August-Sept 2011
Travis and Sparrow. A beautiful house, a beautiful time. I have fond memories of morning coffee on the porch with Sparrow, and walks in the park down the street.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Auburn, WA
May-July 2011
Escape from Redmond.
This house, as told to me by my strange reclusive downstairs neighbor, was historically Auburn's first brothel. The current owner, he said, hates that story, because he hates women. Who knows.
What is true about this house is that the whole thing shakes and shivers when the trains thunder by, and when you stand on the porch you could see Mount Rainier on a clear day, and the owners of two shipper containers in the lawn had a yard sale every other day.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Seattle, Baby!
Day 1
After making the daily coffee rounds, I decide to take a nap afterwards, and rise at the more reasonable hour of 9 am. After breakfast, I set out to find the location of a cellphone provider in downtown Seattle that costs me less than an arm and a leg.
Plunged headlong into the thick of the shopping district downtown, I pay $7 for an hour of parking with tears in my eyes. The shopping malls are thick and of epic, expansive proportions, fancy urban storefront dispays abound. I make my way to the provider of choice and pay ONLY about $40 for the phone AND my first month of service, with no contract. The day is off to a good start. After giving a disparaging glance through the graphic novel section at the neighboring Barnes & Nobles (though, Judge Death? It looked sort of awesome?) I scramble back to make it out of the steel jaw of the parking garage before I have to pay $14 for an hour and 5 minutes.
Driving out, I decide hell with calling for directions, I can wrangle this Army Surplus store route myself, through sheer navigational prowess. And I do! Passing the Pike Place Market on one side of the street, I find $3 an hour parking, pay for two hours, and half an arm in "parking tax", and head to the army surplus place. I didn't find the perfect peacoat, but I did restock on colored bandannas, and found the MOST amazing swiss-made alpine/motorcycle goggles. When my current steampunk goggles break, I am going there for a restock.
Then, onto Pike Place. First stop, delicious bbq pork steam bun. Second stop, adorable felt-crafted owl lumps (did not partake, but they were cute). Third stop, a eccentric used book store and it's owner, who was in the middle of telling a young flamingly gay photographer boy (James) the clandestine whereabouts of the hard-to-find Seattle Insect Zoo, off to the right, in the middle of a stairway down towards the Aquarium on the waterfront. I, obviously, was immediately engrossed. A short conversation later, in which I learned of James' adventure earlier in the day in which he had actually managed to snap a picture of a man throwing a sandwich straight at his face (I can only imagine) and also of James' dislike for the artist Chihuli, I decided that alas, I had not enough time for the insect zoo today, and went back to my parking space. On the way, though, I happened by an old asian man selling the most adorable plushes, and I fell in love with one that Rivka would also love, and bought it for her.
When I arrived, I realized I was closer than I thought, and had an hour. I payed so much damn money to park, I figured it'd be a shame not to spend at least the amount of time I paid for wandering around Seattle. So I walked several blocks, until I came to "Damaged Goods" a off-beat indie record store, which seemed to sell only everything I liked, and nothing I didn't. There I scored myself (finally!) a real leather used motorcycle jacket, just my size, and at a 30% discount. He proceeded to give me the two CDs in my hand at $5 each (Iggy Pop and T.Rex) and I explained that I was "giving glam rock another chance". He had Edward Gorey prints at the register, and after confirming we were both big fans, he told me about the gallery next door. The gallery next door had a beautiful illustration show up, which I perused.
I asked a bicycle cop for directions back to the highway, and made off with my goods. The directions went off without a hitch, concluding my first and very succesful solo trip to Seattle proper.
After making the daily coffee rounds, I decide to take a nap afterwards, and rise at the more reasonable hour of 9 am. After breakfast, I set out to find the location of a cellphone provider in downtown Seattle that costs me less than an arm and a leg.
Plunged headlong into the thick of the shopping district downtown, I pay $7 for an hour of parking with tears in my eyes. The shopping malls are thick and of epic, expansive proportions, fancy urban storefront dispays abound. I make my way to the provider of choice and pay ONLY about $40 for the phone AND my first month of service, with no contract. The day is off to a good start. After giving a disparaging glance through the graphic novel section at the neighboring Barnes & Nobles (though, Judge Death? It looked sort of awesome?) I scramble back to make it out of the steel jaw of the parking garage before I have to pay $14 for an hour and 5 minutes.
Driving out, I decide hell with calling for directions, I can wrangle this Army Surplus store route myself, through sheer navigational prowess. And I do! Passing the Pike Place Market on one side of the street, I find $3 an hour parking, pay for two hours, and half an arm in "parking tax", and head to the army surplus place. I didn't find the perfect peacoat, but I did restock on colored bandannas, and found the MOST amazing swiss-made alpine/motorcycle goggles. When my current steampunk goggles break, I am going there for a restock.
