Check, Check, and Check

On a recent short sojourn to Seattle I had every intention to post a little something to this blog, mostly to see how it's going to work out during the Green Jar trip to the UK in the spring.  I've always parked myself at the desk top to write the blog but I'll be working off the iPad when I travel.  At this point you've realized there's an except coming...and here it is.  Except someone (who shall remain nameless, but wasn't me) left the power cord for my iPad attached to my iPod in the glove box of the car.  And the iPad was low on juice.  Now you may be thinking...'hmmm...whose iPad and whose iPod?' And you'd be right.  But the rule is -- passenger in the car contols the tunes and is ultimately responsible for bringing the damn cord.

If I had been able to post this while away, I would have told you that the reason for the trip was the kid's 21st birthday.  I would have told you that we took the Clipper, a passenger ferry, from Victoria to downtown Seattle, a crossing that takes almost 3 hours.  In order to have one full day in Seattle we took the only ferry over at 5:00 p.m. on a Wednesday and returned on the only ferry back at 8:00 a.m. on the Friday.  With luck our one full day on the Thursday turned out to be as close to perfect as weather gets in late October on the west coast. Sunny and warm.  No coat weather.  Sit on the outside patio for a cold pint weather.

Besides the aforementioned birthday, the trip served yet another purpose -- to cross a few items off the kid's bucket list.

Item #1 -- Coffee at the original Starbucks at Pike's Place Market.  We toodled down to the market about 9:00 a.m.  Enroute we passed a gazillion other Starbucks.  In the land where Starbucks was born, it has bred like rabbits.  At least one on each city block.  And let's face it, you've been to one, you've pretty much been to them all.  Except for the one on the corner by the market. It had a huge comfortable seating area and the decor was rustic, from the rough wooden pillars to the cracked cement floor to the burlap coffee bags adorning one wall.  We sat at the bar by the window, sipping our overpriced lattes, and snapped a few pics for posterity.  The original Starbucks was worth seeing after all.  Until we walked further down the street and found the original original Starbucks.  'Thought that other one was the original,' I said to the kid. 'I thought you knew where we were going,' the kid replied. 'Hey, it's not my bucket list,' I pointed out.  More coffee and photos later...  Oh, and the original Starbucks?  A tiny hole in the wall, a pick up your coffee and go kind of place. No seating.  And the decor consists mainly of cardboard boxes of product piled to the ceiling.   Item #1 -- Check.

Item #2 -- The Gum Wall.  Haven't heard of it?  Me either.  And it's not exactly as advertised. It is not a wall covered with used chewing gum.  It's damn near the whole frickin' alley.  Really.  Layer upon layer of chewed gum stuck to the walls as high as the tallest among us can reach.  Apparently it's in the top five germiest tourist attractions in the world, second only to the Blarney Stone.  I guess it only merits second place because you don't have to kiss it. Either way, it's disgusting.  Item #2 -- Check.

Item #3 -- Visit 15 countries in 2015.  Australia, Bali, England, France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Belgium, Holland.  Fourteen countries down, one to go, and flat out broke. What's a girl to do?  How about a quick trip to Seattle courtesy of Mumsy? USA = 15.  Item #3 -- Check.

Now you'd think that a couple of these things would merit a photo or two. And you'd be right.  That's why I did the dork thing, hauling out my iPad to snap a few, much to the horror of the kid, I might add.  I had my camera, I had my phone.  You know, the discrete options.  But knowing I'd be writing this on the iPad I figured it would be easier access to link the pics.  You'd think, eh? Except I can't figure out that part.  Rest assured though, when I do, you'll get to see the gum wall in all its glory.

And here's a little something I didn't know.  Apparently when your birthdate and age are the same number it's called your champagne birthday.  The kid lucked in.  She was 21 on the 21st.  And yes, we drank bubbly, a beautiful bottle I brought back from Italy two years ago and was saving for a special occasion.  Figured this one qualified.

But what about those of us who got ripped off for our champagne birthday? I mean, my birthday is on the 9th.  Pretty much anyone under the age of 16 gets screwed.  So today I got to thinking, those of us who missed out should be able to substitute our birth year.  For instance, I'm 1958. And then I got to thinking, 'Damn! I missed out by one lousy year.'

Before clueing in that I'm still only 57.  Duh.


Book Reviews:  I was so excited for our October book club selection -- The Magicians by Lev Grossman.  The first of a trilogy, I was prepared to order the next two before even cracking the cover on the first.  Won't be happening. There was nothing magical about The Magicians.  Populated by hedonistic, self involved, morose characters, the story lacked tension and was just plain boring.  And just so you know, of the members of the book club that actually managed to finish it, the majority had much the same opinion as I did.

Memory Man by David Baldacci was a perfectly acceptable quick read mystery.  As fans of the genre know, authors definitely have to take some liberties, especially when writing a police procedural.  If you take this one on, prepare to have your credulity stretched to the limit.