if i were a travel writer... i'd write of places near or far... of places i've arrived to by plane, bus, train or car... and along the way, i'll take some photos... and so, here my story goes...

Hello again, So... if I were to close my eyes and walk the streets of Seattle, I would think I was in San Francisco. First off, every Seattlite (is that right?) I met said this was the sunniest day that they had seen in years. Lucky me! Secondly, who knew the hills were this steep in this city?? I had no idea. If I don't lose some back after touring this place, then there is no hope for me. I arrived this morning, around 10am or so... and took the 4 hour bus ride from Vancouver over the border to where I am now. Not a bad trip... but the day started early, for sure (that's what they say a lot here, I noticed... "for sure.") Anyway, I dropped my bags off and headed out to the Tourist Information Center. I decided I'm going to start doing that the first day I arrive somewhere... because when you go the last day, you just realize how much easier things would've been if you just went the first day. So, I went there and the woman was really nice and gave me tons of information on everything I could possibly squeeze into two days in this city. I picked up some tickets for the symphony - I think Mom will like that tomorrow night. Plus, the theater is supposedly amazing (ask Kate, she knows first hand) and has this great acoustic system no matter where you sit... which is a good thing considering the tickets I can afford at this point. Then I headed over to Pioneer Square - where Seattle first began. I took this tour of the underground city which was actually really cool... learned some interesting history... and understood why the streets are the way they are here. Then per Kate's suggestion, I headed to her old hood, Capitol Hill via bus (only $1.25... although in the "green" tourist zone it's free until 6pm... nice, huh?) This area has a main road - Broadway - with lots of clothes stores, cafes, restaurants, etc. but as I was navigating toward Volunteer Park, I thought... "wow, this is super residential." Take the nicest block of the Hill section in Scranton, PA and multiply that by however many blocks that make up Capitol Hill... that's what it felt like. Beautiful, old homes with wrap-around porches... really nice, but a bit too residential for me. I hit Volunteer Park - seriously I have never seen grass as green or flowers as vibrant as I have in Vancouver and Seattle. Everything in the Pacific Northwest seems so alive and fresh. I took a quick walk around the park... they have supposedly the most beautiful cemetery - odd tourist site, but I passed by... and then headed to Paramount theater where I saw Rent. Come all the way across the country to see a Broadway show... I know, I know. Of course, throughout the day I made some coffee stops and I think my only real meal today was at this fast food joint, Taco Del Mar... I don't do fast food typically, but this stuff is good... really good. So, that's been Seattle so far. My mom is on her way from the airport as I write this email... and hopefully, she's ready for all the plans I've made for the rest of the trip ; ) Speaking of, I did a very un-Deanna thing by coming early to Seattle instead of taking the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria and then one to Seattle (which would have been picturesque... but quite a bit more money and time)... and I'm really glad I did have the day to spend here. I'm not quite as comfortable here walking the streets as I was in Vancouver... I wonder if it has anything to do with being back in the US!?!? I spent the last day in B.C. traveling with a little Chi-town friend I met at the hostel. He had all these plans worked out to rent bikes and go through the park (the name of it escapes me, but it's basically Vancouver's Central Park)... huge, and hilly... and difficult to ride the detoured trails when you haven't been to the gym in 7 months.... but beautiful nonetheless. We biked across the whole city - from the outer perimeters of the park to Chinatown (for some yum lunch) to Gastown... and ended the night with an improv Shakespeare play on Granville Island. Oh and did spot some porn shops/peep shows on Granville Street (where my hostel was)... so yes, it ended up being exactly like home... on West 4th St. I guess I'll leave off there for the moment, Deanna PS: CB, thank you for the messages and suggestions - I was really planning on taking my mom to Jade Pagoda when she got in tonight (sounds just like the kind of place she would enjoy)... but when I passed by it on Broadway, there was a sign saying it had closed... right above a sign that said: "Danger: Asbestos..." What kind of places are you sending me to?? I'm going to stick to KB's advice ; )