Day One in the Pacific Northwest.

Last night we here at the hostel had a community dinner together. I sat with a friendly couple from Long Beach, Brenda and Alee, and we had a great discussion about traveling, Alee's home in Iran, Seattle, religion, politics in America...very unexpected way to spend my evening.

But then it got even better. The hostel had a group field trip to a place called the Comet Tavern, which was a grunge/punk/ska music venue featuring four different bands. The first band--I think their name was The Super Cutes, but not positive--was one of the best. I initially saw a man playing the tambourine and I had to laugh--until I watched him. Then I quickly learned he was kind of amazing. (I never knew the tambourine could be that difficult. I was wrong though.)

I met some lovely ladies from England who have been traveling across the United States for almost three months! They have been absolutely everywhere--Boston, New York, Nashville, Austin, Las Vegas, LA, Chicago...these ladies were so inspiring! I can say they have been to more American cities than a large majority of Americans (which is frankly pathetic, if you really consider the statement).

After the concert a group of us (Jasper from Australia, Matthew from Chicago, myself and the Brits) went to a downstairs Mexican bar that was solidly red throughout. It was seriously the only lighting in the bar. We each had a beer, decided we were tired, and then on our way out a fight broke out. Which was more amusing than intimidating, to be honest.

Although that was my evening, my day was spent schlepping all over Seattle. I went to the Space Needle. Saw the city from Queen Anne. Checked out downtown. Went shopping (seemed necessary). Walked along the pier. Went to the SAM (Seattle Art Museum). It was a fantastic day and if my big adventure continues to be like yesterday, I am surely in for the time of my life.

Call me a freak, but from here on out I'm hooked on hostels. It's the absolute best way to travel.

The Journey Thus Far.

Well, I can finally check something off my bucket list--staying in a hostel. Besides walking into my room and being welcomed to the sounds of a man masturbating (there is simply no way that a man could sound that happy when he was taking a nap), the trip has been just lovely. I've met and made friends from Germany, Alaska, Oregon and Illinois, and almost every person surrounding me has some story--running away from home, backpacking across the coast, just getting by, going on an epic journey...I can certainly say this is a very, very unique place.

You sleep in a room with 5 other people. There are three sets of bunk beds, and beneath the bottom bunk is a locked case for you to store your belongings. Surrounding your bed are curtains so that you can sleep with a little privacy (although in terms of my jerking off bunk buddy, it simply does not provide complete privacy). There are private showers on each floor which are first come, first serve. So far no trouble.

As I write this I am staring out the window at the iconic Public Market Center. This hostel is right in the center of it all. They provide breakfast, which was a welcome surprise, but there is a catch--you have to cook it. They provide the bread, the eggs, the pancake mix...but from there you are on your own.

Some of the renters work here to live here. They cannot afford to pay the cost of the stay, so instead they help out with odds and ends in order to make the rent. They cleanup the bathrooms, prepare the breakfast area, clean the different dorms...it was a very peculiar addition to this hostel experience I had not expected. Essentially, because of the ample amounts of free food they provide, you could theoretically continue to work here just to sleep here for one more day. It's like a modern day form of indentured slavery, or at worst high-end, glorified poverty.

They provide daily activities--today is a tour of all the famous dead musicians graves--and they do everything they can to create a fun and friendly atmosphere. The spin is that you can embrace this and make new friends from all over the world, or you can stay to your lonesome self and not say a word. It is entirely up to you.

I'm reminded that I am in a global city because of the computer I am on. They are courteous enough to provide free internet and even free computers, but even here there is a catch--it's a French keypad. If you go through this blog update, every single apostrophe (') has been cut and pasted into this document. I have no idea how to locate it on this keyboard, and frankly I just gave up looking!

The journey thus far has been fun, exciting, challenging and filled with the unexpected. I'll be sure to continue with the updates as the myriad stories find their way to filter in.

My Big Summer Adventure!

In just a few hours I begin my big summer adventure! Four days in Seattle, three days in Vancouver (!), a day in Tacoma, Washington and another day in Olympia...it's going to be great! I'm utterly stunned at the audacious journey. I'll be staying in hostels, meeting up with an co-intern I have never met, hanging out with a long-time blog buddy from LA that happens to be in Seattle, taking the AMTRAK up-and-down the coast...it's going to be so frickin' cool!

