lupestripe | Falling Out Of Your Scooter

Rainfurrest may officially begin tomorrow but today is for early birds and we are waiting for Tuxedo to get home before he drives us to the hotel. His flatmate Bob is doing some artwork for the art show and Wolfie is watching Animal Cops Houston on Animal Planet, replete with those scary US adverts threatening legal action for everything and anything. Falling out of your mobility scooter is one such example. Bear Grylls also does deodorant adverts here featuring a bear on a hamster wheel. Plus an ad for catheters, which is something you would not get in the UK.

So we headed into Seattle yesterday on the 358 bus, conveniently going down Highway 99 from nearby Aurora to downtown. Exact change was necessary such was the funky ticket machine and it seemed to be running late as there was a vociferous last who was very upset she was going to be late for work. I half-expected a First label on it - sadly I DID see a car with the First logo on it outside Seattle King Street Station, the poor Americans have to deal with Aberdeen based shit too.

The bus journey demonstrated the Americans seem to be less relaxed than the Canadians but no less friendly. Highway 99 is a long arterial route founded in the Thirties and containing block after block of fast food restaurants and cheap motels. It's very typical of many American streets really. There were also gun shops, scary looking bars and a lap dancing place that defined the word seedy.

Some 45 minutes later we were in downtown and headed straight to Pike Place Market, the lively fish and bric-a-brac market by the waterfront. The smells and hubbub was intoxicating, while the singing fishmongers who threw and caught their catch around the shops and to their customers were a particular delight. We also loved the pro-animal shop which was almost furry while the Pike Pub & Brewery, a local microbrewery with a range of fantastic beers, was an excellent pick-me-up.

The problem with Seattle is that as coffee and beer is so integral to the tapestry of the city that it's very difficult to walk more than a few blocks without being tempted into another establishment. I also like the fact that the word pub, as opposed to bar, is used here, again highlighting the British influences here. IPA is very popular here and we eventually tried twenty different beers due to the various bars' sampling trays. After the Pike Pub, we went to another bar and had a similar sample tray, along with some of the nicest chips and guacamole we have ever tasted. We also grabbed some chicken sliders. Mmmm.

With the sun coming out, we popped down to the waterfront where we saw the giant wheel but decided not to go on it as it was quite expensive. We then headed to the Columbia Center, the tallest building on the west coast, to take in a panoramic view of the city from the 73rd floor. Initially we went to the wrong building which was kinda embarrassing but the views over the city, Puget Sound (made famous to me by Nirvana) and surrounding mountains were fantastic. We caught the Space Needle, a paltry height in comparison and built for the 1962 World's Fair, as well as the awesome Safeco and Qwest Fields, home of the local sports teams. We walked down to the fields soon after to take a closer look, during which time we chatted to a local bar owner who offered us to come to his bar during one of their famous piano nights. He seemed quite nice.

Shortly after this, we popped down to Pioneer Square, where the city of Seattle was founded in the 1850s. On 6 June 1889, a glue fire resulted in the gutting of thirty blocks of downtown Seattle, necessitating a reconstruction out of brick and stone some 12 feet higher than the original city, which was also more probe to flooding. There is an underground tour where you can still glimpse aspects of old Seattle. In Occidental Square, which has a Victorian business-like feel, there is a monument to all Seattle firefighters who have lost their lives defending the city, while there are totem poles to commemorate the First Nation people who once lived here.

Walking past the nearby main station, as well as tram stop to the airport, we headed into the International District, which is home to mainly Chinese immigrants. It has a unique feel with Chinese shops and bus stops covered in Chinese pagoda housing. There is also a huge and impressive Chinese style gate marking one of the entrances.

On our way back to the bus stop, we got lost amongst the skyscrapers while also looking at the stunning architecture of the Seattle Art Museum, with the moving 15ft black mannequin out front, and Seattle Library, which is very modern and pointy in design. The view from the tenth floor after boarding the lime green lifts gave a nice perspective on the centre of the city. We also saw one of the original Starbucks with its sign of the bare-breasted mermaid.

Due to a problem with texting, Tuxedo had to pick us up from Aurora rather than us getting a second bus back, the 331, but we soon were back at his house to enjoy some delicious homemade fried chicken, ribs, corn coated with Parmesan cheese and coleslaw peppered with celery seeds. This was as nice as the fried egg, meat and hot sauce ensemble (with rice) we had had for breakfast.

We settled down to watch Scott Pilgrim vs the World which, considering I care little for computer games or comic books, was actually quite enjoyable. While watching, we sampled some more local IPA beers as nerf wars were breaking out in front of us. I've never really been into such shooting games but it was great watching the others having so much fun. There was a big argument about being a gamer, which I thought rather pointless, but then my interests are often out of kilter with many in the fandom anyway. I just sat, drank beer and watched, while talking to Tuxedo intermittently, who is always great company.

Afterwards, some furs went to bed while others watched Tron Legacy. I gave up on this halfway through due to general tiredness induced by beer drinking and I hadn't really been following the plot. Wolfie stayed up, tripped over a bag and woke me up, but still a great night was had.

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