Attack Bird

Attack Bird, originally uploaded by southiejason.

No, unlike in Dubuque Iowa last May, this bird did not attack me. But it looks like it is about to.

In Kirkland, Washington (just east of Seattle), I found my way to a small park near a marina. Lots of people were mulling about in what appeared to be a great community-gathering area.

I took a number of pictures of the many ducks, seagulls, and crows that were hanging out on the rocks by the water's edge.

I set my camera on monochrome and used a slower shutter speed. As luck would have it, I was aiming right as this bird as it decided to get up and fly toward me. The slower shutter speed helps convey the wings in mid-flap.

Starbucks HQ

Starbucks HQ, originally uploaded by southiejason.

Coffee has been on my mind for the past few days - it's hard not to think about it when you're in Seattle. At first, I thought I was hyper-sensitive to the amount of espresso bars and coffee stores around the area. But then, I realized that there were simply more of them. After all, Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Tully's are all based here.

Here I am outside the Corporate Headquarters of Starbucks, on Utah Avenue just east of Safeco and Qwest Fields, the homes of the Mariners and Seahawks. There is a small Starbucks area in the lobby - nothing fancy, very anti-climactic. I was bummed they didn't even have "Starbucks HQ" City Mugs there (I know they existed at one point).

Well, the coffee focus did not end after Seattle. Flying home on the redeye, my focus went from "avoid coffee" before and during the flight to "must obtain coffee" after the flight and throughout much of yesterday.

I was even thinking ahead. During lunch, I bought some half-and-half for my coffee this morning, as I had none left at home. I put in in the fridge at work, and made a note to remember to bring it home as I walked out.

Well, the half-and-half, of course, is still in the fridge at work because I took that note, put in in my coat pocket, and overlooked the content of that note thirty seconds after last having read it. I am chalking it up to the 6pm day-after-redeye daze, and not to my general forgetfulness.

And as a result, I still haven't had my coffee this morning.

Redeye Home

Well, I'm back in Boston after a quick redeye home (only about 5 hours, and I slept for almost all of it). Lots of great photos from Sunday in Seattle, but I need to sift through them later today after work.

What delights me beyond anything else upon returning home to Boston after a coast-to-coast flight is the reaction of my cab driver when I tell him (or...in rare cases...her) that we're going just to Southie. Today's driver wasn't awful, but he made it clear that he most certainly did not win the fare lottery in the cab stand.

Since he was a nice guy, I still gave him a $5 tip on a $22 fare.

Saturday in Seattle

After a quick stop at Best Buy to pick up a new GPS charger, we drove here - Deception Pass. It is at the North end of Whidbey Island, the fifth largest island in the contiguous 48 states.

The bridge at Deception Pass was a two-lane road with pedestrian walkways on either side and stunning views. Walking across the first time wasn't much on an issue for me, but walking back to the car, all I could think of is "wow, this path is narrow, and this bridge is quite high, and these cars are very close to me." For some reason, I kept thinking about walking across unsturdy rope-bridges across ravines in movies like Romancing the Stone.

I did not fall, nor die.

We continued south on Whidbey Island, and found our way to a campgrounds / beach area that is clearly much more frequented by locals in warmer weather, given the size of the empty parking lot. By now, the temperature had warmed up to about 50, and the sun was out. The smells and scenery were excellent, not, however, affirmed by this photo of a rock. Climbing down from this rock, I stepped in some water and had a wet right shoe and sock for a couple hours afterward.

The birds looked innocuous, but I suspected that they were plotting. I always suspect groups of animals are cooking up some devious scheme when they find man in a weakened state (my wet shoe / foot).

Eventually, we made it to the ferry terminal in Clinton, for the car ferry ride back to the "mainland." The ferry brought us to Mukilteo. I am again assuming that our trip to Whidbey Island was during the off-season, as we passed signs in Clinton indicating the approximate wait time to make it to the ferry gates from specific checkpoints along the highway (the first of which was "90 minutes"). We had no wait.

From there, we searched for food. We ended up in Bellevue, just east of Seattle across the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. Bellevue has some serious cash - everything looks new, all of the upscale retailers are there, and there are tons of high-rises going in. We ate at the Tap House Grill, which has just two locations (Bellevue and Seattle). I would love for a place like this to come to Boston. Great menu, cool decor, and 160 beers on tap.

As dinner was more of a super late lunch, we still had some time before sunset. We ended up driving around Queen Anne, an expensive neighborhood with large homes, manicured properties, and excellent views of the Seattle skyline. I wanted to make it to the water for some sunset / evening photos, but we missed much of the sunset driving back to the hotel and parking. We did make it to the waterfront, though, and I took a few shots of Quest Field.

We will be going here a bit later this morning.

And then here soon thereafter (Pike Place opens at 1pm on Sundays)

Woke Up in Seattle

So, I'm in Seattle this morning.

I flew out last night after work on jetBlue, not without some moments of frenzy (an unnecessary 45 minute drive home from Kenmore, a scramble to find a taxi, and an unexpectedly long wait at security - so much so that they called out passengers on my flight and moved us through a quicker line).

Unfortunately, the live DirecTV wasn't working on the plane yesterday (total bummer), but they gave us the few movies for free as an uneven compromise. Good thing one of the movies was the excellent Juno, which I hadn't seen yet. Great story, great soundtrack. And after the movie, two red wines and the thin air of the airplane, I was in a happier, drowsy place. It would have been smart to have remembered to bring the neck pillow that I purchased for my flight to Italy last fall. It probably would have avoided the airplane seat head-bob.

After picking up the rental car, I powered up Jill (the GPS), and realized that she wasn't charging correctly. Well, my car adapter appears to be broken. Lovely. It does explain the small metal ring that I found in my car on Thursday night - it appears to be a necessary part of the charger that actually allows it to work. Unfortunately, that piece is in Boston, and I am not.

There are a couple Best Buys nearby, and according to their websites, they carry replacement car chargers.

So, my last trip here in 2004 was on Continental (no DirecTV) and without a GPS. How did I ever survive it??