Scrambled Eggs; They're Calling Again

Last Tuesday, I met Winning Run in Seattle. She'd come out for a few days of R&R and to speak with a few firms in the area. I made the drive from Yakima to the Sea-Tac airport in a little over two hours; it was a very pretty drive. I'm still amazed at the change in topography: the closer you get to Seattle, the greener everything becomes. I really am in the high desert, I suppose.

View from the drive toward Seattle.

We drove from the airport to our meager hotel in downtown Seattle. In any other time of the year, it would've been just fine but, considering that Seattle was in the grips of a triple-digit heatwave, a Euro-style hotel without air-conditioning wasn't going to work out for us. So, we dipped into Pike Place Market for a bite to eat, to get a glimpse of the sunset, and to prepare ourselves for a restless night in a 9th floor sweat box.

Pike Place Market

The next day, we toured some interesting buildings: the Seattle Public Library and the Experience Music Project. The library rocked. I was sort of cool on Gehry's Experience Music Project / Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Like some of his other works, I think they're interesting at a distance but, up close, the detailing sort of detracts from everything.

Inside the library.

A view of the Experience Music Project.

Seattle's Space Needle.

Space Needle, The Scholar.
The Scholar, Space Needle.

Later, we stumbled across a gem: Maximus Minimus, a mobile BBQ joint. They served up some ridiculously good sandwiches and lemonades. Lucky, indeed!

Maximus Minimus, a rolling BBQ stand with kick-ass wares.

Portland, OR
Thursday evening, we headed down to Portland for more explanation and interviews. This city was amazing. Although we don't have the photos to show for it, the scale of Portland was great: smaller building, cool neighborhoods, and friendly people. Of course, we bumped into our share of homeless folks with severe mental health issues. Apparently, Meth is a helluva drug.

On our way back to Yakima, we drove along the Columbia River Gorge and we're awed by everything we saw along the way. Holy smokes, that river is amazing. The gorge is amazing. Oregon knows how to put in a freeway: make it run along stunning scenery. Two thumbs up.

We took a detour and headed down to Mt. Hood for a little sightseeing. It rocked. I'm looking forward to getting in some quality snow time in the future.


Back to the Yak
We made it back here late Saturday afternoon. Winning Run inspected the apartment and decided that it wasn't as bad as she expected. So, we've been trying to unpack and make it "homier." It's a big, big help to have her out here; it doesn't seem so bad when you're sharing it with someone.

Orientation starts tomorrow!