From May, 2015
We were counting our lucky 50 stars that we were granted entry into the U.S. after Rodney couldn't stop laughing when speaking to an officer of the country’s immigration team. He could not keep a straight face due to the ridiculously exaggerated serious tone he had to endure with the man who held his fate in his hands. Fortunately, in-between his hysterics he just about answered the required questions and – via Vancouver, Canada on the smallest public plane I have boarded – we arrived in the sleepless city of Seattle, USA from Tokyo, Japan.
We were counting our lucky 50 stars that we were granted entry into the U.S. after Rodney couldn't stop laughing when speaking to an officer of the country’s immigration team. He could not keep a straight face due to the ridiculously exaggerated serious tone he had to endure with the man who held his fate in his hands. Fortunately, in-between his hysterics he just about answered the required questions and – via Vancouver, Canada on the smallest public plane I have boarded – we arrived in the sleepless city of Seattle, USA from Tokyo, Japan.
On the north-west coast in the state of Washington we collected our dark grey American Chrysler and we were ready for our great American road trip! Within an hour we were at my cousin's very kindly lent condo in the middle of the city and were in awe of the luxury apartment we were totally stoked (the transformation has already started) to be staying in for the few days ahead. The following morning we explored the city for our first enlightening American breakfast, but instead I was the victim of the poorest omelette known to man. Rodney had some incredibly tasting chicken thing I think, but I wasn't really listening...the douchebag...
We saw the intriguingly designed Space Needle observation tower which stands at a great height of 184m (604 ft) and I explored the Dale Chihuly’s famous glass sculpture garden and was extremely impressed with the detail and colour used in some remarkable works. These sights were considerably better than the apparently ‘award-winning’ Olympic Sculpture Park by the coast which seemed to lack the features of a park and many sculptures. If you want something by the same name then I suggest a visit to the incredible park in Seoul, South Korea.
Rodney’s cousin joined us the following day and we visited the world-famous Pike Place Fish Market (not the most interesting of places to the vegetarian me) and the world’s first Starbucks store - which was small, packed and showed a small sign telling of its fame. We witnessed the mightily impressive underground Market Theatre Gum Wall - if you couldn't piece it together like the chewers did - a wall of gum. If you peel back the gum, (or if you walk through the designated door), you can enter the comedy venue where we saw some of Seattle's best improvisational comedians and comediennes take to the stage for a series of awesome, fun and quirky sketches where they put themselves in all kinds of hilariously rad, topsy turvy and God-damn outrageous scenarios. It was actually quite good despite the sarcastic tone...
We visited the fields of the National Discovery Park for a morning stroll and walked down the peaceful coast in the light breeze. We then drove to the Gasworks Park as Rodney loves seeing a bit of rust and he couldn't resist seeing the – now vandalised somewhat craftily – gasworks machinery. Rodney’s discovery of the Waterfall Garden Park was well received by all as we enjoyed the peaceful flow in this hidden gem of a place of relaxation.
As the non-driver of the three of us, I was frustrated that I was unable to help with the couple hundred hours of driving to come. The parking situation wasn't the most ideal which meant Rodney had to move the car at 8am every day, usually following a late night after bars. We learnt a lot after our first night of attempted bar-crawling as we were rejected from eight bars as they only accepted passports as a form of ID which we didn't carry, and not our drivers licence (yes I know; mine was provisional). Despite Rodney’s elderly age, his baby-face was not doing him any favours and we eventually gave up for the night. The sleep deprivation hit Rodney and I at an acoustic/indie music gig when we both fell asleep for alternate acts. Thankfully, I was awake for the beautiful soothing voice of the introducing girl and doze off for the unoriginal 80s dance/indie band.
An impromptu trip to Portland also meant meeting up with an old acquaintance I met five years ago when last in the state of Oregon. She informed us it was the second worst city in the U.S. for human trafficking and that we had to stay clear of Chinatown unless we wanted a regretful night. Other than that though we saw Powells - the world's largest independent new and used book store - it has a really cool indie and jazz scene, which we later experienced, although, unfortunately, we saw mainly rock and country covers by an overconfident and unfunny front man. The people in the stylish yet affordable bar of Waterfront Park were great to talk to as we began our interest in the NBA (National Basketball Association) finals. Earlier in the day we had the pleasure of tasting fresh Whole Foods Pizza and then – at a bar – our first $1 beer of PBR. It didn't matter that it tasted of p**s water – it was 75p. Throw in a kick-about with a rolled up sock and a paper ball and we were ready for our first night of sleep in the car before we set off for the Yellowstone National Park.
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