sleepless in seattle

Something amazing happened to my nerves when we landed in Seattle. They calmed completely. Perhaps I had come to terms with the imminence of my downfall. Perhaps I was inspired by the movie on the plane when Aragorn proclaimed "I do not fear death" before fearlessly running into the caverns of the Dead Men of Dunharrow. Either way, the time to bail and sip margaritas on the beach for two months instead had passed. I was in Seattle, and I was going to begin the trip, whatever the outcome. Also, the fact that I had a whole host of errands to run in a very short amount of time took most of my energy and concentration, so I had little to spare on fretting.

At the airport I waited and waited, and long after all the bags come out, my bicycle appeared! I breathed a sigh of relief. It was intact and it was here. After briefly being fussed at by customs for not having a receipt for my bicycle, I wheeled my bicycle and luggage out on a little cart. Just as I was getting to the exit and could see the light at the end of the tunnel, some guy walks up, grabs my bike, and throws it on to a conveyor belt that carried it into the dark unknown before I could grab it back. He hadn't bothered to mention this, but he did work at the airport and was apparently trying to be helpful. While most other people were carrying their luggage on the train that takes you to the exit, he thought the bicycle would be too big and rechecking it, so that it came out at the main baggage claim, would be best. I was really distressed to let it go again but had little choice at that point.

After a short ride on the train, I arrived at the main terminal and went to Baggage Counter 1, where the man told me I could expect my bicycle to appear. At Baggage Counter 1, there was a sign indicating oversized bags would be delivered there. Immediately beside it was another sign indicating that oversized bags would be delivered to Baggage Counter 5. So I wheeled my luggage and paced anxiously between the two counters certain that someone would steal my bike while I was at the other counter. 10 minutes passed. 20 minutes passed. While it was only 5 PM local time, it was 3 AM for me. Many people can function productively and nicely when not well rested. I am not one of them. I regress to the age of approximately five years, whine, fuss, and am generally helpless and useless. 30 minutes passed. I was starting to panic. Someone had certainly run away with the bike. I located a British Airways help desk and breathed a sigh of relief. I realized it was unmanned and the panic began to rise in me again. 40 minutes passed. I asked at other the help desks for other airlines where BA oversized baggage was delivered. No one knew the answer. 50 minutes passed. At last, I had the clever idea to get some caffeine to hopefully jolt some life into me and help me get a grip. I downed 20 ounces of Diet Coke in no time flat. Finally, I gave up the pacing and sat midway between Baggage Counter 1 and 5. At long, long last, my bicycle appeared. I ran to it and hugged it. Alas, it was not stolen! And it was not damaged. And it was here! Major progress.

I then went over to the rental car counter to find out that most providers were fully booked. I found a few with cars available, but they were very expensive. I talked to the fellow at the Hertz counter for a while, and found out they had several pickup trucks they were having trouble renting out that they could give me for the same price as their smallest car. ("No one wants to drive a pick up around Seattle," he said shrugging. I said I didn't mind. Upon arriving in town, I found out that nearly all spots were parallel parking... ouch!) Half an hour later, I was driving out of the airport, bicycle and bags in tow, in a Chevy Silverado. I hadn't driven in a while, and I definitely hadn't drive on the right side of the road -- in a massive pickup truck no less -- in a great while. Rather than easing into it, it was like they'd set up an obstacle course of cones (supposedly for construction work) and a tight corkscrew exit ramp from the parking garage. And as soon I'd passed those hurdles and gotten onto the open road, it started to rain. Ahh, at least the rainy weather made me feel right at home!

I'd hoped to drop my bike off at the bike shop for assembly that night, but unfortunately they'd already closed. I did manage to find the dorms at Seattle Pacific University that were available at a discounted rate for those participating in the ride and get checked in OK. I was nervous about leaving my bike in the truck overnight, so I dragged it into the dorm with me. I'd looked up the location of an AT&T store, and was able to get a U.S. SIM card and plan set up there surprisingly easily. By then it was 6 AM my time. When I hit the bed, I was out cold.

However, I did awaken pretty early. I was able to keep myself in bed until 6:42, but just couldn't lie there awake for any longer. The next day was a whirlwind of activity. My friend, Rebeccah, was coming up from her home in California to spend the weekend in Seattle with me, and I wanted to get the trip preparations out of the way before she arrived, so I'd be able to relax and sightsee with her. I was running errands from 8 AM to 10 PM, and went to the Apple store, three bicycle stores, REI, The American Lung Association, Fred Meyer (kind of like Walmart), and the bank. I was exhausted again. So I slept. But not well. I kept waking up during the night either hungry or ready to go take on the day. I struggled to shake the 8 hours of jet lag.

Rebeccah arrived late that night, and it was really great to see her, hang out together, catch up, and have someone to help calm my nerves. We went to Seattle's famous market, Pike Place, and saw lots of amazing, fresh seafood among other interesting odds and ends. We wandered along Puget Sound and spent the afternoon at a restaurant overlooking the water just basking in the sun and catching up. We then spent the evening at the very sepctacular Crab Pot, featured on an episode of Man vs. Food. We shared a portion intended for one, and were so full we struggled to walk out. It was divine.



It was my first time in Seattle, and it reminded me a lot of San Francisco. It was very hilly, but still managed to boast a large bicycle community. Everyone was really, really nice there. Everyone smiled at you in the streets, and everyone was very friendly. Also, the tap water was GREAT. A random thing to note, but it was truly noteworthy. It tasted really fresh and almost sparkling.

Oh, one other interesting thing about the time in Seattle. We had heard something about a Solstice Festival, but didn't know what, when, or where it was. We quickly found out that we were right in the middle of it when we saw a whole swarm of naked bicyclers headed towards us while out for a walk! Perhaps another reason Seattle reminds me of SF -- that's the kind of thing you might expect there.