This post should really be titled “Thoughts from the east coast about my trip to the pacific northwest”, but that’s really just too long. I went to Seattle at the end of October and toted my camera along with me. This post is just a brain-dump of the notes I took along the way.

• It’s a good start to the trip when the guy at borders gives you a free magazine because he can’t get your gift card to work.
• Kate and I “share” a cell phone, although it is with Kate 90% of the time since she usually has the kids with her. Since she was taking a trip to NY the same time I was traveling she had a cell. With all the people around me on their blackberries, iphones, and other various electronic communications devices, I certainly felt like I wasn’t part of the ‘in’ crowd.
• Airplanes are packed to the gills. Both my flights were offering free tickets (no blackouts or other restrictions) to anybody willing to bump to a later flight. I seriously considered it.
• I was seated next to two friendly German women on the plane. It was a good thing they were friendly, because they were demanding customers. But they were so charming the flight attendant couldn’t help but chuckle every time one of them made a request.
• Monday Night Football at 5:30PM. ‘Nuff said.
• My hotel room was equipped with a fantastic high definition LCD widescreen. . . but the hotel had no HD signal (I checked). What’s the point?
• I love the Pacific Northwest, but August is the time to visit. The weather was crystal clear and temperate. This time, it was foggy, cloudy, and generally what you would expect of Seattle.
• The Seattle Public Library is absolutely amazing. I spent a good hour plus walking around the place taking pictures and marveling at the architecture and breadth of material available. I found issues of Scientific American dating back to 1867, the manuals for my 1999 Saturn, cds, dvds, sheet music, and even embroidery patterns.
• Something you don’t see every day – while at the library, I walked past a man sitting at a desk, intent on his embroidery. I couldn’t muster up the courage to ask him if I could take a picture. I now regret that.
• The Seattle Aquarium was fine, but a bit disappointing. Maybe I have inflated expectations due to the high quality of the Baltimore Aquarium?

So the trip to Seattle was productive and fun. And I don’t need to travel again for probably a good 6 months, because I missed the time away from my family, during which I missed Mary rolling over for the first time and Halloween (Kate was still in NY for the festivities). Although I did have a really nice Halloween substitute with some friends and their kids.