A Shared Life: A Pacific Northwest Vacation (September 21st - 29th, 2016)

https://youtu.be/uvPQLZoMwLE

On September 21st, 2016, Elphie and I flew out of Midway in Chicago to SeaTac in the Seattle, Washington area for a vacation to visit with Elphie's friend Debbie, who put us up while we were there.

On Thursday, September 22nd, 2016, we drove down to Portland, Oregon stopping by Voodoo Doughnut then continuing a bit further to Lake Oswego to see my old youth pastor and friend, Keith Ritter. We had lunch and conversation at Fuddruckers (which prompted "Idiocracy" quotes) before returning to Portland to meet up with Pip, Laura, and later Jason. We checked a few places out and walked around the Hawthorne area of Portland before meeting up with Jason for dinner.

Friday night, September 23rd, 2016 we went to the Capitol Hill area of Seattle where we met up with Debbie's friend and Josh Robieson for Pho and a show at Highline for their goth night called Mechanishmus. The Dead Room, Die Sektor, and AngelSpit played this show.


https://youtu.be/146jA0Z-qmI


https://youtu.be/bXIKXvrXixQ


https://youtu.be/NrMD7Y97s9E

After the show, we went to a goth club called Mercury for a while before grabbing some pizza and passing a Jimi Hendricks statue on the way back to the car.

The next day, Saturday, September 24th, 2016, we spent some time at the Pike Place Market where we saw the original Starbucks location. We got some ice cream and cup cakes up the street from there before returning to the market where we saw a fish toss and then the gum wall. There was a garden on top of the building where one could write in chalk on a pig. Elphie creatively left Debbie's name on the pig. I found a Ms. Pacman game and played a bit of that in an oddities store. We checked out the scenery outside before driving to the park near where Kurt Cobain's home was located and saw the park bench that serves as a memorial to him. After that, we went in search of dinner, stopping in a soda store. At Taylor's Oyster Bar, Debbie and Elphie enjoyed a platter of oysters then we went to a Starbucks roastery that had a pizza joint inside for dinner. We also stopped at a chocolate restaurant before the night was over.

Sunday September 25th, 2016 was spent in Canada. We crossed the border then went to Vancouver, British Columbia where we had Ramen for lunch. Debbie met some dogs in a window as well. After lunch, we stopped at various shops in Vancouver: Deadly Couture, Venus & Mars, and Salmagundi West. We also saw the Gastown Steam Clock then went to the Granville Island Public Market for a bit before returning to Seattle. On the return trip we had a great view of Mount Baker. We also stopped at a Golden Corral on the trip back to Seattle.

Monday September 26th, 2016, we went to the Crab Pot for dinner then hung around the waterfront area for a bit. We drove to the Space Needle before the night was over.

Tuesday September 27th, 2016, Elphie and I enjoyed the leftovers from Crab Pot. That evening, we visited some halloween shops and got dinner at a nearby mall's food court. We also got some Coldstone ice cream.

Wednesday September 28th, 2016, Elphie and I loaded up for a public transit trip to SeaTac Airport to return home to Chicago. I got a lot of footage of the scenery from the window seat that Elphie graciously allowed me to have after she got up to use the restroom. Back home, Stein greeted us excitedly.

This was a fun trip. We packed a lot into the time and I am glad we got to do this. Perhaps another chance will come in the future.

Additional soundtrack includes “Flying” by Grammatrain, “Borthwick & Failing” by Destroy Nate Allen, “The Exit” by Nyves, “Come As You Are” by Nirvana, “Oh, Canada” by Five Iron Frenzy, “Silence” by Delerium, “It Seems So Far Away” by Ninety Pound Wuss, & “Quit Your Life” by MxPx.

Filmed using a Sony HD Bloggie & iPhone 6 by Elphie & Joel A. Swanson. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson