Chapter 5-Juneau

The excursions began on Tuesday, the first being in Juneau. I woke up to terrible news, slid under the door, dog sledding had been canceled because the ship was arriving late. This was the excursion we were most excited for and to have it taken away was really upsetting. We slept in till 8:30 and I ran 4 miles, or the closest I could get to it in kilometers. Thankfully the World Marketplace is right downstairs from the fitness center and on the same floor as my room. It's kind of like the big buffet. I went straight to the market place around 10:30. One plate of breakfast food seemed good, but then out came the carving stations for lunch. Chipotle pork, Chicago round, poached salmon, Peking duck, I mean, come on. Two more plates and I was good. We tried to play Skip Bo, but all the games were suddenly gone. All four, vanished. The library had plenty of checkers... chess.. . Clue... backgammon... bridge... pictionary. No Skip Bo.

We got off the boat around 2 pm and started exploring downtown Juneau. It felt like the old west met New England, combining a lot of small stores that had a classic feeling with the sea and seafood. Lots of jewelry, loads of native American and nature artifacts. I brought a curved chopping knife and board, called an Ulu, they were available in a lot of stores, but I think I can use this for herbs, garlic, shallots, etc. 

The smell of crab was pungent in the air and we went to Tracy's for crab legs, right near the dock. The crab was just amazing, so light and fresh, but they had the most amazing crab bisque. Pieces of crab, perfect spice. Just amazing. But along with the crab, they had the most amazing crab bisque. Good sized pieces of crab, perfect spice level. Just an amazing. The rolls reminded me of brioche, super rich and buttery. The coconut crab cakes were also a nice addition, crispy on the outside, not too much filler inside.

We got back to the pier at 4:15, only to find out our glacier rafting trip has been delayed an hour. So we started at 5:30. The dressing up was rather interesting. Baggy rubber orange pants, purple raincoat, red life vest, oversized rain boots, I looked like a reject from an 80s theme party. There were not too many crazy rapids, but we saw five bald eagles. We were told it rains extensively on Mendenhall Lake, but for us it only rained about five minutes. In our raft, we were paid with a family of five, including two teen siblings, Dan and Callie from Charlotte. They were sitting right behind mom and I so we chatted with them a lot, I'd see them a few more times during the trip. We didn't get back to the boat till 9pm, but at least we grabbed a little food in the market place before bed. 

Mom wasn't feeling well, so she went back to the room. I went down to hear some music and Tony was on guitar in the Crown Lounge, this would become a frequent night spot for me. A few glasses of red wine and I was good for the night. 

Chapter 10-Epilogue

We paid $75 for a freaking Uber back to the airport. But it was needed because mom got the last seat on her plane with ten minutes to spare. I had a 4 hour wait in Sea-Tac, but I didn't mind. 

By the way, the Seattle Tacoma Airport is a lot like downtown Seattle. Too small, little room to walk, overcrowded, but they make a big deal about their air. I have no desire to ever come back to this city. 

I went to a place in the airport called Sam Choys where I had a great hazy IPA from Silver City, an amazing bowl of clam chowder, and a huge Asian fried chicken hoagie. Somehow I think that'll suffice me for the night, as the five hour plane ride, trip 1 of 2, is coming to a close. Bac to the East Coast, back to real life. 

Chapter 9-One Last Day

My birthday. 40 years old. I woke up at 830 and hit the gym at 10. I did an hour cardio. Which was supposed to be all running... it turned into 25 minutes of running, 15 minutes of walking, and 20 minutes of the elliptical. My lower legs just needed rest I guess. The reason I went at 10 is because at 11, there was a seminar called Secret to a Flatter Stomach. It had my attention and by 11, I had a seat. And I was the only one attending, at least for the first ten minutes, but eventually three others joined us. 

I was hoping for workout and nutrition tips. But the Indian guy who was running the seminar started talking about detox. It interested me since I've never done it. He talked a lot about the lymphatic system, the liver, how the human body uses energy, he even touched on pH, the acid vs alkaline thing. But about halfway through, he mentioned eating seaweed and algae, and all of a sudden I had a feeling what was about to happen. A minute later, he said to clean the liver, which is what removes toxins from the body, it takes 3 months minimum, but 6 is more typical. At that point, I started to get suspicious that this wasn't just a seminar. And I was right: it turned into a timeshare presentation where he was going to test us and get us started on a program. It wasn't what I signed up for so I left. Now I would certainly consider doing a detox program, but I would want to research it on my own first. 