Then, onto Pike Place. First stop, delicious bbq pork steam bun. Second stop, adorable felt-crafted owl lumps (did not partake, but they were cute). Third stop, a eccentric used book store and it's owner, who was in the middle of telling a young flamingly gay photographer boy (James) the clandestine whereabouts of the hard-to-find Seattle Insect Zoo, off to the right, in the middle of a stairway down towards the Aquarium on the waterfront. I, obviously, was immediately engrossed. A short conversation later, in which I learned of James' adventure earlier in the day in which he had actually managed to snap a picture of a man throwing a sandwich straight at his face (I can only imagine) and also of James' dislike for the artist Chihuli, I decided that alas, I had not enough time for the insect zoo today, and went back to my parking space. On the way, though, I happened by an old asian man selling the most adorable plushes, and I fell in love with one that Rivka would also love, and bought it for her.
When I arrived, I realized I was closer than I thought, and had an hour. I payed so much damn money to park, I figured it'd be a shame not to spend at least the amount of time I paid for wandering around Seattle. So I walked several blocks, until I came to "Damaged Goods" a off-beat indie record store, which seemed to sell only everything I liked, and nothing I didn't. There I scored myself (finally!) a real leather used motorcycle jacket, just my size, and at a 30% discount. He proceeded to give me the two CDs in my hand at $5 each (Iggy Pop and T.Rex) and I explained that I was "giving glam rock another chance". He had Edward Gorey prints at the register, and after confirming we were both big fans, he told me about the gallery next door. The gallery next door had a beautiful illustration show up, which I perused.
I asked a bicycle cop for directions back to the highway, and made off with my goods. The directions went off without a hitch, concluding my first and very succesful solo trip to Seattle proper.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Williams AZ
I drove through a blizzard, at 7,000 feet. In hindsight, though everything ended up working out fine, even to my advantage in some ways, this was not a wise choice of driving weather. Behind a truck at 30 miles an hour, he slowed down fast and I panicked and slammed on my brakes. Into the snow bank I went, and when they went to fish me out, my transmission had somehow blown. So started my 9 day tenure in Williams, a sleepy little Route 66 town, the "gateway to the Grand Canyon."
The hotel. By the time I left it had thawed out a great deal. The town was surrounded by foothills, as you can make out from the last picture, taken in a hail flurry the day my car was supposed to be finished and wasn't.
The town of Williams. I rented some movies, I walked to Safeway several times, I mingled with the local cowboys a little, and crashed at The Flyer for wifi connection during the day. All and all, not unpleasant.
The hotel. By the time I left it had thawed out a great deal. The town was surrounded by foothills, as you can make out from the last picture, taken in a hail flurry the day my car was supposed to be finished and wasn't.
The town of Williams. I rented some movies, I walked to Safeway several times, I mingled with the local cowboys a little, and crashed at The Flyer for wifi connection during the day. All and all, not unpleasant.
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon Rail. I got scalped tickets from the owner of the Grand Motel where I was staying: he got them for free and sold one to me for less than half price. Pretty sweet. On the way to the Canyon, the train de-railed, in it's first accident since 1961. Don't worry kids, they sent buses for us and the only reprocussion was that we were 40 minutes late. They let us stay at the canyon later, and got the train back on track by the time we were ready to come back into town. There was a staged robbery, but because of the snow and the later hour, the robbers didn't ride up and overtake the train on horseback like usual.
Views from the train: from desert to pine forests.
Me at the canyon. The views are overwhelming, the sheer distance you can see tricks your eyes into flattening out the landscape. Like looking at a miniature. I hiked the trail 3 miles roundtrip and ate at a restaurant.
Views from the train: from desert to pine forests.
Me at the canyon. The views are overwhelming, the sheer distance you can see tricks your eyes into flattening out the landscape. Like looking at a miniature. I hiked the trail 3 miles roundtrip and ate at a restaurant.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
New Mexico (continued)
Downtown Santa Fe..
Snuck a photo in the museum... marionettessss. They were so beautiful! I bought the book of the artist's other marionette/puppet work/shows... <3
Don't do this at home kids.
Hiking....brrrrr. It was too much uphill, too. I gave up before I got close to halfway around the loop, turned back, and went downhill again..
Off Rt. 66 through a little run down Pueblo.
Shot of I-40 from off a dirt road.
The continental divide! Exciting! I now even know what it IS, actually. Something about water direction.
Ravenssss~ <3
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