Beware the Nutria!

Here are some pics from my trip to Seattle. That gray sky seems pretty indicative of the Pacific Northwest. They were taken while driving to Whole Foods to pick up some fixings for dinner. I really dig the MooseWood cookbook that Andrew bought for Clare. We made Stuffed Zucchini and a Waldorf salad that were both excellent.

This next one was taken at the Gasworks Park which is situated across Lake Washington from downtown. That's Andrew and Clare for those of you that don't know. The park is on the site of the old natural gas plant which used to power the whole city. The whole scene has a marvelous post industrial revolution look to it.

Clare and Andrew were excellent hosts and I hope to seem them again soon.

The ride from Seattle was not entirely the pleasant train ride I had planned. The first part was fantastic as the train headed North hugging the coast of the Puget Sound where you can see lush forested islands engulfed in fog across the water, and later after heading inland a really fine view of the Cascade mountains to the East. These vistas were accompanied by a running commentary provided by a Bush Bashing Gun Toting Libertarian that I was warned I would come across. He offered to let me crash at his pad. I respectfully declined. Upon reaching Bellingham the unpleasantness began. We had to get off the train as there was a freight derailment farther up the track and this was a far as we could go. After a long 80 miles to Vancouver and one hell of a time crossing the border, I was more than ready to crash at the hostel.

Today I am off to explore the City. I am going to check out a couple Vintage Bike shops. It seems the fixed gear craze has made it to Vancouver, which seems a pretty hip place for the most part. And I think I will take their El-train,they call the SkyTrain, around the city for a cheap tour. I'll try a snap a few more photos for you folks back home.