Beer, Jazz, Pizza

10/18/08

Ok, so once I got into Washington State, I really started to get the itch to see the Pacific Ocean. I felt somehow drawn to it. I’m not really sure why, because I don’t surf, I’m not a great swimmer, and I’d rather not be attacked by a shark or a jellyfish or anything else of an oceanic nature. Nevertheless, I drove through the state on a mission. I didn’t stop for anything…….except Seattle.

I crossed city limits around dusk and was still holding on to the dream of driving non-stop until I hit salt water, but opted instead to drive around the city for a while. This being the first big city I had visited since I left, I was somewhat overwhelmed by the whole experience, and wasn’t sure if I could find a good place to stay the night. I had talked to Tina a few hours earlier and learned that she was on a day trip to Vancouver and would not return until tomorrow, so I was on my own.

As it was now dark, I headed out of the city and found a motel lot to stay the night in one of Seattle’s suburbs.

10/19/08

I got a hold of Tina this afternoon, and met up with her at a place called Chocolat Vitale. She had some studying to do, I had some blogging to catch up on, and this place had WiFi and really good chocolate. We chilled there for a while then headed out to meet up with her friends.

I’ll be up front. I drank a lot of beer that night. Apparently, when people find out you’re on a road trip around the country, they get this irresistible urge to buy you beer. Fortunately, and unlike South Dakota, I was able to repay a round here and there this time.

The first bar went hit had a wooden bar, wooden beams, and high-walled wooden booths with wooden seats. Nice place. In addition they had live music. It was a sax-drum duet that sounded somewhat like an experimental college jazz combo. I think it was the first time I ever heard avant garde jazz played live. Avant garde has the unique ability to ride the fence between entertaining and annoying. I can’t say that I really enjoyed it, but the performers were giving their all and that was enough to earn my respect.

The other members of the group were Brian, Joe, and Tim. Tim and I talked beer for quite some time and he was more than eager to suggest some good breweries as well as some individual beers. At some point during the night, Joe told me that he could probably get me a job in Seattle. I recall the words “scanning documents” and “$15/hr”. The idea of taking him up on his offer and living out of the van in Seattle for a while would play, on and off, through my cloudy head for the rest of the night. By the next morning, however, I decided to finish the trip. I thanked him for the offer and told him not to be surprised if I called him in a couple months on my way back out west.

The night continued with just Brian, Tina, and myself. We hit up an arcade for a while where I got to show off my Ms. Pacman skills before being humbled in Galaga. The final stop was for some pizza before I retired to the van. I would spend the night parked right on the streets of Downtown Seattle.

Tags: beer, Seattle, Tina, Washington