Travels with Matthew

We’re flying over the Rockies on our way back to Columbus. Our time in Seattle visiting Steve and meeting Esteban and his other friends was really great. And though it was unusually cold (where hasn’t it been unusually cold this winter?), every day was sunny.

We spent yesterday being tourists. We finally had a leisurely start to the day, rolling out of bed after 8 and not really getting going until 10 or 10:30. Steve took us over to the Pike Place Market, which is similar to the North Market in Columbus, but much much larger.

Mark and Steve rode the Seattle Great Wheel. I skipped that and explored a little on my own. Steve’s fear of heights got the better of him at the top of the wheel (and later at the Space Needle), but we’re proud of him for making the effort. You can see the wheel in the waterfront shot below (which, for what it’s worth, is near where Big Bertha has been stuck for more than two months after encountering trouble while digging a new highway tunnel).

I would like to have spent more time in Left Bank Books, but I know that my interest in used bookstores isn’t shared by most of my friends, so I had to settle for a passing perusal. When we come back, I’m definitely blocking out some time, though. Too bad my friend Sue wasn’t with us. She shares my passion and can probably even outlast me among dusty stacks of books.

We ate lunch at the Steelhead Diner. We tried to get into a place called “Matt’s in the Market,” but it was pretty full and was operating on a wait. While I’m on the subject of food, I’ll go ahead and admit that this trip was not my favorite in terms of food. Kevin, Jeff, and Steve are reading this, so part of me hesitates to say so for fear that they’ll feel like they weren’t good hosts, but I’m sure it’s not really a surprise to them. Lots of seafood on the West Coast (duh), and lots of healthy vegetables. I ended up eating three hamburgers and two orders of fish and chips in less than a week. Ahh to have more of that herb bread from John’s Place! And some simple French toast. (We’re going to Paul’s Fifth Avenue for lunch tomorrow so I can start to get my stomach back to normal.)

After lunch, we decided to take the monorail to the Space Needle. On the way, we stopped at Brynie Utz Hats, and I finally found the blue bucket hat that I want for my car—or a close approximation thereof, anyway. It’s been five years of looking! It looks really dumb on me, but it’s what I wanted. I also found a really great gambler-style hat, but since I don’t wear hats very often—especially dress hats—I couldn’t justify the $180 for it. (I do have the details, though, in case I have a banner year and feel like I can splurge on it later.)

The Space Needle was built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, and it sits in the middle of the Seattle Center. It’s another large, lovely urban park with lots of interesting things to see.

Aside from a Chihuly Glass Garden and Museum (you can see part of one glass sculpture in the first of the two photos above), a plentitude of public art, and an arena (now empty after Oklahoma City “stole” the professional basketball team), the Seattle Center includes the Experience Music Project Museum, which focuses on Jimi Hendrix, among others, and is housed in a building by Frank O. Gehry.

It’s the first Gehry building I’ve been in. It’s very cool and dynamic. It feels almost like being in the belly of an enormous animal. I thought I had a shot of the outside, but I don’t (not sure how I missed that), so you’ll have to go to the website to check it out. It’s really quite beautiful.

After a delay due to a false fire alarm, we took the high-speed elevator to the top of the Space Needle, where I got these great shots of the skyline and of Elliott Bay. (Steve stayed inside the observation deck for most of the time; the height was just too much for him.)

We had dinner at the Palace Kitchen last night with two of Steve and Esteban’s friends, who were both interesting and fun to talk to. We did a little clubbing after dinner, but we’re all old now (except for Esteban) and headed for bed by 11 p.m.

Well, that about does it, folks. Back to real life for a few months. Thanks for following along. I do want to apologize for the superficial writing in the posts for this trip. We didn’t have a lot of down time for me to process all the things we were doing, so I had to go for plot over philosophy.

P.S. I thought I was done for this trip, but we came home to this, and I knew I had one more sentence.

I have a habit that I didn’t fully realize until Kevin pointed it out in San Diego. When I’m a passenger in a vehicle, I read aloud the signs on businesses as we pass them—“Ralph’s Fine Meats,” “Tammy’s Tropical Trees,” and so on. Apparently, a comedian—maybe Louis Anderson?—had a schtick about his mother doing the same thing, even to the point that “fill dirt” would occasionally fall from her lips. As Steve is chauffeuring us around Seattle, I rattle off this or that sign, realize what I’m doing, murmur “fill dirt” and descend into giggles.

