We recently went to Seattle for a week, as we have done over Labor Day for the last nine or so years. The big attraction is the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. It’s a three day festival with entertainment on about 15 stages, plus a variety of other stuff going on too. You can find out more at www.bumbershoot.org. Anyway, between that and some side events, most of the week in Seattle is taken up, and in a great way. But we managed to fit in some other fun things too. Here’s what we did…

Tuesday September 1
We caught the plane to Seattle in the morning. A nice quick flight. Then we took the Seattle city bus from the airport to the hotel. Lucky us, the bus stops right across the street from our hotel, The Camlin. It was before check-in time but the hotel stashed our luggage so we could explore the city for a while. We walked a bit and then took the monorail to the Seattle Center area. Ninety seconds of zipping above the traffic, nice concept! We walked through the center, looking at the preparations for the upcomong Bumbershoot Festival, and walked over to Kidd Valley burgers for a lunch of gardenburgers and onion rings dipped in tartar sauce. Next stop was down the street to Easy Street Records, a nice new-and-used music store where we always find things we need want.

It was sprinkling off and on but we stayed pretty dry and walked over to the State Liquor Store to pick up some supplies for the week. Washington State has some weird liquor laws. A state employee sold us some booze! Between the CDs we bought and the necessary liquid supplies, the old backpack was getting pretty darned heavy. But we bravely traveled on, walking a bit to Silver Platters record store. Of course we found a few items there too. Really, we are just trying to stimulate the economy. If you’ll believe that.

We took the thousand pound backpack and hopped on the monorail back toward the hotel. Once there, we got our luggage and unpacked. Then we took a walk down to the Seattle waterfront. That’s alway pretty and pleasant. From there it was just a short walk to Mama’s Mexican Food and, hey, you gotta eat! So we had a tasty meal and since it was still happy hour we had a couple margaritas. We hung out there for a while and decided, that since we were not driving, we would have one more margarita. We had to change tables due to a party coming in, but because we did that, they gave us the margarita free! I was ready to change tables all night! Then we wandered out into the evening. We walked to a grocery store and bought a little fruit, cheese, and crackers to get us through at least part of the week. Then we walked back to the hotel and took a beverage up to the 11th floor “Cloud Room“, with glass on three sides and a nice view and a great place to relax at the end of a fun day.

Wednesday September 2
We had some fruit in the room for breakfast and then headed out into our second-favorite city of Seattle. Down near the waterfront, across the street from Pike Place Market, we had a snack at Piroshky Piroshky. Great filled dough with lots of options for the filling. Then we took a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, about 35 or so minutes each way. It’s such a peaceful and pretty ride on the water. We walked around on the island for a while, perusing the tourist shops. Eventually we ended up at the end of the area and, lo and behold, we came across a little place called Emmy’s Vegehouse. Yow! A totally vegetarian shack with some tables, we were all over that. Pretty good food, too. Good thing we were going to walk off all the food on this trip. Then we took the ferry back to downtown Seattle. Surprise, right near Pike’s market was another record store. What could we do? Then we walked around the huge Pike Place Market a bit and headed back. A quick stop at the Old Navy for a scarf for Petra and then back to the hotel.

We taste-tested some of that cheese and crackers and determined they we really good. So we tasted some more! Then we headed down the block to see Wicked, the big hit play. I had read the book and we’d heard good things about the play. The theater there, the Paramount, is really nice too. Long story short, the play was great, we both really liked it. The book was dificult in spots but the play was great, clever, fun, and really well done. By then it was getting late but we were hungry. Lucky for us, a block away is Cyber-Dogs, a really good vegetarian hot dog place. This place is so cool and so small. But the topping combinations she puts on the dogs and unique and delicious. I love this place. Then, after a long day, and nicely stuffed, we went back to the hotel.

