Seattle: Gold Basin Camping (almost)

G wrote about our trip to the Big Four Ice Caves but I wanted to show a couple of extra photos from the trip.

The view from near the car park. It just gets better from here.

Standing in front of the ice cave (not as close as you think), I got blasted by a cool mist. It is not a good idea to walk into the caves because bits of the roof fall off like the chunk pretty close to me.

We almost camped at Gold Basin Campground with some Aussie friends, but the weather was pretty dreary and the hardy camp manager cheerily suggested bucketloads of rain were on the way starting from midnight and that we might need a tarp and to dig a few channels for the water. It explained why the whole area was so lush and green. Instead we decided to stay there for the day and do the Ice Caves hike before heading home.

The campground is well organized and this means you need to book at least 3 days in advance to camp (perhaps this is also due to the weather and the number of no-shows we saw at the camp). Unlike many Aussie campgrounds, each site here was well-separated from the rest and many were partially surrounded by dense forest which was impressive when walking around the site.

A couple of campsites surrounded by dense green forest.

The Stillaguamish River flows near the campsites.

More Stillaguamish River.

More greenery right near a campsite.

Still more greenery.

Another random forest photo.

As we were driving to the Big Four walk we saw several other campsites, some of which were official and some were just folks camping beside a river, so the whole area looks like it would be worth going back to check out again. I'm sure there are also other decent hikes to do in the area.

Random: My camera is broken!

I've had a 4 Megapixel Casio Exilim for about 3 years (although I kind of stole it off G, but that is another story) and a few weeks ago I found it with half the lens out in a partially switched on position. I fiddled with it a little and managed to get it to turn on but now it always has a 'lens error'.

I wonder if this means I should just buy a nice new one? They cost a whole lot less than they used to and electronics are actually cheaper here in the states. I could get a nice shiny new 7.2 Megapixel Casio for about $190. Very tempting...

UPDATE: G managed to fix my camera by reading the instructions and *gasp* following them. I might be able to hold off buying a new camera until the next big sale!

Seattle: Tacky Flashing Neon, Rundown Brick Building

I was walking down First Avenue in Seattle a while back and a tacky flashing neon sign drew my attention to a rundown brick building. A picture of a giant hand seemed a little out of place in front of what I assumed was some kind of strip joint. I inspected a little closer and noticed E.E. Robbins and that the flashing 'Vacancy' sign was hovering somewhere over a ring finger.

EE Robbins Engagement Store.

Yes that's right ladies, if you're looking to get engaged, all you need to do is take your fella for a stroll and he'll notice this massive sign and say 'hey, wait a minute, that hand kind of looks like yours - we'd better go buy a ring!'

EE Robbins is the author a successful book called 'Popping The Question Seattle Style', which I'm sure doesn't include lines like:
"Honey, would you let me fill that vacancy on your ring finger?"
or:
"I was walking past this shop the other day and impulsively ducked in and grabbed a nice ring for you".

I mean, come on, us guys can come up with romantic ideas on our own. I'm also sure that ladies want a guy to shop around at a few places and really think about which engagement ring would be the right one.

For nervous guys that take the leap and fork over for a ring but don't think they are cool enough to win over their potential fiancee on their own, EE Robbins offers an extra special service called 'The Proposer'. A guy in a black suit oozing style will hand-deliver your ring to a given location at a given time for that extra wow-factor.

I wonder if G would have gone for any of this...

Seattle: Pike's Place 100

A few week's ago the owners of Pike's Place Markets took some Pigs on Parade as part of its 100 year celebrations. I took a few pictures.

Pig with a fin.

Kiss a pig.

Football pig.

The pigs have since ventured out into the streets of Seattle and when we went into the city last weekend George took some more pictures. There are supposed to be 100 pigs scattered around the city so we'll have to take another trip to try to find a few more.

Sport: Sounders Soccer

A few weeks ago I went to see the Seattle Sounders take on the Vancouver Impact in a MLS (Major League Soccer) game at Qwest Field.

Qwest Field.

As you can see from some of the pictures there was a pretty small crowd. They really only opened one side of the stadium to accommodate the approximately 3100 people. I guess they'll probably get better crowds when the Sounders play the LA Galaxy (if Beckham is playing). It really did feel a bit like when we had a soccer team back in Canberra and we watched out at Bruce Stadium.

Warming up. The crowd of 3100 is not much bigger than the crowds we used to get at the Canberra Cosmos games.

More warmups.

The game was decent quality since both teams were near the top of the table. The skills were a little lacking compared to some of the European soccer leagues and the pace was definitely a bit slower but it wasn't too bad at all. Unfortunately the Sounders didn't have much firepower up front so they had to do a lot of defense. Despite holding off the Impact for most of the game they conceded a header goal and lost 1-0.

The Sounders in white had a bit of defense to do.

Tickets were $13 each and I enjoyed the game more than the baseball so maybe I'll watch another.

USA: 4th of July Celebrations

Last night I went to my first 4th of July fireworks celebration. We went to Fourth on the Plateau and were treated to some of the loudest and brightest fireworks I've ever been to. Here's a few photos.

