What a day, yesterday….I had to take the van to the dealership in Seattle for its first – and complimentary – oil change. That involved packing the double stroller as well as lots of snacks, books to read, diapers and coats. We got in line for the ferry 45 minutes early, just to be sure, and took our first trip across the Sound since the summer….then the adventures began….
Question of the day: who designed Seattle’s streets?!
Tired from a night of little sleep, I got a little lost on the way to the dealership and felt confused by the city streets. Using mapquest directions, I tried a new way there but it made me wonder who designs roadways! I went from a slow curving on-ramp with a speed limit of 15 mph into the left lane of a roaring (double-decker) Highway 99, with cars passing me at 60+ miles per hour. There was a five way intersection to interpret, as well as the meaning of “across from the fire station” – I thought it meant right across the street – not across the intersection. U-turns on narrow hilly streets and creative parking attempts. Wow, I am spoiled by my quiet life puttering around the island!
Sound of the day: stranger yelling “Lady With The Stroller…”
With the van in the shop, I put the younger two in the stroller and we all walked down to California Avenue to do some window shopping for an hour. Distracted and a bit disorganized, with full pockets and packs, I wandered, reading street signs and looking for a specific store. Then I was blessed by a man in a van who yelled out his window and honked at me “Lady With The Stroller! You dropped a doll!”
And indeed he was right – a doll had fallen out of the stroller. I was too busy keeping track of snacks, cell phone, jackets and the mapquest directions, that I had missed Bunny’s toss onto the sidewalk. Apparently Elisabeth is not too fond of it any more. I almost lost it again before our adventure ended.
Sight of the day: Leopard Bernstein car
Lots of interesting sites to see on the sidewalk even…Stacks empty barrels of sake outside the sushi restaurant. A car with leopard spots and countless plastic leopards riding on top the roof. See the car, named Leopard Bernstein, at Kellyspot.com – not bad marketing, eh? Memorable, at least….
Shopping expedition of the day: Capers
We made it to Capers, a place I had heard discussed among neighbors. Capers is smogasbord business: deli cafe, coffee, ice cream and other yummies. As if that wasn’t enough, they also sell cookwares, nice linens, baby clothes including bathrobes made to look like cows and shoes that look like poodles, furniture, candles, glassware, various perfumes for the home, magnetic bingo pieces, seeedpods and pinecones. I admired the fiery place mats and towels, rich designs and elegant fabric. The lemongrass ginger candle smelled wonderful to me and I was tempted to take one home – but the price seemed high for its little height. I liked the pinecones too. There were bowls of pinecones, nice unusual pinecones, seedpods, dried artichokes and pomegranates even, sold as decor. I liked them but I had a hard time thinking I should pay $2 for a pinecone, even a nice one. Capers is a great place to browse, feast the senses, but I’m not sure I would buy much there, unless as a special gift for myself or others!
Taste of the day: Dave’s French Fries
Curiosity satisfied but appetites hungry and babies begging (what a mom should never say to her kids: “we’ll have a snack after we finish this store”!) we exited quickly and began snacking. Realizing I had not brought enough to fill all our tummies, I decided to stop at Dave’s. It is rare for me to stop for fast food. French fries I know should be a no-no, for reasons of cholesterol, blood pressure, nutritional content….
But this place was an unusual treat. The potatoes, skin and all, are pressed through a machine on the wall, so the customers can see the fries get made. Then, they are put into the oil, again within sight of the waiting customers. The kids had fun watching. It’s great to get hot fresh fries, not ones that are crusty from tanning beneath a heat lamp. When I worked at a fast food place (not a national chain) back in high school, the fries were bought frozen and dumped into the grease. This place looked like a former McDonald’s on the outside. But on the inside, at least the fries were so different, tasting actually like potatoes! The McDonald’s ones in comparison taste like chemicals and cardboard. The girls and I ate up the Dave’s fries with abandon as we walked back, without even waiting to get to a place where we could stop and dip them in ketchup. They were hot, crispy, greasy and salty, but also soft and Russet-potatoy on the insides: everything a fry should be. They were worth every calorie (gulp!) (note – funny last night to see Enoch had done a posting about fries also the same day – complete with cooking instructions!)
Reality TV show pilot of the day: Can she find her sister?
Then onto our next adventure of the day…My sister and I are going to do a reality TV show: Can two sisters find each other on the streets of Seattle? Maybe we’ll call it Sisterless in Seattle..or …Desperately Seeking Sister? My sister was staying at my brother’s new apartment. I am not familiar with the area, and I misread the map, thinking one street became her street. My sister didn’t know the streets either. So I drove around in circles/squares/triangles for a while, until I finally found her. I got lost on the way back to the ferry dock too, driving under the convention center and through parking lots on the waterfront.
Then, at last we came home, adventures ended….at least until another day….
2 responses so far ↓
1 enoch // Oct 29, 2003 at 12:26 am
if only you had gps 😉
2 Anita Rowland // Nov 2, 2003 at 2:00 pm
Ah, the Junction! I miss my west Seattle neighborhood! I lived with my husband and his daughter for a year and a few months, in a house one block east of California and a few blocks south of where you were. That auto dealership is huge; no wonder you had trouble finding the correct part of it.
I agree with you about Capers, I’d walk in and browse when wandering around the Junction but I don’t think I ever bought anything. Somebody must be spending there, though!
The sushi place is noted as the best in town by several friends of mine who know about such things, but I didn’t manage to get there while living so close.
Dave’s is in a former Burger King. I tried it several times while nearby and liked it! Plus it’s good to support the local businesses.
I bought my wedding ring from the pawnshop next to the auto dealer. I went cheap because we’d already spent a bunch (for two unemployed people) on my engagement ring.