Thursday September 3
We started the day again with some fruit in the room to get us started. Then we monorailed to the Experience Music Project, the world’s coolest music museum. We spent a little while there and saw the new exhibit and also played a little on some instruments in their Sound Lab. After that, we met up with our friends Larry and Robin, who had flow into Seattle that morning. Our friend Mama O and her various posse members were due to arrrive later today and over the next couple days also. Anyway, the four of us checked out the Bumbershoot Festival preparations and walked a block or two to the Bamboo Garden vegetarian chinese food. Hundreds of menu items and no meat at all. Wish the whole world was like that

Full again, we monorailed back to the hotel and walked a while to the Pioneer Square area. Today was the First Thursday Art Walk so we looked at a bunch of art in a bunch of galleries. There were vendors too, of course. And lots of people. We were hoping to meet up with Mama O but it didn’t happen that day. We did, however walk a while and hooked up with a different Mama. Yep, we were back at Mama’s Mexican Food! Ole indeed! More food, a few drinks, and a nice walk back to the hotel. The four of us headed up to the cloud room to relax and talk. A nice end to another fine day.

Friday September 4
The four of us headed out into Seatlle, first taking a walk to a downtown jewelry store that Robin had read about. We looked around there for a few minutes and then went on to the grocery store for some supplies. Soon after that we were on the monorail to the Seattle Center once again. We had a gardenburger lunch at Kidd Valley and then went back through the Seattle Center and first thing, picked up our Gold Passes for the upcoming (tomorrow) Festival. We touched base with John, the Gold Pass leader. What a nice guy, he remembered us and said he thought he saw us earlier in the year in Palm Springs! Small world and sure enough, that would have been on our Indio trip. Anyway, he was great the whole time this year, as always, making sure everything went fine for us.

Then we headed to the Bumbershoot Visual Arts exhibits. They open them up a day early and it is MUCH less crowded so we always go see them on Friday. And as always they had a variety of interesting art. Some if it was strange but in a very good way, so that’s cool. Four, five, or was it six large rooms of visual art, that’s a nice way to spend an afternoon. After that, we walked a bit and ended up at a nearby coffee shop where we had some liquid refreshment and a needed caffeine boost. And then it was back to the Seattle Center for the advance preview of the Film Festival. During the Bumbershoot Festival, there are three days of short films, but the preview is a less-crowded and more relaxing way to get a taste of it. Usually the Bumbershoot festival has so much else going on, that we don’t get to the film portion. With the Friday preview, though, we do see some of the films! Then it was back to the hotel, another nice day. And Bumbershoot starts tomorrow!!

Stay tuned for part 2 – including the actual festival! In the meantime…

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As you can see from the postcard at right, the showing will be Saturday December 13th, 2008, at the Coffee Garden. This venue is located at 2904 Franklin Blvd in Sacramento, CA. Click on the postcard graphic to see a larger version. One of the pictures on the card is a glass bowl that Petra created a while back (see top row, fourth from right).

The reception for this event will start at 6:00 PM but you can drop by any time that evening to see the art. Food and coffee are available and there will be music by the Jahari Sai Trio. Bring your friends and come by the Coffee Garden on December 13th to see Petra‘s latest and greatest work of art “Five Women”. And check out the rest of the Sisters’ art too, of course!!

Note: Be sure to check out some of the links too!!

Wednesday 8/27

We flew into Seattle. Actually the plane did, but we were on it. There was me and Petra, friends Larry and Robin, and Mama O (who would meet up with the rest of her posse later). We took a crowded bus to the Camlin hotel. It let us off right across the street which was very convenient. We checked in and took a quick look at the nice rooms. But of course we were all hungry so we walked a block over to Cyber Dogs Internet Cafe and Vegetarian Oasis, a great vegetarian hot dog place. The dogs are meatless but good and the toppings more than make up for that. I’ve tried a couple different ones over the last few trips and all were great. The menu is here, check out the specialty dogs. After food, what else is important? You guessed it. We took a quick and easy bus ride to the state-run liquor store. Yar!! Then we started walking back to the hotel and stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few breakfast and snack items for the week ahead. Then it was back to unpack. Of course, after that we were hungry again! It doesn’t take much to talk me into eating, so we walked up toward Capital Hill and a small but tasty vegetarian Asian place called In The Bowl. Mmmm. Next time I gotta remember to order the peanut sauce, it is killer! Now we had to walk off a little food, so we took a pretty long walk to and through the nearby Belltown area. We ended up near the Seattle Center so we took the monorail back most of the way, walking the last four or five blocks. We would walk a lot on this trip. A lot. But you can sure see more that way, instead of speeding by things in a car. Once back at the hotel, we fixed ourselves a drink (or glass of wine as appropriate in some cases). And, like the prescription said, repeat as necessary.