I don’t know why I felt like I needed to share that today, but there it is.

Anyway, yesterday was all about Victoria, British Columbia. Mark and I thought Steve was going to take us to Vancouver, but we are happy that he chose Victoria instead. It’s a really really cute small city with lots to see. And I’m sure I will love it even more when we come back in the summer. God it was cold.

We had to get up early—6 a.m.—to make it to the ferry for an 8 a.m. departure. We were still wiping sleep out of our eyes as we navigated the boarding process, during which, one of the ticket agents flirted with Mark. Steve and I just watched and snickered. Maybe it’s the ring, but I think he’s still got it.

The ride over was long—two-and-a-half hours—but pretty peaceful. I never realized how chopped up Puget Sound is. We sailed past lots of big and small islands, not to mention freighters. (It was all I could do to ignore the freighters; my irrational fear of big boats was getting the best of me.)

We arrived in a sunny Victoria at around 11. Here are a few shots I took while we got our bearings.

Our first order of business was breakfast/lunch. One of the mates on the ferry had told us where to find a couple good places, but of course, we forgot where they were, so we had to ask at a store. The clerk recommended a diner called “John’s Place” just up the street. Wow! Was that a great suggestion.

The waffles and bacon were delicious, the service was spunky and fun, but the bread! OMG the bread! I’m going to have to try to find the recipe online, but it was the best herb bread I’ve ever had. Warm, kind of an Irish soda bread. Fantastic!

After lunch, we wandered a little through shops, but it was hard to be outside for long because of the cold. We did see a couple interesting sights around Chinatown, though.

Believe it or not, that last shot is of a public men’s room.

We stopped for a while to tour the Empress Hotel and the popped over to the Royal BC Museum.

We decided not to go in because we wouldn’t have that long before we had to get back on the ferry at 4. We spent about a half hour grabbing coffee and walking through the gift shop, and then we decided to tour the Parliament building. I was fascinated by how little security we encountered. We could roam pretty freely around much of the first two floors; only a few areas, like the legislative chamber, were gated off.

These are some shots of the interior of the building. You can see a shot of part of the exterior in the second photo on this page.

The first shot is of the rotunda. I couldn’t get directly centered under it because the floor is an imported Italian mosaic under glass and is roped off. The second shot is of a stained-glass window commemorating Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. Apparently, someone put it away in the basement and forgot about it. It was down there for sixty years or so before someone discovered it and had it brought up to be displayed. When Parliament is in session, the seargent-at-arms displays an enormous gold mace on the desk in the center of the third photo, which is of the legislative chamber. You can see that Parliament is not currently in session—no mace.

I was totally whipped last night, so no summary of yesterday’s adventures, but really, you didn’t miss much. We had some confusion about our flight, but that was pretty minor, and when we got to Seattle, we drove around with Steve for a quick tour (all of which went over my head; if you dropped me in the middle of Seattle today, I’d still never get back home). Here are a couple photos.

My God it was cold; I didn’t stay outside long enough to get much more.

We picked up his boyfriend, Esteban, at around 5 and then drove to Tides Tavern in Tacoma for dinner. Good fish and chips!

Addendum:
I forgot to mention that we got to drive over the Tacoma Narrows bridge. For those of you who may be saying “So what,” I remind you that the first Tacoma Narrows bridge was nicknamed “Galloping Gertie” before the winds ripping through the Narrows tore it apart on November 7, 1940.

All things must come to an end. We’re leaving sunny San Diego today for new fun in Seattle. The shot above is Kevin and Jeff’s house this morning as we left. We’re looking forward to seeing our long-missed friend, Steve. We’re also happy that we’re not yet on our way back to Columbus, which got 10.7 inches of snow last night. Whew!

[Quick aside: We’re flying past a volcano crater lake right now; very cool!]