For lunch, I ate at the marketplace, so I was still in my workout clothes. The felt carved feta crusted lamb was excellent. I stopped by the hot tub, since it wasn't on my way back to the room. The old singles group was there, I had run into a few of them over the course of the week. One woman from Iran, she was really a go getter, spoke her mind, almost to the point where I would want to tell her to shut up. There was also a cute girl in the tub, but of course, she came with her boyfriend. 

I went back to the room and cleaned up, put on my new Alaska t-shirt, and went down to the Cafe where I had just an amazing cup of chai. I don't know what they use but Starbucks could learn from the ship's coffee baristas.

I watched a second presentation from Mike, who's now an Alaskan resident by way of Cleveland. I'd heard his first presentation about living in Alaska, the people, the nature, etc, but missed 2 and 3. The final one was titled native people. Well in the last 15 minutes, we were reminded how great animals are and how badly people treat them. In other words,  people are arrogant. Sorry but only humans are made in God's image. We should take care of animals, I love animals, but let's not act like they are identical to humans. 

I then went upstairs for carpet ball, which was supposed to be in the greens. But it was two floors down by the elevator. Anyway it's like bocce with these balls that roll all over the place, it is a stupid game, I was out in the first round. I went right to Good Spirits for a Vanilla sky, a great cocktail with vanilla vodka, pineapple, and lime juice, with a few other odds and ends. Alan and Lou, the bartenders, would show videos of the history of each region and mike up as they narrated the composition of each cocktail. I did get a happy birthday serenade. 

After trivia with Rachel, it was dinner time at Crown. We were booked at 7:30, but thankfully, we were able to get in at 6:15. The highlight was the black and blue soup, which was a spin on French onion soup with Jack Daniels, Roquefort cheese, and fresh thyme. Great flavor, nice and rich. My porterhouse steak was cooked nicely to a medium rare, but lacked seasoning. Considering the menu listed the three unique salts, I was wondering why they were never even mentioned. And with dessert, I did get my second happy birthday serenade. Of course they gave me a chocolate tuxedo cake, so I went for the Key lime pie bar, which was decent, but nothing special. The cover charge was $29 per person, which was fine, because at a regular steakhouse, we would've spent $200 for sure, factoring in wine, tax, and tip. 

Off to Hollywood Hiccups. The staff reenacted classic movie scenes with their own twists, we saw everything from Nightmare on Elm Street to Titanic to  Baywatch to the Full Monty. Nothing short of hysterical. 

Two last Jack Daniels smashes at Crown Bar, more music from Tony, and it was over. Last minute packing for my 45 pound suitcase and then time to say goodbye. 

Chapter 8-Ketchikan

Friday. My last day in my 30s. Fittingly, I started with 30 minutes of lifting in the gym, my lower legs were not feeling too great for a run. Then I went to a small theater for a Speed Sudoku challenge. That didn't go too well, the puzzle stumped me, the event was over in 15 minutes.

We arrived early in Ketchikan on an unseasonably warm day. This town is kind of like the gateway to Alaska. There's a lot of hunting and fishing, with a lot of salmon. I was able to find a black Alaska Under Armour shirt and while it wasn't cheap, I think it looks great, feels light, and will work really well.

 

We took a boat ride into a bay where we caught crabs. I thought it was stupid that we had to wear masks on a boat, but whatever. Then it was back to the George Inlet Lodge cut the dungeness crab fest, which was supposed to be all you can eat. I ate 1.5 crabs, or 3 plates, and it's only because we had to return to the boat, I could have easily had another 2 or 3 crab plates. Really good crab, maybe not quite as good as Tracy's, but close. Maybe I just like a little more seasoning besides melted butter, but I guess the idea is to let the bean be the star of the show. Now there was salad, blueberry cheesecake, one red potato, and an alcoholic beverage included as well. I drank an Alaskan amber, I drank maybe half a dozen of those over the week. 

After we got back, the weather had warmed dramatically and I laid in the sun for about 45 minutes, but gosh. I felt so self-conscious. I look so overweight despite my intensified running schedule. I don't think my diet went off the rails this week. But gosh, I didn't even want to take my shirt off. And this is on a cruise that didn't exactly have the fittest crowd ever. 

I went back to the room and watched two episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, there were about 20 episodes available on demand. 

It was our final dinner in Concerto, we went for the Curtis Stone inspired pork belly with homemade chunky applesauce, sauteed spinach, and roasted potatoes. Really good, but of course, not the leanest cut of pork. I did enjoy the sugar free coconut cake for dessert. 