Thursday 8/28

Rise and shine. Well, rise anyway   It was a little late and Petra and I started out by taking the monorail back to the Seattle Center. We would meet up with our friends later in the day. We popped into a burger place (Kidd Valley) for a veggie burger (was it Kidds?) and some Walla Walla onion rings. Then we got serious and shopped a couple record stores. Easy Street is a great store in the Queen Anne area of Seattle and we found some music there. Then blocks away we stopped at Silver Platters and picked up a few more CDs. Everything at both stores was used (except one) and everything was under $10. What bargains and the more you buy the more you save! Or something like that. Whatever. We stopped at a local coffee shop for some liquid rejuvenation, then headed out on foot, back into the nearby Belltown area. We saw a bit of the Olympic Sculpture Park and an ultra-modern furniture store, but time was limited because we were headed to the nearby Spitfire restaurant/ bar where the large back room would be broadcasting Barrack Obama’s convention speech on a large screen for us and other supporters. There were several hundred Obama fans there to watch the speech and cheer, since it was an impressive and inspiring speech. And it was so cool to be watching it, 800 miles from home, with all those other fans, bursting into applause and cheering throughout. Go Obama! After that, we were pumped up and hopeful. We walked back to the hotel and talked for a while, ending a fun and enjoyable day.

Friday 8/29

Another day, another monorail trip to the Seattle Center. And did I mention that Seattle has a wonderful transit system, with easy and convenient busses, some on the street and some in tunnels? And plus the monorail of course. As for the busses, the whole downtown area and nearby is a ride-free zone most of the day so you can hop on and off as much as you want. Even the long ride from the airport had only been $1.50 for, what 20 miles? You can’t even get on a bus here for that price! Anyway, our first destination was the Experience Music Project (EMP), the world’s coolest museum. Lots of music-related displays and exhibits in a Frank Ghery designed futuristic building. And now it also houses the Science Fiction Museum, which is included in the price. We spent a couple hours there then got our wrists stamped to come back later. There is so much to see and do there. We walked across the Seattle Center and checked out the preparations for tomorrow’s Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, then picked up our passes for the festival. We’re so ready. Actually, I’ve been ready since the minute last years festival ended! That’s how unbelievably awesome it is.

We wandered across the street for some lunch at Chutney’s, an Indian food buffet where everything except two items were vegetarian! And all you can eat. Life is good. Then is was back to the festival grounds, where there was a preview of all  the visual arts exhibits. You get to see them the day before the big crowds get there and that is just what we did. Cool stuff. Then back to the Experience Music Project for a couple more hours to see more of it. Petra and I also checked out the Space Needle gift shop close by, but didn’t buy any overpriced souvenirs (this time). In the evening we had reservations for a free advance showing of some films related to the Film Festival that is part of Bumbershoot. We saw about 90 minutes worth of very strange but mostly interesting short films. One in particular about a mumbler gave us all the creeps but overall it was interesting and worthwhile. Next, we took a walk down the street to the lower Queen Anne area for a quick slice of Pagliaci pizza or slow vegetarian lasagna in my case. Good though and what is the hurry anyway? It’s vacation. It’s Seattle. It’s almost Bumbershoot. Does it get better than that? We wrapped up another full day back at the hotel with a few drinks and some friendly and lively banter. I always wanted to use that word in a sentence. Hahaha!

Read more about the Seattle trip soon…  Check back!!!

In the meantime, leave me a comment about this exciting trip!

They have this event every Thursday night, so go check it out. It was pretty entertaining. And it’s a really nice coffee place too. Free wi-fi, large indoor seating area, and large comfortable garden area in back, see you there…