I had mentioned to Kevin and Jeff that one of my favorite things to do in new cities is to walk around neighborhoods. I think it’s interesting to see how people live, how they keep their homes and yards, what kind of cars they drive—that kind of thing. To indulge me, Kevin played tour guide (Jeff needed to work this morning again; he works too much for his own good <g>.) through Kensington, a wealthy-but-not-snooty (I’m looking at you, La Jolla) neighborhood where I took just a couple shots like this one.

That’s faux grass, in case you’re wondering. San Diego, like the rest of California, is in the midst of a drought.

We grabbed a bite at Kensington Café (an egg, cheese, bacon, and black pepper sandwich on a wheat bagel for me; it was really very tasty) and then a soy Carmel Frappucino® at Starbucks before heading down to the county building to drop off our now signed marriage license. We’ll be able to request a certified copy for ourselves in a couple weeks.

Our big tourist event of the day was exploring the USS Midway, which is an aircraft carrier that now serves as a museum in San Diego harbor. Mark was really excited to see it, and though it’s not really my thing, I was happy to join him, especially on the flight deck because it was a beautiful day. Kevin begged off. He’s seen it several times already and is anticipating seeing it again in a couple weeks with Jeff’s brother.

We had a few minutes to kill before Kevin picked us up around 2, so we visited the Bob Hope memorial just outside the Midway.

We met Jeff for a light Indian lunch and then a nice walk through Balboa Park. I took most of my photos for the day in the park, which is huge and wonderful. It’s a real gem, and I wish we had something comparable in Columbus. I’ll definitely visit it again when we return.

As the sun started getting really low, the four of us returned to the house to freshen up. Then off to meet two of their friends for a Mexican dinner at Casa de Pina. It’s the best Mexican food I’ve had in quite a while, but I guess what would you expect in a city that’s less than 30 minutes from the Mexican border?

We’ll be landing in Seattle soon. Twenty-five degrees, but sunny.

And now, word from our sponsor….

While I’ve been looking forward to channeling Shug Avery from the movie, The Color Purple since Mark and I decided to marry, I have to concede that the quote that appears in yesterday’s post title is not entirely appropriate.

Shug hurls that line at her estranged preacher father in the film as he is driving past her on the street. He has disowned her because of her immorality, and she hopes that her new status as a married woman will allow her back into her father’s heart. Mark and I, however, have never felt that we were outcast from your hearts. When I say, “I’s married now,” I say it not to try to add legitimacy to our relationship but to celebrate that we can name our relationship. Thank you, all, for your kind comments and good wishes.

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog….

So yesterday, we had an 8 a.m. appointment to get our license at the San Diego County Administration building. No time yet for sleeping in on this vacation. It was a surprisingly easy process. We had already downloaded and completed the application, so we only had to check in, meet with an administrator who entered our information into the county’s system, verify that the info was correct, and give them seventy bucks. Easy peasy.

After our appointment, Kevin, Mark, and I had breakfast at a greasy spoon called “Perry’s.” You know how much I like greasy spoons. This one was very “70s truckstop.” Jeff had to put in some time at work, so he missed the glory that is Perrys, but he was able to meet us later at Pacific Beach.

We spent an hour or so walking around and watching surfers.

We grabbed lunch (I had only some tortilla chips; I’m truly overeating on this trip and need to slow down!), and then headed home to get ready for the wedding. We had asked to Kevin order a grocery-store cake for us, just as a symbolic thing, and he and Jeff bought us a bottle of champagne.

The cake, of course, went a little awry—”Congratulations” didn’t quite fit on the small cake, so the “tions” got a little mushed—but it was very good. (I’m having another piece now.) Kevin and Jeff’s friend, Rob, married us in their back yard. Rob’s partner, Pete, was supposed to be in China, but his flight was delayed, so he was able to join us and to record the ceremony while Kevin took photos. I’m looking forward to getting the video.

Everything went just as I hoped except that during my vows, I choked and forgot what I had planned to say. I knew it would happen, and I knew where in my vows it would happen. Fortunately, I had the vows with me on my iPhone. After a quick check, I was able to get rolling again. Mark was tearing up, as was I, but I was surprised to hear later that Pete was teary, too. We’d only met Pete 10 minutes before. He and his partner are getting married in June.

