Seattle - the camera hunting 1st day

Interesting night in our room facing the street in a high nightlife area. As I went to sleep beside my already sleeping family I felt very lucky to be here.  In the background was the hum of people talking, street bar cafe culture, laughing. It felt soothing.

Comparing nights in the morning it seemed Sarah hears more than I do. She heard shouting, sirens in the early morning. After tinned pineapple and toast hostel breakfast we set off to get a sim card. Evan who onboarded us had custody of his six yr old son and had been to Costa Rica. First call on new number was him saying I'd left sunnies behind. Then to Target to research cameras.

There it is. On the display stand.  The new line of Sarah end of line one. Oh but the dude in red scans the bar code and says last one. Can we buy the display model. Yes if all the bits are out the back. Can you check. Yes. Oh they are not there I cant sell the demo model to you.

For lunch kids had pizza from a led zeppelin playing pizza bar whilst I queued 15 mins for trip advisor restaurant number 8 out of 3000 Take away chowder from Pike Place Market ie tourist central. There was also a large fish stand where 30 orientals were watching 5 young servers throw the fish around in a semi Cocktail film style

Now an interlude

Each hostel room is done by a different local artist

Bloke on left has an early morning tobacco pipe.

back to the pizza. Rowan ate so much his tummy hurt so he 'lay down'

Then back to hostel for the kids to rest a bit and me to catch Froch Groves II

Then off to another camera shop

Eventually we got to the US equivalent of Jessops. Looking thru the window it was empty. Relief at seeing 'we have moved over the road'. Sarah got what she wanted. I went outside at the paying time. Then food. Oh no I dont want stodge and I am feeling tired. Then the oasis arrives

Kids gorged on fruit. I was happy eating it and happy watching them enjoy it. As I paid the young server had many many cuts on her arm of uniform size and length. I presumed rightly or wrongly they were razor ones. ( I have seen these before) After a moments consideration I told her of last nights stand up and speak gathering I witnessed and showed her a picture with the name on it. I am not sure if this was an overstep but she was not defensive and tried to remember the name. 

As we got outside a homeless 6ft4in bearded 50 yr old came up and mumbled 

"Can you help me get some weed?"

He moved on when we declined. There is a visible prescence of underclass here which is often thought provoking. How was their childhood? Can they ever get out of this situation? Is it better hidden or genuinely different at home? 

As we came back to the hostel Mary introduced herself. She took our telephone booking a week ago and as we are the only family.... I told her about helpx. I commented how amazingly helpful the staff are and noted the buzz they have. She said they exchange 25 hrs a week for living there so they like it to be nice. After a few mins chat then there was that moment where I have to consider if I am overtalking in the face of friendliness. Is the person REALLY still interested? Don't overdo it Guy

Now kids are in downstairs hostel cinema and I am blogging

Xxx

Ps. Many thanks to the lady from Auz who put the longest very lovely comment on recently. Very much appreciated

New Cellphone number

206-557-2510

Family friends please use this number for contacting Sarah
So 001206-557-2510 would do it from UK

Thx

Guy

Seattle - we made it!

Blog app deleted. Emails and pictures tidied up. Message history deleted. Viber deleted. Clothes and hat with paint on thrown away, we were packed and ready for US customs. Even a bag or phone inspection would be ok.

Getting to the border by bus we had to take all our stuff off and walk it through. The bloke who saw us was about 40 bald surname DODD on his dark blue cotton lapel. He was a family man so concluded we were going to disney in LA. Kids didnt undetstand his links to mice and bunnies.

In the end it was uneventful apart from Sarah took the purging of material items a bit further than necessary when she decided subconciously that someone else we dont know would be better off with her camera. So she left it to fate in Vancouver greyhound station, only realizing when we got thru customs. Oh well a lot worse could have lost a passport...... she is understandably quite miffed. ( jacqui do you still have pics from her memory card on your laptop?) Whereas impt stuff for me eg phone,  cards and passports never leaves my pockets.....its a bit different for Sarah. Still...its her birthday on june 6th.

 

We got to City Hostel Seattle and it seemed half the greyhound were also coming here. Then out to Ambers restaurant for food. Happy hour. Waitress born here unto thai parents. Just got her first passport. Nervous about going. Wanted travel buddy. We told her about the 'travel buddy wanted' part of the sites we are using.

Kids were practicing their moves in Ambers. As the music was loud they could be loud. After Sarah came back with the kids and I ran to 5th & Pine to research sim cards. 