So I searched for a fun map to share with you. Nothing too cool came up. So, instead, I found a part of Seattle that has a ton of art galleries--and I thought I'd let you enjoy that instead. So here you go!



Oh, with art galleries galore like this...I think I am going to enjoy the Pacific Northwest. AND, to make it better, I checked the weather and for once luck is running in my favor--it looks like the entire week will be rain-free! Does that ever happen in Seattle or Vancouver? Regardless, I'm not complaining ;-).

So I'll leave you with a few photos. I hope you enjoy and I'll try my best to update along the way!


Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. However, the entire metropolitan population size is almost identical to Minneapolis/St. Paul--something no one wants to admit!

Although a Peninsula, and not an Island, Vancouver maintains a level of density surrounding the Central Business District that only has one mirror in North America: New York City.


Vancouver is an anomaly of a city in that it balances dense city life with natural greenery and epic scenery that can be enjoyed by as a if you were in a serene field or in the center of Times Square.


So pretty! So dazzling! So great! Can't wait!

America's Healthiest Cities.

"Healthy". That's generally the one-word definition of my dream city. Not necessarily as in fit or active, but overall healthy--culturally active, economically vibrant, bustling city-folk, high-quality of life, etc. That's why I'm obsessed with Minneapolis (and recently Seattle), since they both seem to be consummate examples of the kind of city I want to live in.

Well, Outside Magazine seems to agree with me. They've put together their annual list of the "Best Healthy Towns in 2009", and my favorite cities all seemed to make the list: Charlotte, Seattle, Minneapolis and even Cincinnati! (Don't mock me. I love it there.)

First, we started with the 100 most populated cities in America, using public data to rank them on factors like cost of living, unemployment, nightlife, commute time and access to green space. Then we took the 28 candidates with the highest overall averages and put them through a second round of number crunching, comparing things like the percentage of the population with college degrees, income level in relation to home prices, and weather. The wild card? Our own multisport factor, which rated each of our finalists on a scale of 1 to 5 for quality and proximity to biking, running, paddling, hiking, and skiing. After adding it all up, we had our top ten.

10. Charlotte, North Carolina
9. Cincinnati, Ohio
8. Minneapolis, Minnesota
7. Portland, Oregon
6. Albuquerque, New Mexico
5. Boston, Massachusetts
4. Austin, Texas
3. Atlanta, Georgia
2. Seattle, Washington
1. Colorado Springs, Colorado

Time for a Big Adventure.

So I officially purchased my ticket to Seattle! I will be in the Pacific Northwest from August 24th until August 31st. I'll also be spending two days in Vancouver, which seems like a brilliant idea since Vancouver appears to be the kind of city I'd adore. (Vancouver Island is denser than Manhattan!)

Instead of shelling out tons of money for hotels that I'll only been sleeping a few hours in, I'm taking a little adventure. I'm going to try CouchSurfing. Have you heard of this? I have friends who swear by it and have done it for years, but I always thought it was kind of risky and strange.

CouchSurfing is a real simple complex--people go on the website looking for a place to stay. People in cities around the world set up profiles indicating whether they can host a person or if they want to visit a new city...and that's it. You set up a connection, and people open up their homes to you.

It's kind of scary, so I'm going to try and establish some relationships now. After two months of e-mailing, I'm sure it will be like friends visiting instead of me sleeping on a random couch. And, if it turns out not to work so well, I'll just budget to have the money for a last-minute hotel if need be.

Anyway, so I fly to Seattle, spend Mon-Tues-Wed there, then take the train to Vancouver on Thursday. (I hear that this train ride is GORGEOUS!) I'll then return to Seattle on Saturday and leave early Monday morning. I won't be renting a car because, well, it's a waste of money. Hopefully I'll be able to find a fun place to rent a bike. AND I sure hope it doesn't rain the whole time!

Now I just need to start learning everything about the area. I did this with my Minneapolis trip, so when I got there I really was able to maximize my time since I already knew my way around.

Any Seattle people out there? Do you have any suggestions for things to do? :-)

A New City Love Affair.

I'll be going here in August. Can't wait!