Net TV

I still haven't bought a TV so I've been watching a few shows streaming on the net from ABC and NBC. I've been watching shows like:

• Grey's Anatomy - Just another hospital drama, but I'm hooked.
  
• Six Degrees - Follows the lives of a bunch of people in New York City that are connected sometimes without knowing it
  
• What About Brian - Think 'Friends', but outside the apartment. It has video game developers, lawyers, best friends breaking up their friends weddings. Exciting stuff.
  
• The Black Donnellys - Shows how Italian and Irish mobsters manage to coexist (or sometimes don't) in a small neighbourhood.
  
• 30 Rock - Liz Lemon is the head writer for the Tracy Jordan Show, which stars the mentally unstable Tracy Jordan. Alec Baldwin is her boss. Lots of twisted relationships and crazy plots
  
• Heroes
• Age of Love - OK, this is pretty sad, but it has Aussie Mark Philippoussis (30) as a bachelor who is simultaneously dating 20 year-olds and 40 year-olds (the oldest is 48!). Mark is a pretty quiet guy so it is pretty funny to see him a hot tub with a bunch of 20 year olds looking very uncomfortable trying to think of something to say to them. I've watched 3 episodes and I'm not sure I'll last much longer. He's going to end up with one of the hot 20-somethings for sure.

Net streaming TV suits my needs. The shows still have commercials, but only about 4 minutes per show instead of 15. I can watch shows when I want and can see older shows that I missed. The only downside is when I get hooked on a show like What About Brian and watch 6 episodes in a row.

We'll see if I do get a TV and start watching endless boring cable TV shows.

UPDATE: ***WARNING - Spoiler ahead***. Of course The Poo picked the younger snooty lady over the more sophisticated older lady. Now get back to practicing your tennis!

Seattle: Pine Lake Park

Pine Lake Park is just a few miles from Beaver Lake Park, but it is much busier, mainly because it also has a sports field that is used for baseball and soccer.

Baseball being played at Pine Lake.

On the shores of Pine Lake.

A little jetty which is popular with swimmers and fishermen.

I'd like to have a picnic at Pine Lake sometime, although I still think Beaver Lake is a nicer area. The day we visited there were lots of folks paddling little canoes and inflatable craft. With so many waterways here I can see why so many people have boats of some description. I'm considering getting a little inflatable canoe to paddle around some of these nice still lakes.

Random: Roundabout Demo

The City of Sammamish has a website with lots of useful information but coming from the roundabout capital of the world (Canberra), I was somewhat surprised to see their Roundabout Demo page.

'Miss your exit? No problem, just "go around" one more time.'

Admittedly there are very few roundabouts in the USA and in the Seattle area I've only seen a couple but I had to chuckle a little.

Seattle: Beaver Lake Park

A few weeks ago I went to Beaver Lake Park with my folks and of all the parks we went to this was my mum's (or mom's in American-speak) favourite. I suspect it is probably because of the beautiful big trees and the tranquil body of water.

Swimmers at Beaver Lake.

Paddle boats ready to be launched on perfectly still waters. The folks that live here have it pretty good.

Looking over still waters to a lake house.

A path through the forest. I love jogging through here.

A shelter for a rainy day.

I've been back several times since to go jogging around the area and it is very peaceful. The only downside, like much of the wilderness so close to the city, is that it is limited by the surrounding private property.

Seattle: Seward Park (Summer)

I went to Seward Park in early April with G and it was cold. There weren't a lot of people around and while it was worth walking around, I recently went back and found it is a whole other story when it is warm.

Canoing in April. It was chilly...

Jetskiing and boating in June.

Lots of Seattle folk own boats. Plenty of people were just sitting on their boats in the sunshine relaxing.

Other folks sat on the grass or small beach and watched the boats or swum. Very pleasant really.

Some boats seemed to be heading straight for each other. I think the boat with the flag probably took right of way. Flags are very important here.

So for any folks considering visiting Seattle, the motto to the story is 'come and visit us in summer time'. Also beware that summer time here is pretty short. Summer-time proper supposedly starts about 4 July (several weeks after the official start of summer) and lasts through until September/October.

It is probably a good idea to avoid November/December/January. November 22 is statistically the most likely day for rain in Seattle and 18 months ago Seattle had 27 straight days of rain in December/January.

Seattle: Sammamish State Park

A few weeks ago I went to Sammamish State Park, which is located at the southern end of Lake Sammamish. I was expecting some peace and quiet for a picnic but instead encountered the annual Issaquah Triathlon. There were seriously fit people everywhere. It is pretty motivating to see people in a triathlon although it is never quite motivating enough to overcome my apprehension of the swim leg.

In any case I was able to find a few quiet spots in this big park.

Greenery around the lake. Green grass is something that you see less and less in Canberra.

A couple of jet skis just begging to be taken for a ride.

Slower water craft can be rented here as well.

I'm really keen to try some kayaking or paddling in some kind of water craft while it is summer here so I'll have to rent something like the kayak above. Those folks weren't all that adventurous though and didn't make it out to any sort of deep water. I think I'll have to find some kayaks to rent on the bigger Lake Washington instead.