Onto the games, and it was Liars Club. Basically a random word was selected and three staff members says what they thought the word meant and then we had to figure out who was telling the truth and which two were lying. There were words like bumfiddler, assapanick, sexangle, and nodgecock. I came out of this cruise so much smarter...

I decided against Pyramid; instead, I went over to the theater see a stand up comedian named Carlos, but actually it was a sitting on the stool comedian. Pretty good stuff.  

A few more JD smashes and acoustic guitar, and off to bed. Still no sign of Skip Bo.

Chapter 7-Glacier Bay

So Thursday was a trip without an excursion to Glacier Bay National Park, we all had to stay on the ship. The morning had almost no activities, so clearly something was up with this trip. By 10 am, the upper deck of the ship was full of people holding cell phones high in the frigid Alaskan air to take pictures of the mountains and glaciers, there were even a few tripods set up on the decks. Marjerie Glacier was probably the highlight, it's 250 feet high, and goes 100 feet below the surface. There's even a Johns Hopkins glacier in the park too, it's almost like they're sponsored. But the ice blue and white colors were so stark, so sharp, the pictures don't even need filters.

Lunch was at Concerto where I had salad,  spaghetti, aigolio, and a fish taco. Cruise life. Then we went to a presentation where one of the park rangers, who had come on board, told us about the history of the park from the theater. It was pretty good, but I admit, I fell asleep in some spots. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in the cold weather, and it was too soon after eating to do cardio, so I decided to lift weights at the gym. That didn't exactly pan out. One 60 or so year woman kept occupying the chin up/dip machine, which is what I really wanted to use. She was marching slowly in place, while watching her phone which was set up on the bench of the machine. After 15 minutes of her doing this, feeling exasperated, I took off. 

I don't even remember dinner at this point, but I do recall going to Good Spirits of the Sea beforehand. This is a bar that focuses on unique cocktails native to other countries, but the primary focus was on Latin America. My go to became the Sandia en Fuego, which had watermelon, Serrano peppers, Don Julio, lime juice, and agave syrup. Oh and the rim of the glass was lined with volcanic black salt. I guess black salt matters. But the drink was great, it was sweet, spicy, and salty. I drank three of those over the course of the trip. 

Actually the one thing I do remember from dinner is the dessert. Now my parents were always big fans of profiteroles. Two pastry shells surrounding vanilla ice cream, topped with chocolate sauce and a dusting of powdered sugar. Well, this profiterole had banana flavored gelato and caramel sauce. Really good, not my favorite kind of dessert though with all the sweetness. 

Anyway, I went straight to Marriage Match for two different episodes. It is priceless to watch these guys make fools out of themselves, it's like watching the beginnings of a divorce. The old folks either are careful not to say anything negative or they just don't care what they say anymore. It leaned more towards the former, sadly. 

In between, we did win 70s music trivia and I won 2 wine stoppers for my efforts. Back to Crown for a pina en fuego.

Chapter 6-Skagway

It was not a good night of sleep for me.  I was up at 4 am, then again at 630. We only have about 7 hours of darkness a day, and we're an hour behind Alaska time so it's like living in another world. I woke up and an hour later, the Mets were playing a game, and of course, losing.

One of the cool things is we're only the second cruise ship to travel through Alaska since the pandemic. No wonder people were so ready to see us, not jut the boat staff, but also the merchants running businesses in the excursion towns.

I grabbed an Egg McMuffin and fruit cup at the International Cafe. We got off the ship for the food science tour, there were 14 people on this excursion. Most folks were doing a train ride or zip lining or gold mine panning, but we went a little different direction. We took a bus to downtown Skagway. It looked just like the old west, but even more than Juneau. 

We were taken to a small inn in the heart of downtown. It has a small restaurant with ten rooms and is only open about six months a year, which is typical for Alaska. I started with a rhubarb muffin and a cup of coffee or tea. Of course, I was mistakenly given coffee, which I nearly spit out immediately. Thankfully that got fixed. We also toured their outdoor garden with lettuce, rhubarb, Swiss chard, berries, and herbs. 

