Here comes bod!

He he he, I love this place – whilst it’s true that I usually end up loving every place at some point – there’s something about Seattle that I really like. Maybe it’s the hill or the proximity to the sea – perhaps Starbucks are pumping something into the air – whatever – it’s a plesant city – on a very human scale.

I’d been reading about the Harbour steps redevelopment, but the photos and maps really didn’t do it justice – I got so much out of seeing it up close and personal (this bodes well for the other buildings I think I know). The down town area is punctuated with various skyscrapers – Columbia tower being the tallest, but you don’t feel hemmed in by them – they just hang around getting on with business.

The Public library deserves reams, of wolly prose – but it’s early, so I’ll have to fill that bit in later – suffice to say that it’s a 10 storey building that looks like a bit of origami – made from steel diamonds and glass, you really need to see the photos to understand why I spent over an hour hanging out with it – it’s definitely on my list of favourite places. I mean it’s a library with neon pink sofas, flourescent yellow escalators and a quilted ceiling – it’s a great as a library and as a public space.

So, yeah Seattle’s lovely – the people are very friendly – although that’s probably got as much to do with my attitude as theirs – I prefer this side of me – so much more sociable. I met a guy from Chicago in Starbucks and we chatted about hockey, a corporate banker in the library and we swapped property (real estate) war stories – I even bumped into a member of the historical society – we argued the pros and cons building preservation, but it was hard to make any progress with him, his idea of ancient is anything built before 1890 – and there are precious few of those in the city – following the various fires and earthquakes.

I met a few backpackers from the UK – I made one of them cry when I whipped out a bar of chocolate – you should have seen her face when I unloaded my sack (of sweets) – we had an imprompu sugar fest in the kitchen and then retired to the Harbour steps for a hot whiskey at 1am – ok by retired, I mean I dragged them out through a rain soaked back alley to sit on the steps – It was good fun – they’re nice people and I’m trying to get them to come down to Portland with me this evening… we’ll see.

Ok, I really have to shoot off, I got up early to head over to Kerry park to try and catch the skyline before the lights dim too much – I might head off either on the underground tour or out into the bay… will see.

Last thing – photos from Thursday are a bit so-so, it was SNOWING!!!! apparently it hardly ever happens here – one of the girls in Starbucks nearly wet herself – she’s from Arizona and has never seen snow before – it didn’t hang around, but was pretty none the less, the low cloud kind of prevented me from getting any panoramic shots of the city though – ah well – it looks a bit clearer today… so fingers crossed, I should get some good stuff from the Seattle centre – but I really have to go now…

Cameras West are part of the Ritz chain of photo stores – but don’t let that put you off – the store feels like a family run place and the staff are knowledgable and enthusiastic. The best thing about the place are that the prices are the same as in the UK – except that they’re quoted in dollars – I spent $1100 on my new camera, lens, tripod, spares, filters, etc – it would have easily cost me 1200 sterling at Jessops – I even got a free teddy bear.

I would definitely recommend them to anybody – just ask for Eric (the guy with the beard) , he’ll sort you out.

You’ll find them on fth Avenue – just over from Macys – look for the huge red “Cameras West” sign on the roof.

Sorry for not posting anything yesterday – I did arrive on-time and in one-piece, but there were no public Internet terminals in Douglas International or SeaTac – I struggled to find any toruist information either – which was suprising – in the UK you’re bombarded with internet gateways – hell, even the trains and some cabs are WiFi now-a-days.

My Jetlag busting rouse worked a treat – I’m starving and a little bit weary – but woke up around 6am – thinking it was around 6am. Will post more later – need some coffee and carbs.

Well I’m here – finally…

I had a mad dash yesterday – down to London to get my Amtrak pass from Trailfinders (b***ds took over an hour to process my simple request and had the gall to bolt on 33% service charge – well, at least I got my moneys worth), over to Birmingha to pick up travel money from Steve and back via Tesco.

Sarah and Karl are going to Spike sit – he should be fine, he likes their dog Max.

Anyway I was well and truly knackered this morning – I tried to stay awake, but failed completely – I issed the 3am flight link coach to the airport, so I had to catch the 5:45 coach to London Victoria.

True to form and bang on cue there was a pile-up on the M1, which delayed us by half an hour – just enough time for us to catch the start of rush hour traffic through central London. I like the congestion charge, but it’s had an unfortunate side effect – whereas before the city was full of cars of all shapes and sizes, post-congestion charge London if full of big cars – Jaguars and Mercs, cars which previously would have avoided the traffic jams like the plague.

Anyway, after another twenty minutes of stop-start driving we managed to lurch into the station.

The Gatwick Express was a plesant suprise – Like a can of Ronseal wood stain, it’s does exactly what it says on the tin, and at £13 for a one-way ticket costs roughly the same.

