I now what it's like to climb out of the depths of Hell. Also, happy birthday, Kinza!



Ain't she purdy?



Happy birthday to my beautiful sister Kinza who's turning 21 today! Many returns of the joyous occasion. I'm sorry I couldn't be out there with you today, baby sis. Have yourself a grand old time tonight!

The view from Jen's apartment

Throughout Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, I was no stranger to mountains. I've climbed some pretty intense grades and I scoffed at the thought of the Pacific Northwest taking me down. I have this to say: nowhere in my life have I seen inclines like the ones in Seattle. Parts of the city were, in fact, constructed in the deepest pits of Hell. Just inching up a street downtown, you can gain hundreds of feet in elevation in a matter of blocks. It's sad because the city itself is so bike-friendly. But the grades here just make me want to set my bike on fire.

The trees in Seattle wear socks

That's no reflection of my experience in Seattle though. The first metropolitan area that I've really had a chance to explore on my own, Seattle has been nothing but kind to me. I spent a lot of time in the Seattle Art Museum and Pike Place Market. The day of my last post, Jen and I met for lunch at Alki Beach in West Seattle. A correction to be issued about Jen: she has degrees from Harvard, Columbia, and soon-to-be Stanford. She's just starting out her PhD work which will likely be something related to the subconscious effects of sound. We ate chowder by the beach, talked for hours, got some ice cream, and then ventured over to Seattle Center to check out the Space Needle and the surrounding area. It was an awesomely memorable day. Jen offered to let me crash at her place for the night since all of my stuff was already there. I gladly accepted.

Never locked my bike like this before

Seattle Art Museum

Yesterday, I ventured over to the University of Washington campus to reminisce about Ohio State. The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture lives on the school's campus so I spent a couple of hours there checking out the enthralling dinosaur exhibits. I had a dinosaur obsession as a kid (still do) so it was cool to see so many children excited about them there. Afterward, I went to the campus library and read the book I have for the day, Shutter Island. I wasn't much in the social mood so I just sat in the grand reading room and read. I met Julia, whose couch I crashed on on Tuesday, for a wonderful sushi dinner. She showed me around some part's of her favorite spots in Capitol Hill and then we said our goodbyes.

I'm at Jen's place now, almost ready to leave. I had a couple of pictures to upload with this post, but my camera is spasming so I'll update this post with them later. I'm headed to Sedro-Wooley, WA for the day and then to Vancouver tomorrow. I have to get going since it's an eight hour ride, but I'll provide more details later.

I don't think I'm going to make it all the way to San Diego. I'll tell you about that soon. Also, there're rumors floating around that my best friend Mark might come visit me in Vancouver next weekend. I'm melting of happiness.

See ya on the flip side.

Shahmeernoff

Main library at the University of Washington

Natural History Museum. Save the wolves!!

Gorgeous Seattle weather

Julia and Jen. They made Seattle awesome.





Sydney!! See you in San Francisco!