Back inside, surrounded by oversized Alaskan mosquitoes, we had a lecture on topics like Alaskan economy, pH, sourdough starter, and different types of fish. For our meal, we were served smoked halibut on sourdough bread, pickled asparagus, and rhubarb crisp with whipped cream. But perhaps the highlight was the lavender ice cream that we made. Yes, we made ice cream. So in a small zip bag, we combined powdered sugar with heavy cream and lavender, there may have been one other ingredient. Then we zipped that up and put that bag into a bigger bag that had ice and rock salt. Then we had to shake it. And shake. And shake. And shake. That's when I realized they had gloves on the table, for that very reason. After 4 or 5 minutes, my hands were freezing cold. I wrapped the bag in a cloth... and kept shaking. Think about it, 14 people shaking the ice filled bags at the same time. It sounded like the ultimate Latin rhythm section, we should've had our own shot at the theater that night. I also chatted with Olivia for a few minutes, she's the daughter of the co-owners, she was really bubbly and engaging. 

Walking back through town, Mom and I stopped at the famous Red Onion Saloon.  This place is right out of the early 20th century. Brothel signs, toilet seats adorned the walls, the random disco ball, old school country music on the radio. We each had a drink and went on our way. After a little window shopping downtown where we had no intention of buying anything, we took the 15 minute walk back to the ship. 

I headed right to Deck 19, the top of the ship for the mini golf competition. And I won the event! Granted, I was the only one who showed up. So I chatted with Elle, the Australian assistant host for a while. After a run, and a subsequent fight with mom over something that was probably really stupid, I headed to dinner on my own and it was an Italian theme. I remember I had a steak that was just ok. But the feeling was pretty isolating and it's a reminder to me that I don't know if I would want to go on a cruise my myself. I really would need some companionship, even if it's with a group of other singles. Preferably in my age range. 

After a Jack Daniels smash at Crown, I played a music lyric game, the first was 70s focused. I got 23 points out of 30, the winners got 28. Then came Family Feud, with Rachel. I came in second about of several dozen people with 43 points, the winners had 44. But the 14 questions that were asked were all 20 year old questions. For instance, "Name something you associate with the TV show Baywatch." 

Then came the second music game, but this time, a girl came with me. I found out quickly on that she was married. I met the husband the next night, and good Lord, what a geek. Forget wearing the pants in the relationship, he's down to a little tennis skirt now. But outside of an Amy Whitehouse song, she wasn't any help aside from being my flirt buddy. Back to Crown for another smash and music. Still can't find Skip Bo.

Chapter 4-Cold Seas

Day 2 was spent entirely at sea. Still raining outside, I headed to the fitness center for a run. It was up one floor, but I had to walk across the pool deck and up the slippery spiral steps. I started a treadmill run at 7.5 mph, and after a few minutes, it seemed pretty easy. I realized the treadmill was on kilometers per hour. So I was running about 4.7 mph. Kilograms instead of pounds, thankfully metric minutes are the same as American minutes. After 30 minutes, I had enough. There was no water in the gym, it was ridiculous. At the least, they should have a touchless bottle filling station. 

Then we went to breakfast in Concerto. I ordered four eggs, over medium. What I got were two soft firm yolks, and two others were running so hard they would've given Usain Bolt a run for his money. They replaced my order, including the bacon, but next time, I'm going for the omelet.

We checked out the shops on board, nothing too exciting. We walked to the 7th floor, where they have a small library right near the Crown Grill steakhouse and Princess Live theater. We played Skip Bo for about an hour, which we'd never played before. They had 4 of the games and after getting into the groove, we enjoyed it and we knew we'd probably play it again. 

Lunch time at Alfredos, the pizza restaurant which was kind of a classier place. We each got an antipasto, one with meat, one with veggies, we split those. Then we got two pizzas, one with shellfish, one with Parma ham and shaved parm, the latter was definitely better. 

After some time at the Internet Cafe and trying to get my WiFi to work properly,  I played movie trivia. Lauren was hosting  again and over a hundred people showed up to play. Of course must people were in teams of three or four. Not me, I flew solo. I finished tied for first with 20 right out of 25, so I had nothing to feel bad about. It was still very windy, around 65 degrees or so. I knew my bathing suit was definitely not needed and probably wouldn't be needed much at all during the trip. 

At dinner, there was a gorgeous girl at dinner with her mom, I'm assuming. Of course there was a ring on the left hand. She was from Indiana, and I'd see her two or three more times, including the final morning of the trip, when I accidentally walked right into her as she came around the corner and I let out a scream. That sums it up right there. 

