried to shoot himself through the head once, but flinched at the last second. He was an alcoholic, and a writer. And a good guy, but a little weird. I guess all the best people are.
So anyway, the others all left on the Saturday morning, and Kevin and I stayed behind. I remember giving my guitar to Simon, to take back to Oregon in the van for me. It was the first guitar I had ever bought. I had bought it on the Friday - November 28th, 1997 - in a music store on 1st Avenue in Seattle. I got a good deal. And I didn't want to carry it around Seattle all weekend and take it to the game, so Simon took it back for me, in the van.
After everyone else left, Kevin and I spent the rest of the Saturday hanging around the youth hostel where we'd been staying, and then wandering around Seattle for a while. Then we called my friend Ryan, who lived in a town called Federal Way, about 30 minutes away. Ryan drove into Seattle and came to meet us, and we hung around for a while. Then we went back to his car, and it wouldn't start. We had to ask some people to give us a jump-start. They seemed suspicious of us - like it was just a ruse for us to rob them or something - but they helped us anyway, and the car started.
We drove to the University District and went to a restaurant to get some dinner. They served weird food there. I think it was Thai food, but it was like no Thai food I had ever seen before. The menu was very confusing, and we had no idea what to order, so we just asked the owner to bring us something good. I remember thinking it was okay, but too expensive. Then we looked around all the cheap CD stores there. I think I bought a couple of CDs for $1 each, and I convinced Kevin to buy the first Placebo album for $1. Then we drove back to Ryan's house, and met his parents, and his cat. They were weird, and it was already very late, so I think we all just went to sleep. I had the spare room, and Kevin took the couch. I think I stayed up for a while writing some postcards, but I fell asleep pretty fast.
On Sunday morning we had some breakfast, and then Ryan and his Dad drove Kevin and I back into Seattle. They had to do some errands there or something. They dropped us off downtown, and then said goodbye. So Kevin and I wandered around for a while. It was a Sunday, so there wasn't really that much to do; and we had already done all the touristy stuff like the Space Needle. I think we got something to eat somewhere, although I don't really remember what or where. Then at about 2pm we walked down to the Kingdome. There was an Amtrak station nearby, so we went there first and left our bags in the security lockers, and then went to the stadium. The Kingdome was a really ugly stadium. It doesn't exist any more - they knocked it down a few years ago and built a new stadium nearby.
We were pretty early, and there were only a few people inside. We walked around the whole stadium, and we got talking to an old man who was sweeping the seats. He said he had worked there for 20 years, and he loved his job. He seemed very proud to be able to keep those seats clean for all the people at the games. He was very friendly, and he seemed to like the fact that I was from England. He told us all about the history of the stadium, and all the things he had seen there over the years. He was nice.
Anyhow, the stadium started to fill up, so we left the old man to his job. We stood by the railings just over the players tunnel, watching them all as they ran out beneath us. Then we went to our seats in time for kickoff, at 4pm. I don't remember much about the game itself. The Atlanta Falcons were the visiting team, and they won. The Seahawks didn't play very well. Their only good play was a spectacular kickoff return for a touchdown. I remember there was a couple sat right in front of us, and they kept turning around and trying to encourage the whole crowd to cheer. They were die-hard fans I guess. I remember they ate a lot of hot dogs too.
After the game we filed out of the stadium with the rest of the fans, and walked to a nearby restaurant that served ribs. We hadn't really eaten much all day, so we were hungry. We had to wait almost an hour to be seated, but it was worth it. I remember the ribs were very good.
After dinner we walked all the way to the Greyhound station. It was very far - at the complete opposite end of the city - but we had plenty of time and nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, so we just walked. I think we stopped off briefly at the youth hostel where we had been staying too, just to say goodbye. We got to the Greyhound place about an hour before our bus was due, so we just sat and talked and read magazines or something. I remember there was a very small young boy sat near us. He seemed to be alone, but I didn't think anything of it. He was just sat there, quietly, waiting.
