Funny how you begin a journey with an ultimate goal or destination
in mind but that goal becomes secondary in the big scheme of things once you
get there. Such is the case with me and the wife’s trip to Seattle earlier this
month.
The goal was for us to both see U2 in concert for the first
time having been big fans for over 30 years. Make no mistake the concert itself
was fantastic, one for the ages to be sure but the mental images I have a
few weeks later are less of the about the places and things we saw while
we were there but all about the people.
13 years ago I couldn’t have said that when I drove a truck
over the road (OTR) going through almost every major city and state in the
U.S. It was all about the business of making money back then with very
little time for pleasure. I had been through Seattle several times on 1-5 on
the way to somewhere else but never dipped down into the city limits.
I could have found a place to park my 18 wheeler and have a
cab take me in but I never really felt like I had the time to give the city
justice. I knew Seattle was and still is a special place and I didn’t want to
cheapen it by taking the 10 cent tour. As an OTR Trucker, for me any way, the
primary reason for doing the job in the first place was to make money. If the
wheels of the truck aren’t rolling the dollar signs in the bank account remain
static so during that time it was money first and pleasure second.
In 1999 they had Qualcomm for Truckers which was the first
GPS systems installed in civilian vehicles but they were not as advanced as the
dash board or cell phone technology of today. That said, I didn’t know enough
about Seattle, nor did I have any close friends there at the time who could
serve as a tour guide for me. So my only experience with Seattle was just
driving through on I-5 and admiring her beauty from the Driver’s seat. So
finally after years of waiting my boots would be on the ground in Seattle.
Kane made the visit special
My Stepson Kane Charlson is stationed in Seattle with the
Coast Guard. So that was part of the reason we decided to take the train up
there because we knew he could chauffeur us around the city. He
knows the city fairly well so he took us right where we wanted to go
quickly and easily so we could enjoy the sites without spending much time in a
car.
Kane was more than patient and was so accommodating and
animated during our site seeing tours. He gave us the great recommendations for
food, like Marination Station and the Portage Café.
He also took us to his place of work at the Coast Guard
Base that’s right in the heart downtown Seattle. He showed us where he works
and what his duties are at the base and he also humored us by going on a tour
of the Polar Sea which is one of the Polar Icebreakers they used in Alaska to
keep shipping lanes open in the winter. The Polar Ice was being decommissioned
so we had a run of the mighty ship with only a few Coasties on it.
Kane also took us to the Olympic Sculpture Park, The Fremont
Troll, Gas Works Park and he went on the “Ride the Ducks” tour with us which
was one of the many highlights.
Kane is shy and was somewhat of an introverted person in his
younger days but he’s blossomed and matured tremendously over the last several
years. At one time he rarely spoke or shared his feelings about anything. On
this visit he was smiling, laughing and was very engaging to be around. We
spoiled him with meals and some other gifts and his appreciation showed. He
sincerely had a great time with us and even though he had to work while we were
there and he was tired he really make a big effort to indulge me and his Mom.
Kane has turned into a fine young man; he’s still a little
rough around the edges but who isn’t at his age? All in all I’m very proud of
him and what he’s done with his life so far. Thank you Kane for a great time,
you’re the closet thing I’ve had to a Son and what a great Son you’ve become.
My Brother David and the U2 Concert
While I’m an encyclopedia of the NFL my kid Brother David
Jacques is what you’d call an encyclopedia of concerts. I couldn’t tell you how
many concerts he’s been to in his 40 years but more than he could probably
count or remember himself.
It was the very cool to get to go to my first big arena
concert with him. David loves music and it was so awesome to see him in the
groove with the music. He was singing, clapping and pumping his arms up and
down like the crazed rock fan that he is.
The Eats
Every place we ate was so great. The Bombay Grill in the
University District was by far the highlight. It’s the best Indian food I’ve
ever ate anywhere. The Jade Garden in Seattle’s version of Chinatown was just
as good too. No offense to the people who live in Astoria but the Chinese
Restaurants here are of a sub-standard lot. Nothing is as worse than below par
Chinese food. I love Chinese so every chance I get to go to a big city such as
Seattle or Portland I treat myself to it.
The “Baltimore” Connection
One of the oddities of the trip to Seattle was just how many
people we met from Baltimore. At least 7 people we met in our travels around
the city had some connection to Baltimore. I’m still not sure what it means if
it means anything but it was one of those weird coincidences that keep
happening again and again. Soon Jenny and I were asking the people we met in
casual conversation, “Are you from Baltimore?
Jenny the Traveling Companion
The best part of all of course was getting a long overdue
vacation with my beloved Jenny. Jenny is the definition of fun. She doesn’t
hold to any special regimented course and is always spontaneous. She is always
positive and smiling and her laughter which is continual always makes whatever
we do a pleasure. She and I both have the ability to walk up to anyone and
start a conversation and make a new friend. I adore these parts of her
personality and it’s why each day I love her more than the last.
Before we left for Seattle I was very worried that since we
had so many people to see and accommodate (Kane, David, her friends from
Wyoming, Kane’s Aunt and Uncle etc.) that scheduling and time constraints would
hamstring our own personal time together of the things we wanted to do. I was
able to let go of that once we boarded the train to Seattle and decided this
time not to be consumed with following a set of organized activities. If you
know me personally you’ll know that I’m a highly organized individual who
dislikes disorganization just about as much as any personal or business
characteristic a person can have.
Letting go and letting God has been a tough credo to live by
all of my life. But since I did on this trip everything seem to come together
and all the worry I had about people, places and limited time was not even an
issue. In the 3 full days we were there we had a hell of time and took in just
as much as one could possibly hope to do in that time frame. We didn’t get to
do everything we wanted to do or see but that will give us something to look
forward to on the next trip to Seattle.
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