Perhaps nothing on the ship was as memorable as the Yes or No game. The idea is to carry on a conversation for three minutes without using the words yes or no, or any derivatives of those words. It may sound easy but Dan, the cruise director, has the gift of gab, he knows how to push buttons. Every time a contestant would play, the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" strobe lights would shine and the zone-in music would play. TV cameras were set up, this was actually being showed in the state rooms on TV. One person was done in one second, one made it all the way to 2:59. One damn second away. The game went on for 45 minutes and my heart was pounding for these folks.

I went back for another round of Yes or No at 10:15, the first was at 8:15. Dan was ready and I was the third one called. Considering Lauren and Rachel apologized to me about not making it on in the first round, I knew what was going down. Oh by the way, Rachel was one of the most beautiful women I'd seen in a long time. Long brown hair, sweet demeanor, evening gowns, former Miss Universe contestant from Canada. Oh and she was full of dad jokes. She was actually approachable despite being totally out of my league. 

Oh anyway...I lasted about 90 seconds, I think. I was really doing well, but I decided to try to stretch my answers out. But...I ended an answer with "yes sir." Dan said I could've won if I wasn't so damn polite. I was so upset, I took off once the lights went down again. I cursed, I screamed once I was in the elevator. I couldn't get over it, and yes I know it was supposed to be fun, but damn it, I wanted it. And even all the way until the last day, people were recognizing me from the show. At least by the end of the trip, I could talk about it. 

In between the game shows, I also saw the Sweet Soul Music show in the theater. This was the only performance of the singers and dancers during the entire week after Day 1. So I have no idea what the deal was with them and what they were doing the other 5 days. 

And at the Crown Bar, they're serving the Pina En Fuego, a Rob Floyd cocktail with pineapple, premium tequila, jalapeno, and one or two other ingredients. It definitely was spicy enough, while being balanced, and that is what made it a great nighttime cocktail. 

Chapter 3-Transition Time

We woke up early and took the Bainbridge Island ferry, which is about a 35 minute trip. Despite the shining sun, it was pretty cold on that boat, mostly because of the wind, so I spent a good amount of time inside or standing in the sun. Sadly, I didn't think to take a hoodie. Once that was done, we took the return trip right back. 13 bucks for two people for a boat ride, not a bad way to go. We walked about a mile up 1st Avenue to Pike Place Market, probably the other most popular attraction in Seattle besides the Space Needle. There were lots of cool vendors selling everything from pictures to pastries to pillows. We did stop at Beechers Cheese Market for some grilled cheese. Their flagship is somewhere between cheddar and gruyere, it melted great. I admit, I would've liked to have tried their Mac and cheese. We also saw the gum wall, which is pretty huge. No I did not add to the collection. And of course, plenty of fish! 

After we got back to that cesspool of a neighborhood called Pioneer Square, we packed and took an Uber to Pier 91, about 4 miles north of downtown. Boarding was easy, it was just showing a few docs and dropping off the luggage. We revived an ovation from the staff as we boarded, pretty crazy. But it was their second cruise back since the pandemic hit, so I guess we were treated a little extra special. Feeling pretty hungry, we went to the International Cafe, which was a 24 hour mini mart with small sandwiches, salads, pastries, and coffee drinks. I got a shrimp and noodle salad in a small cup, just enough to hold me over. 

Our room was L230, located on the 16th deck, which is the highest level that has state rooms. We not only had a balcony, but it was located only a one-minute walk from the pool and one of the many bars on deck. We hung at the sail away party which had a little singing and dancing, but it was the staff doing the performing, it wasn't the staff playing songs and the passengers dancing, which is what I was used to on other ships. 

For dinner, we ate at Concerto, one of the two standard dining rooms. One of the advantages of having a premium beverage package is glasses of wine are free up to $12. Of course, there's also the pressure to make sure you drink enough to justify the price! I remember I had a cocoa rubbed pork loin and strawberry cheesecake.

Weather wise, it got cold quickly. When we left the harbor around 4:30, people were laying in the sun, wading in the pool, wearing shorts and t shirts, drinking margheritas. By 7:30, the winds were blowing around 30 mph, and the temperature was down to around 50 degrees. At some point that night, I got a text alert that we sailed into Canadian waters. So...I guess I've been to Canada now?

I spent a lot of time playing trivia and watching game shows. American trivia and 60s music trivia were the first two, hosted by Lauren, who's from South Africa. Very dry sense of humor, which I always appreciate. My cocktails that night were the Irish side car and Crown Royal old fashioned.

What I noticed early on is this seems to be an older demographic, primarily 50s and 60s and then there were a fair amount of families. Not tons of 30 and 40s. Most of the younger crowd is high school folks who are heading to college soon because they have the time. 

