When we asked where we could buy some beer, one of the Polo Mansion dudes suggested we check out the Capitol Hill block party happening right down the street. As we walked down the hill, I heard a familiar sound, and Travis was like, "Wait is that Matt and Kim playing live?" Why yes, yes it was. The block party cost $50 to enter, so we passed and decided to instead just walk around and look at all the goddamn people.
SO MANY people.
There was the gay couple in matching leather kilts window shopping for large appliances. There were the multitudes of girls so excited about summertime their tits were just out. Like see-through-lacy-bralette-only out. There was the street brass band playing dance tunes for tips outside the festival. And of course we couldn't pass up the bike polo game happening across the street so Travis could watch some of the best players in the country play a casual but astounding game of pickup.
We came across a fancy whiskey bar called Cannon, and I couldn't help myself, we had to try it. They had a host who informed us that we would have to wait a few minutes before we could go in. The wait time, though extremely pretentious, made me feel very important once we were finally allowed to enter. It's cool to see what other cities are doing in their bar scenes. This place used only metal straws, served me a drink with a Triple Sec foam, and our whiskey flight came with a list of tasting instructions eight items long. I felt even more important after getting tipsy there.
The next day we started our Seattle checklist of things to do. First up: the Beacon Food Forest. Let's be honest though. It was a community garden with a section of perennial berries and some fruit trees. The permaculture people have done a great job of marketing small urban orchards as "food forests". What's very cool is that the local government in Seattle helped to fund the project, along with other urban gardening projects throughout the city. People have it very easy here.
Next up was a visit to the workplace of my personal hero, Dan Savage of the Savage Lovecast. If you haven't listened to his podcast or read his column, just go ahead and do it now. It will make you be a better girlfriend. Dan records his sex and relationship advice podcasts with Tech-Savvy At-Risk Youth on the 23rd floor of the Washington Mutual Tower in downtown Seattle, and I got real excited to be there even though I know from Dan's Instagram he's on vacation in Europe with his husband right now. I grammed my photo anyway AND LOOK WHAT F*CKING HAPPENED.
The day continued on to the EMP Museum, which happened to be right next to the Space Needle.
Two birds, one stone. The Experience Music Project Museum has exhibits about fantasy, sci fi, Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, and sound labs where you can record yourself in a sound booth after you've learned to play rudimentary guitar or keyboards. Definitely a very cool visit.
Then Seattle did it again. As we emerged from the museum into the twilight, downtown Seattle was exploding with parade prep. Bedazzled parade floats surrounded the museum, and the overpasses echoed with the multiple drumlines practicing. We had to stick around for the annual Seafair Parade. The top three parade heroes were the Mexican dancing horses, the middle school marching band with the disabled piccolo player whose mother pushed her wheelchair in line, and the Korean dancing troop, complete with crazy masks, puffy hats, drums, and gongs.
Finally hunger won and the urge to eat was greater than the urge to see what float was next. And besides, we had to at least try and sleep so we could get up at a decent hour and catch the ferry to Bainbridge Island and continue the journey on to Port Townsend.