Bellingham & Seattle (Washington)

Sunday, July 17th: Left Spokane this morning. Not too fond of Eastern Washington. Didn’t expect it to be this flat. Mid-way in the driving, we found ourselves on North Cascades Highway. More trees than we’ve seen in a while. Uphill, uphill; downhill, downhill and fairly heavy traffic: Good practice for Highway 1 driving, I guess. I’m learning how to calm my anxious energy down (How long have I been driving? What’s my average speed? When will we get there?) and do a bit of safe sightseeing while I’m also focusing on the road. We’ve been taking the “scenic”—slower and longer—roads because, otherwise, we’d miss a lot of the country in the process of traveling. Got to Lesley’s. Met her roommates and checked out her house. Went to Phoof’s for dinner. First floor of the house is an antiques showroom. Upstairs, there are extra bedrooms and an “apartment.” Ate shrimp the size of my head. Met Phoof’s sister Judy (who lives in Phoenix). Might hook up with her in Arizona; she likes to party. Back to Lesley’s to sleep in Aaron’s room. Someone’s given him an old therapeutic/hospital bed. Better than sleeping on the floor. Moving up on the sleeping situation. Nice to be with family.

Monday, July 18th: Got up and showered quick. Phoof, Judy, Lesley, Aaron, Jenna and I went to a hippy breakfast café. Great California omelet. I can never get enough avocado when I’m on the West Coast. On our way to Seattle, we decide that the 80-mile drive is similar to the Bowling Green/Detroit trip we frequently make for concerts. Decided we’ll probably drive back to Bellingham instead of staying in the city. Parked in a garage and took the bus to the Experience the Music Project. Guitar sculpture in the entryway. 700 custom-made guitars, wired to play independent of human hands. Thought of Ron. Felt some sad that I needed to feel. Freaked out when we got to the 2nd floor. A Bob-freakin-Dylan retrospective. Of all the musicians in the world, the EMP has my fave! As if that wasn’t enough, there was a Jimi Hendrix timeline as well. Took some illegal photos. The EMP building itself is a work of art.

Moved the car closer to the venue. Grabbed some dinner at the Honey Pot. Pesto sandwich…mmm…though not as good as Dad’s pesto. Shopped at the biggest friggin’ thrift store I’ve ever seen called Value Village. Headed to the venue—p Neumo’s. Sort of an inconspicuously trendy spot. Kind of tired of standing already and the club is WAY HOT. The first “group” was a super-lame ‘80s dance troupe. They played lots of Heart. I fucking despise performance artists. Second group was a highly forgettable rap duo. Third group was an Asian brother/sister set-up—good tunes, bad lyrics. Highly irritated at this point. Finally, The Go! Team took the stage. High energy, dancing and sweating, incredible performance! Glad I’m taking chances with new music on this trip (Thanks Jenna!). Walked on aching feet to the car. Made an uneventful exit from Seattle. Got back to Lesley’s, put on PJs and fell into the big, noisy, uncomfortable bed. Yea Seattle!

Tuesday, July 19th: Lazy start to the morning. Went to a local co-op and bought some really expensive hippy, organic produce. After lunch, went to Lesley’s friend’s house—complete with a small aircraft landing strip, front lawn to the water, dock with boat, fire pit, and two dogs (Blue a.k.a. Bl and Snow Pants a.k.a. Pants). Jenna and Aaron went kayaking. Back to Lesley’s to bum around for a bit. Jenna, Aaron and I headed to a brewery for dinner. Had fish tacos and a pint of Bellingham Blonde. Went to a bar where High Life is $1 and the jukebox rocks. Lesley met us after her soccer game and we went to another bar to see Feed and Seed, a way young but totally decent bluegrass band. Went to one last bar where Lesley and Aaron’s friend was playing in a C/W Ween cover band. Headed home. Ordered a brilliantly good chicken, pesto, artichoke pizza. Just what we all needed to pass out and wake up without a hangover. It was a good day…