Touring Seattle

Derek made a comment to me about the fact that I wanted to be a tourist in "my own city" [in Seattle, close enough], but I think my response should grace posters everywhere: "You've got to see it sometime". 

Maybe something a bit more eloquent is in order. Still the same in essence, though. Everyone is a tourist of their own city once. Eventually you will see the things and do the things, even if it takes years. And Seattle is such a large and daunting place. The traffic is a nightmare. The streets are crazy. And I can't stand driving in it - my anxiety goes through the roof. So, if it isn't within walking distance of the Link Light Rail Station - I've not seen or done it. But Derek has seen and done the things. And been an Uber driver all over it. So naturally, he was the perfect guide when we decided to hang out yesterday.

The first thing I did was on my own: Ride the Ducks. I know what you're thinking. I was gonna die. I don't blame you. Their reputation precedes them at this point. But that's exactly the reason I wanted to go. I wanted to do it before they um.. *cough* went out of business.

 
Let's cut to the chase. Was it worth $35? Not really. The guide was very entertaining, and of course driving into the water was pretty cool. But it's definitely more for the actual tourist and not the fake tourist like me. It was a neat experience though. I'm glad I still did it. 
We did get into a scrape, however. A car swerved a tad in the lane and because the duck boat is so big it takes up the whole lane. The car's back bumper tapped us, and we had to sit around for about 20 minutes while they exchanged information. The tour guide earned his tip from me right then.

Anyway, so after that, Derek was stuck in traffic coming down from Everett so I decided to cross another thing off my list: The Amazon Go Store. [for the uninitiated, I included a link explainer] Downloaded the Go app, walked in, checked out all the pricey stuff and decided on some Pumpkin Greek Yogurt. I had wandered into the original Go Store, so I ended up right next to the Amazon Spheres, and because I was within the Amazon "complex" (30 acres, I think?) it was set up for employees to grab food and eat it at a counter so I did so. They had microwaves and spoons and stuff. Pretty neat. The Spheres are pretty awesome too. It's too bad that you can't go inside without a tour appointment. 

 FYI, this pic is unedited because I'm too damn lazy for this shit today.

So I met up with Derek down there and we headed towards another place on my list: Cubes Baking Company. It's thanks to Evening Magazine that I even knew about any of these places. 

But on the way, we ran into Archie McPhee's, and had to stop. It wasn't on my list but it was on Evening Magazine! Fun store.

Anyway, when we got to Cubes, I had a snickerdoodle concha. It was delicious.

{Concha is a typical Mexican sweet bread. A concha consists of two parts, a sweet bread roll, and a crunchy topping. Conchas get their name from their round shape and the striped, broken "shell-like" appearance of their topping. Wikipedia}

But in this case, it was cubed. Because Cubes Baking Co.

After Cubes, we were within walking distance of another list item: Molly Moons Ice Cream. I settled for the coffee ice cream with fudge. It was too expensive. Good, but too much. I'll keep to Ice Cream Social in my neck of the woods.

Now that I was kind of full, we were going to find some stuff to do until I was ready for my dinner list item: Next Level Burger (I chose these places solely on the fact that they are not within walking distance of a Link station.) 

We went to Kerry park for some views (I had brought my camera), Denny Park for more views, drove around Magnolia for the pretty houses, and ended up at another very small park for another view of downtown. 

 
Across the street had been an old brick condo with a nice manicured area that I wanted to go take pictures of, and we found a Windemere open house at the complex. A unit was being shown!! We decided to join a pair already waiting to be let in so that they could see the place. 

 
Seattle: $450,000 for 550 sq feet with single pane windows and no parking spaces. But hey, it was across the street from a park with a view of downtown and brand new appliances. So... cool? 

After that, we drove to Alki beach and at this point it was close to sunset. We walked and I took pictures of the sunset and decided to cross yet another item off my list: Lime Bike!! They were all over the place at Alki so I rented an electric version for a few minutes. That was fun.

At this point we were both getting hungry so it was time to head up to Roosevelt for some Next Level. It was inside the Whole Foods (figures). They specialize in vegan burgers. I had my mushroom and quinoa burger with vegan cheese and tempeh bacon, which was mouth-wateringly delicious. Oh man, that burger was freaking GOOD. Next level for sure. I hope they expand southward. I would totes go there more often. 


After that, I told Derek to drop me off at the Starbucks Roastery so that I could cross another item off my list. We knew there would be no parking here so this is where we parted ways. By this time it was 8pm.

Let me tell you, this place is pinnacle hipster. I went to the very back, where they openly roast their beans and have the "Experience Bar" (I'm not kidding, this is what they call it). I tried the Brew Experience, where they offer the same roast brewed two ways, so I chose Starbucks's own "Clover Brew" [explainer link] and Pour Over. And believe it or not, I could taste the difference. It was subtle, but noticeable; and Clover tasted better: not as bitter.  I ended up with probably 16oz of black coffee total for $17 (oi) but I managed to drink it all. Black. 

YOLO, amirite?

I found a small batch roast of Barrel-Aged Whiskey Infused whole beans (with no price. If you have to ask, you can't afford it) and ordered a Cordusio to go, which ended up being like 6oz of espresso with some chocolate powder so I added sugar and milk because I was done YOLO'ing. 
 
And that was it. I walked back to the Link station and headed home. What a day! Crazy amazing though. Derek had fun too and we're gonna do it again sometime for sure.