Chapter 2-Starting fresh

My first full day in the Emerald City. I started by running 40 minutes on the treadmill. Just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean I'm going to quit working in certain ways. 

We walked a few blocks south to Elm Roasters, so mom could have her local cup of coffee. That walk took us through Pioneer Square, which is the absolute shits. It's a ghetto's ghetto. Tons of tents, tons of homeless people, tons of grafitti. And signs about the atmosphere. They care about the world, just not the people in it. Anyway back to the coffee shop. After waiting outside 5 minutes, I got my chai, which was way too heavy on the ginger. The more chais I drink, the more I realize how hard it is to get a great one. 

We took the D rapid bus north to Seattle Center, which is sort of the hub for museums and the tourist attractions. On the west side of the Center is the Climate Pledge Arena, which used to be the Key Arena. It's surrounded by apartment buildings and offices on the west side, the light rail doesn't go there, it's a strange spot for an arena. I couldn't get many good photos, it's still under construction. But during my near 48 hours in Seattle, I was impressed how many times I saw the Kraken logo on store windows, t shirts, masks, hats, etc. 

Then we went up 600 plus feet to the top of the Space Needle, probably the city's top tourist attraction. Thankfully, we had a clear day so we got some nice views of the pacific, downtown, and the mountains.  Right next door is the Chihuly Glass Museum. Dale Chihuly, who I think also had a hot sauce named after him, sculpts amazing glass works of art. I'd seen some of his work already in the Tampa area, but this was a larger facility, and included a theater playing brief films about his works. Below is "A Thousand Flowers."

With the heat rising, we rode the bus north from South Lake Union to Fremont. Time for lunch at Paseo, a total hole in the wall. Two tables inside, maybe six outside. Their trademark is the Caribbean Roast sandwich, slow cooked shredded citrus pork, topped with pickled jalapenos, huge caramelized onions, cilantro, and garlic aioli. It lived up to the huge hype. Sweet, spicy, juicy as can be. And so messy, as the divine combination of citrus juice and aioli ran down my wrists. 

And don't forget the sides! The roasted corn is amazing, pungent spices, butter, parmesan cheese. Super tender kernels, a little spicy, super zesty. Great cobs, good thing we ordered one for each of us. I also liked the fries, they added some of the same spices to the thick cut potatoes and served them with an extra side of aioli. Now this is not your standard aioli. Most are white in color, this one was pink, it looked a little like Thousand Island. And it was so garlicky, that even I could taste it and that is saying a lot!

Good job having Mexican Cokes with real sugar, the way God intended them! The total meal came out to about $55, it may sound like a decent amount of money, but this place is unique in their cuisine and they do a great job with their execution. Fremont may not be my kind of neighborhood, but this is a place for everyone to check out.

Fremont is a very artsy section of Seattle, just north of downtown. Some would call it progressive, I would call it digressive because it's so liberal and you see so many crooked sexual flags flying around. They even have a statue of Lenin where they have a lot of political demonstrations and picketing. They even have slogans spray painted on it such as "my body my choice" but I think it's for vaccination passports instead of abortion. Just weird. 

We also went into the vintage market which has tons of memorabilia and artifacts from the sixties, seventies, and eighties. They had figurines, clothing, music, all kinds of stuff piled on top of one another it was like a huge indoor yard sale. They wanted to check our backpacks though, and after the third time of asking, we decided we'd had enough. 

We took the bus back to the hotel and booked two spots on the Seattle Underground tour, one of the most popular tourist attractions. The highlight was probably hearing about how hookers made so much money, but would identify as seamstresses on their taxes. And we even saw some of the first toilets, they're actually called crappers.

Then it was a 1.5 mile walk north to Cinque Terre, a modern Italian restaurant with a focus on seafood. The funniest part is I had made a reservation a week prior and mom found it two days prior. We even picked the same restaurant! 

And the night was not over. One more bus ride south to TMobile Park for Mariners vs Athletics. It was a pretty good stadium, I was able to score two fans of craft bet for six bucks, I still don't know how that was possible. But by the seventh inning, we were spent and we took the light rail back to the hood. Of course it took about 20 minutes to find the train since Seattle does a terrible job of marking where to walk. 

On the way back to the hotel, I was just walking, minding my own business, not saying a word, and all of a sudden, a glass bottle shattered about a foot away from my feet. Some asshole threw a bottle at me. That only reinforced what a lousy city this, it was such a relief to walk off the streets and enter the Courtyard doors.