After about 30 minutes a woman burst in through the doors. She looked frantic. Then she saw the little boy who was sat near us, and started crying, and ran over to him. She hugged him and was crying. She seemed very relieved, and he said "Hi Mommy."
She asked him how long he had been there, and he said "A couple of hours, but I went to get candy once." She cried and apologised to him. She said it was his father's fault. From overhearing them, I gathered that the little boy's parents had seperated and that he had been to spend the weekend with his father who had then put him on a bus back to Seattle, to his mother; but failed to tell her, or something. Anyway, she was very angry, but relieved too. And then they left.
Eventually our bus came, and Kevin and I got on it. It was very full, but we sat together, near the front. I don't remember much about the journey. We talked about our girl problems a bit, and discussed all kinds of stuff. We stopped at a service station once, where the driver said we had ten minutes to go use the toilet or buy food and drinks or whatever. Most of the time I think we just talked though, and maybe drifted off to sleep once or twice.
The bus finally arrived back in Salem at about 1am, in the middle of the thickest fog I have ever seen in my entire life. It was honestly so thick that you couldn't see further than a few feet in front of you. It was all very disorientating; especially as it was so dark and late already, but I was too tired to worry. Kevin headed back to his place, so we said our goodbyes, and then I somehow found my way back to campus through the fog, and talked to a couple of people who were still awake about their Thanksgiving breaks, and then went to bed.
That was a good weekend.
Last night I was thinking about Greyhound buses (don't ask), and I suddenly had an old memory come flooding back to me. I remembered a weekend which I had almost completely forgotten, and it was a really good weekend, so I am going to write about it here, now, so I can't forget it again.
I was in Seattle, with a group of friends from the university in Oregon where I was studying at the time. We had been there for a few days because there were no classes due to it being Thanksgiving break or something. So I was with some friends who either couldn't be with their families at that time, or else didn't want to be.
We were all meant to drive back to Oregon on the Saturday morning, but my friend Kevin and I had decided to let the others go ahead, and to stay in Seattle for an extra 36 hours on our own and then get a Greyhound bus back to Oregon on the Sunday night - just so we could go to the Seattle Seahawks game at the Kingdome that day. We both wanted to do it as an adventure and an experience, rather than for the game itself.
I knew Kevin would be a good person to have an adventure with. He was one of the guys who didn't want to be with his family for Thanksgiving, so he had come to Seattle with us. He also had a scar through his chin, because he had tried to shoot himself through the head once, but flinched at the last second. He was an alcoholic, and a writer. And a good guy, but a little weird. I guess all the best people are.
So anyway, the others all left on the Saturday morning, and Kevin and I stayed behind. I remember giving my guitar to Simon, to take back to Oregon in the van for me. It was the first guitar I had ever bought. I had bought it on the Friday - November 28th, 1997 - in a music store on 1st Avenue in Seattle. I got a good deal. And I didn't want to carry it around Seattle all weekend and take it to the game, so Simon took it back for me, in the van.
After everyone else left, Kevin and I spent the rest of the Saturday hanging around the youth hostel where we'd been staying, and then wandering around Seattle for a while. Then we called my friend Ryan, who lived in a town called Federal Way, about 30 minutes away. Ryan drove into Seattle and came to meet us, and we hung around for a while. Then we went back to his car, and it wouldn't start. We had to ask some people to give us a jump-start. They seemed suspicious of us - like it was just a ruse for us to rob them or something - but they helped us anyway, and the car started.
We drove to the University District and went to a restaurant to get some dinner. They served weird food there. I think it was Thai food, but it was like no Thai food I had ever seen before. The menu was very confusing, and we had no idea what to order, so we just asked the owner to bring us something good. I remember thinking it was okay, but too expensive. Then we looked around all the cheap CD stores there. I think I bought a couple of CDs for $1 each, and I convinced Kevin to buy the first Placebo album for $1. Then we drove back to Ryan's house, and met his parents, and his cat. They were weird, and it was already very late, so I think we all just went to sleep. I had the spare room, and Kevin took the couch. I think I stayed up for a while writing some postcards, but I fell asleep pretty fast.
