The summer sure has gone fast! Since my last update of the 4th of July, I've been meaning to write. With planning a move, working a very odd schedule, hunting for a new apartment, and then completely forgetting my July 4th pics were still on a disc at the photo-store, I never got around to it. Work has been more stressful, and when I arrived home late at night, it was all I could do to watch Dave Letterman before falling asleep. I have completed my move and FINALLY picked-up my pic disc and now just catching-up on the few memorable moments of the last couple of months before the go-go Fall months of holiday planning and a hopeful getaway.
Not surprising, the 4th of July was NOISY in Belltown. Now, I've lived in the "burbs" and now living in the city, don't take much stock in others opinions that all city-folks are snotty or uppity or have no time to converse or use manners...The visitors to the city during this time were some of the most inconsiderate, obnoxious "guests" I've seen. Most I feel didn't care so much about the 4th, as they did about getting drunk, vandalizing, pissin' on the sidewalks and parking (deliberately) illegally. I hope they figured out that like most cities, Seattle takes towing VERY SERIOUSLY, as I'm sure some of the buttheads found out the hard way! Something about karma, ay!?
Mid-July found me boarding Amtraks Empire Builder for Spokane. I needed to pick-up a few things I left behind when I moved-out last year, and with an extra day-off, thought it would be nice to see the Cascades from the late afternoon departure terminating in Chicago. I could write a lot more on the deficiencies of American train travel, but will limit my comments to a few observations. The equipment is OLD. The operational word is "OLD". The "food" service was almost non-existent due to the fact that on this run, a train that starts in Portland, OR meets and couples with our train in Spokane for the rest of the trip East. What Amtrak fails to mention (until you board), is that there's is no snack service nor Observation car. There is a "dining car", but the way it's set-up, you must sit and order and nothing "to go". The dining car segegrates the sleeping car area (first class) from the rest of the train. This means it's not allowed to walk the full-length of the train. Out of curiousity, I walked to the dining car and the attendant somewhat reluctanctly, sold me a coffee to go. I even tipped him. For $3 bucks I got a 10oz styro cup with something worse than any grocery-store commercial grind. It was the WORST coffee I ever had. A lady seated nearby ordered a piece of lasagna, $12 bucks with a piece of lettuce. Along the way it was required that we make unscheduled stops to allow freight trains to pass us where the tracks went singular. And midway in Wenatchee, an announcement warned passengers that we would be delayed while an apple filled box-car would be shunted to the rear of the train. Are you getting the picture here! OLD equipment, INDIFFERENT attendants, S-L-O-W trip. Finally the trained pulled into Spokane at almost 1am. This made the trip 8 hrs, when on the interstate even going 60mph, would only take at max 4-5hrs. Now, I know many will say this is the "romance" of train travel. Trust me, there's nothing romantic about taking Amtrak. I'm hoping that the Feds will come to their senses and realize we need to start over. A completely re-dedicated system that can easily rival the speeds of air travel similar to services in Europe. It's sad that in a country like the U.S., that is suppose to be so technically advanced, we tolerate a pathetic system like Amtrak. And if it wasn't for the government constantly bailing-it-out, it would have been defunct a long time ago!
A "big" move of 2 miles finds my home in the neighborhood called Queen Anne. Although central, it's much quieter than the streets of concrete high-rises of Belltown and the constant sirens of emergency vehicles. I did rent a small truck and with the help of a few friends, got all the bulky stuff moved quickly. The rest of it I shuttled in my car during the wee hours after work. It was nice being so close in-town, and having a pool/hot tub in this area is somewhat rare, but there were other more important considerations. Namely, SPACE. I had a studio for almost a year, and I was feeling too confined. I'm content in my 2bdrm "palace" and hoping not to have to move again, at least for awhile.
Below are a few pics mostly taken on July 4th to mid-July 2003.
So long summer! I worked most of it and will take a needed break to visit family and enjoy the best rodeo in the West, Pendleton's Round-Up this weekend.
THIS WAS TAKEN ON JULY 4TH. NOTICE THE FLAG AND THE DECAL ON THE TOP OF THE NEEDLE. IT WAS AN UNTYPICALLY HOT DAY FOR SEATTLE. FROM THE PARK WHERE I TOOK THIS PICTURE, MANY FOLKS PLANTED THEMSELVES FOR PRIME SPOTS ANTICIPATING THE NIGHTS FIREWORKS DISPLAY. MY OLD APT BLDG IN MIDDLE-FOREGROUND OF NEEDLE.
ALONG THE WATERFRONT, THESE REFURBISHED STREETCARS PARALLEL THE FREIGHT/PASSENGER TRAIN TRACKS. MOSTLY USED BY TOURISTS,BUT USEFUL TO THE LOCALS TO GET DOWNTOWN FROM BELLTOWN.
AMTRAKS EMPIRE BUILDER BOUND FOR CHICAGO AS IT RUMBLES THROUGH BELLTOWN LEAVING SEATTLE. THIS IS AS "ARTSY" AS I GET WITH THE BLACK AND WHITE EFFECT!
MY OLD NEIGHBORHOOD TAKEN AT 2ND AND BROAD. SOME OF THE BEST WATER VIEWS ARE FROM THIS AREA NEAR SEATTLE CENTER AND THE SPACE NEEDLE.
THIS NEWS/RADIO STATION BLDG IS LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE SPACE NEEDLE. CRASS COMMERCIALISM AT IT'S BEST, OR WORST DEPENDING ON YOUR VIEW! I ONLY WENT TO ONE GAME LAST YEAR;$32 FOR A TIC AND $6 FOR A BEER!
THE NEEDLE DECKED-OUT IN PATRIOTIC COLORS FOR JULY 4TH. TAKEN FROM MY OLD APT ROOF.