On my way back I saw & heard out of the corner of my ears some loudspeaker talking and went to investigate. It was an open mike session for anyone but predominantly women. I wasnt really sure to talk about what. (But the young woman talking was in tears) so a bit of listening later...and reading the placards...but it seemed to be..to talk about unfortunate events  ( that they happened rather than a detailed description) that had happened to them including rape, abuse, bottom slapping, inappropriate comments, requests to come to someones house to be a naked model ( a woman working as receptionist in a medical massage place). Patriarchy and men in general were the perpetrators in all cases. 

Men are responsible allegedly for capitalism. Patriarchy creates an unacceptable environment for women and it should not be tolerated.  It was moving, suprising, a little one sided. Several things I take for granted eg not getting hassled or pushed around were not the same for these women.

"Not okay!"  Was often shouted out

So I listened. Played off the interest of what I was listening to with how long I was going to take to get home with Sarah on her own.

I wanted to say "the perpetrators are also the victims" but thought better of it. Thought of a presentation on 3 types of men I did during my counselling training. But I dont like speaking in public.

So I left. Ran home. Researched Groves vs Froch for tommorrow. Let myself into the room. Sarah was putting kids to sleep so had to leave again. Now i have blogged I will go back up. Bye

xxx

Vancouver - Granville Island

A former industrial area, now a foodie market indoors. Seems to be primarily catering to tourists. Only ten mins from us by walk and boat

Fudge or boiled sweets

Tea loose leaf

Smoked atlantic salmon. I think scottish is nicer

Scones for breakfast

Vancvr - Chinatown & Gastown

After leaving the golfball museum and passing the seasonally unopened Jimi Hendrix shrine we hit Chinatown. Colourful. Streets smelt of dope. A poorer part of town where our previous hostel advised not to go after dark. A bloke wearing a sleeveless leather jacket with a years old  tattoo of a naked woman grinned and laughed at the scooters any wished us a good day as he went past

Steamed prawn. Steamed chicken. Kids loved vinegar and we had to keep asking for more. By the time we got to Hons we had had a low blood sugar inspired cross word with each other. This was because I kept stopping and talking to colourful locals when food was more important. Our waitress was very pretty but Sarah observed she is the sort of one who would be on a makeup makeover tv prog and be stunning in the final reveal

"Gosh they go fast on those" (came the light scottish accent from behind me)

I turned round to see this motorised pedestrian and noticed the tobacco smell first and then saw the fag second

'Yes and about 4 times further too!'

Meet hughey. When he originally came over in 1963 aged 23 he had just apprenticed in boilermaking from the Clyde shipyards. He said he remembers German bomb noises falling when very small. He came over because he could see British shipyards could not compete. In Canada they were doing better. 4500 once worked in the yards in Vancouver but the unions got wages high and now they too struggle to compete. The last 3 years the yard has been mothballed waiting orders. He said the best thing about Canada was the people. The worst the Govt. He was now Macdonalds freak. I shook his slightly arthritic yellow finger tipped hand and said goodbye.

Then stopping riff raff from getting into the bank, a smart elderly Indian man wearing immaculate black and yellow uniform, perfect white beard, a purple turban and a face with smile lines and rich brown skin, smiled as I went past. He was a sniper in the Indian army. He had 6 british officers in command before then Indian. I commented on his clean black shiny shoes. 

"Not up to standard today. Cant see my face in them!"

he said no pictures. The need for food meant I had to curtail a very interesting conversation.

After food then Gastown. Old district.Touristy. Crap souvenir shops. Boutiquey label high end shops. Bars. Restaurants.

Kids decided to hide behind boards. We then pretend to lose them. Kids titter themselves to discovery as we stand right by them with our back to them saying "sure they are here somewhere". Continues until a board fell on them

Publicising Malificent

Who then appeared

Lots of young folk waiting to get into shelters too

Xxx

Vancouver - Science World

A day for the kids. During breakfast where everyone makes their own toast we found ourselves next to a pair of mid twenties dutch vets who were about to embark on a 3 month road trip. Spoke great English. Lots of other solo travellers  a few of whom avoid eye contact. 60 yr old japanese lady smiles. Another english accent stands out. German couple on the other side. There are no other kids in this hostel so having breakfast with our two is a fun way to change the quiet adult energy with a bit of life.

So we walked 10 mins to a walk way in False Creek and got on a taxi boat called aquabus

Rowan was disappointed it wasnt a speed boat

Museum is the dome thing

Are we zapping you Daddy?

Sarahs hardwork.

This is the length of our intestine at least

Hourly practical demos. This one about air

She put smoke in the bin.  All the kids wanted to get shot

This detachable exhibit gave us a chance to talk to the kids about sharing a womb and thats maybe why they very often roll together till they are touching when sleeping in the same bed. and about how they once used to be that big. And as it came out of a mums tummy display, which way round they were organised before birth.

xxx