On Sunday morning we had some breakfast, and then Ryan and his Dad drove Kevin and I back into Seattle. They had to do some errands there or something. They dropped us off downtown, and then said goodbye. So Kevin and I wandered around for a while. It was a Sunday, so there wasn't really that much to do; and we had already done all the touristy stuff like the Space Needle. I think we got something to eat somewhere, although I don't really remember what or where. Then at about 2pm we walked down to the Kingdome. There was an Amtrak station nearby, so we went there first and left our bags in the security lockers, and then went to the stadium. The Kingdome was a really ugly stadium. It doesn't exist any more - they knocked it down a few years ago and built a new stadium nearby.
We were pretty early, and there were only a few people inside. We walked around the whole stadium, and we got talking to an old man who was sweeping the seats. He said he had worked there for 20 years, and he loved his job. He seemed very proud to be able to keep those seats clean for all the people at the games. He was very friendly, and he seemed to like the fact that I was from England. He told us all about the history of the stadium, and all the things he had seen there over the years. He was nice.
Anyhow, the stadium started to fill up, so we left the old man to his job. We stood by the railings just over the players tunnel, watching them all as they ran out beneath us. Then we went to our seats in time for kickoff, at 4pm. I don't remember much about the game itself. The Atlanta Falcons were the visiting team, and they won. The Seahawks didn't play very well. Their only good play was a spectacular kickoff return for a touchdown. I remember there was a couple sat right in front of us, and they kept turning around and trying to encourage the whole crowd to cheer. They were die-hard fans I guess. I remember they ate a lot of hot dogs too.
After the game we filed out of the stadium with the rest of the fans, and walked to a nearby restaurant that served ribs. We hadn't really eaten much all day, so we were hungry. We had to wait almost an hour to be seated, but it was worth it. I remember the ribs were very good.
After dinner we walked all the way to the Greyhound station. It was very far - at the complete opposite end of the city - but we had plenty of time and nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, so we just walked. I think we stopped off briefly at the youth hostel where we had been staying too, just to say goodbye. We got to the Greyhound place about an hour before our bus was due, so we just sat and talked and read magazines or something. I remember there was a very small young boy sat near us. He seemed to be alone, but I didn't think anything of it. He was just sat there, quietly, waiting.
After about 30 minutes a woman burst in through the doors. She looked frantic. Then she saw the little boy who was sat near us, and started crying, and ran over to him. She hugged him and was crying. She seemed very relieved, and he said "Hi Mommy."
She asked him how long he had been there, and he said "A couple of hours, but I went to get candy once." She cried and apologised to him. She said it was his father's fault. From overhearing them, I gathered that the little boy's parents had seperated and that he had been to spend the weekend with his father who had then put him on a bus back to Seattle, to his mother; but failed to tell her, or something. Anyway, she was very angry, but relieved too. And then they left.
Eventually our bus came, and Kevin and I got on it. It was very full, but we sat together, near the front. I don't remember much about the journey. We talked about our girl problems a bit, and discussed all kinds of stuff. We stopped at a service station once, where the driver said we had ten minutes to go use the toilet or buy food and drinks or whatever. Most of the time I think we just talked though, and maybe drifted off to sleep once or twice.
The bus finally arrived back in Salem at about 1am, in the middle of the thickest fog I have ever seen in my entire life. It was honestly so thick that you couldn't see further than a few feet in front of you. It was all very disorientating; especially as it was so dark and late already, but I was too tired to worry. Kevin headed back to his place, so we said our goodbyes, and then I somehow found my way back to campus through the fog, and talked to a couple of people who were still awake about their Thanksgiving breaks, and then went to bed.
That was a good weekend.