I bought a new back pack for my trip and it is stuffed to the gills with chocolate and random sweets (I figured that ‘candy’ would be an effective way to bribe people and have lots of it) it weighs a tonne and is packed solid. Which is probably the reason that I was pulled out of the check-in queue to have my bag inspected. It took me over an hour to pack the fecking thing this morning – he managed to empty it in under a minute, leaving him plenty of time to consider why I had four toffee crisps, three plastic soldiers, two boxes of chalk and a book about Sol LeWitt.

He said that it was a random luggage inspection, but, well this kind of thing always happens – perhaps I have the face of a terrorist – maybe I should have shaved this morning.

He was genial enough – wearing an American flag, but speaking with a thick Russian accent, an irony that escaped me at the time – I was under threat of being moved elsewhere, packed or not, as I was holding up the line – more bearded ethnic types.

I then had to justify my trip and explain to four different people that I didn’t have any pre-booked accomodation as I was planning to explore the country by train – the american woman drew herself up to her full height (about 6’2″) and told me that that was a ridiculous story – I produced my rail pass with a flourish and she wandered off muttering.

This is possibly the last year that some of the Amtrak trains will be running, the company is running under a tight financial regime and is facing stiff competition from freight companies. I tried explaining to them that this was ‘a last chance to see’, but only the British people bought it.

I need an address for my time in the states, but I’m going to be bouncing around all over the place, am going to try them with the place I’m planning on staying at tonight – with a little luck, that will work – I doubt criminal masterminds spend much time at the ‘green tortoise’ in Seattle.

Had I spent an extra £7 on the train ticket I would have been given a ‘security express’ card and would have bypassed having to repack my underwear in public – I guess criminal masterminds also fly ‘coach’.

Anyway – they’ve just called my flight, will post more when I get to Charlotte.

I’m off up to Edinburgh in the morning – to watch Coventry Blaze beat the crap out of the Edinburgh Capitals in an Elite league ice-hockey match.

It’s should only be a 13 hour road trip, as long as the roads are clear. I’ve got to admit that it’s not looking good…

Although only a small amount of snow has fallen, this is England – so the place is rapidly grinding to a halt.

Less than five days to go now.

I’ve given up on getting the greyhound across the county – have forked out £120 for a flight to Detroit instead – I leave at 8 am, touch down at 6 pm – it had better be an interesting flight…

I’m insured and the guys in the Irish embassy have said that my passport is ready and waiting for me to collect – so it’s all looking good.

I have bought a new backpack and an awesome sleeping bag – it’s called a mummy bag and is really comfortable – so much in fact, that the cat’s claimed it as his own. Just need to get some cash converted and do a bit of shopping and I’m good to go.

Can’t wait 😀

Ok, I managed to add a few more days to my trip and am now arriving on the 30th and leaving from Boston on the 16th.

I’ve decided to ‘risk’ the bus and will hopefully live to tell the tale.

Dates are now:

30/02 Seattle
02/05 Portland
04/06 travelling
05 flying via Phoenix (for an hour)
05/07 Detroit
07/10 Chicago
10/11 Washington
12/15 New York
15/16 Boston

Rookie of the…second part of the year <-- I made the cut! - Wahey! I'm flattered - normally people give me grief for invading their forum - you guys are different - will buy beers in PDX.

Wahey – got a phone call this morning, so I’m hopping on the 14:30 train to Cardiff.

I can’t think of a worse reason to visit the city – I’m going to watch the final match to be played by the London Racers, my favourite hockey team.

I’m pretty cut up about it right now 🙁

[post mortem]

Jesus christ what a horrible day – the game was great – but afterwards was very emotional, we all went out on to the ice to say goodbye to the team – everybody was in tears.

Some of my ex-girlfriends have complained that I’m detached and un-feeling, welll I guess I more than made up for that today. I was so upset – I want to cry, just thinking about it. Maybe I should get a hockey mask and goalie pads for my next girlfriend – hockey seems to strike a chord with me – I really loved that team and now they’re gone…

[trapped in Birmingham]

But as bad as the game was – the trip back was worse. The trains were fine, but a five minute delay getting from Bristol to Birmingham was enough for me to miss the last train from Birmingham to Coventry, and all of the connecting busses.

It’s 04:30 and I’ve been home about 15 minutes – I’m wrecked, having spent three and a half hours freezing at Digbeth coach sation in Birmingham. I’m so annoyed with the coach company (National Express), they have a new and unadvertised policy of not carrying passengers to Coventry between 11pm and 3am – it took less time to get to Cardiff – and that’s technically in a different country.

Anyway am off to bed for an hour and a half, I’ve got to be in work by 08:30…