We relaxed at the house (Kevin and Jeff’s house is lovely—very open, but also very homey) for a while, then went to dinner. Kevin had been so nice earlier in the day driving us from restaurant to restaurant to try to find where we wanted to have our wedding dinner. Unfortuntately, none looked like places i would be able to eat—too foofy—so I went online and found a well-reviewed but much more casual placed called “Urban Solace.” Rob, I found out later, knew the place and liked their food, but he had had a falling out with one of the owners years ago and hadn’t been there for some time. He insisted, though, that we stick to our plan, and in the end, all of us were really happy with our meals. The owner was off last night.

I’ll catch you up on today’s events during my flight to Seattle tomorrow. Thanks for sticking with me.

We got out the door early this morning. The boys went to 8:30 Mass, so I made some progress on the book I brought along: Bright Lights, Big City. An ex bought it for me more than twenty years ago, and I’m finally getting around to reading it. Kind of ironic.

We had a 10 a.m. brunch reservation at the Del Coronado, a 126-year-old, high-end hotel on Coronado Island. Waffles and bacon and eggs and pastries and all sorts of delish food. On the patio. (I got to sit under the heatolator; it was just a tad chilly.) Yum.

We walked the beach after lunch—always on my bucket list during winter trips to one of the coasts.

We spent the rest of the day walking through an outdoor art fair and then strolling through the shops in Solanas Beach. We spent a lot of time in a store called The David Alan Collection. They sell a lot of imported artifacts from Asia as well as artisanal items made from reclaimed teak and ironwood. They have a huge warehouse space in the basement of the store filled chock-a-block with fascinating items, and one of the managers spent a lot of time telling us about the pieces and the process for acquiring them.

Oops. There went the dinner bell. Burgers in tonight and maybe some Yahtzee.

What a winter it’s been in Ohio this year! I’m happy that we’re on our way to San Diego. It looks like they’re finally getting winter, too—highs are only in the upper 50s and low 60s—but it’ll be better weather than at home. At the very least, the sun will be shining.

Neither Mark nor I got much sleep last night, so we’re both pretty punchy this morning. I can’t sleep on planes unless I’m much more tired than I am now, so I decided to pass some of our four-hour and thirty-nine minute flight to LAX by starting today’s blog entry. I’m sure I’ll be beat by the time I get back to it tonight. Mark, however, can sleep pretty much anywhere.

The plane we’re on is only about 60 percent full—a luxury I haven’t experienced in a while. I supposed it’s because we left Columbus at the butt-crack of dawn. Mark and I have a whole row to ourselves, so we’ve taken over the middle seat as our junk storage and breakfast tray.

A goofy guy is sitting front of Mark. When we were about to get into our seats, he was already seated, and he stopped me and asked me to put his carry-on in the overhead storage. Of course it wouldn’t fit, so I handed it back to him. A flight attendant came by shortly afterward and said she’d check it for him since it was too full for the bin. I think he asked her four times if he would get it back. I’m not sure if he was really concerned or if he was being funny. I don’t think he has it in him to have been being sarcastic. (How’s that for a verb tense?) I think his sense of propriety is a little underdeveloped. He’s one of those people who stare intently at strangers. When the flight attendant announced that the video system on the plane was not functioning, he expressed his dismay a little too loudly. I’m so glad he’s not in our row.

Our plan for today is to meet Kevin at the airport, run back to his and Jeff’s house to drop our bags, and then hook up with Jeff for sightseeing. I’m hoping lunch we grab lunch before we start really running around. I’ve only had a breakfast bar to eat, and my stomach is going to think it’s three o’clock when we arrive. I did, however, save the peanuts, pretzels, and cookies that we got for a snack, so I can snack on those if I need to. Yes, we got all three!

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Here’s a quick thought while Mark and I wait to board our flight to San Deigo: Some days when I find myself people watching, I think, “The human animal is really beautiful.” Other days, I couldn’t disagree with myself more vehemently. Today is a not-so-beautiful day, but I admit that people aren’t generally at their best in airports.

And a celebrity citing in LAX: Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, is on our flight.

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We had a lovely lunch with Kevin and Jeff at Tom Ham’s on harbor Island. Thank God! I was starving. Here is a shot of the bay and a shot of the boys.

And now that we’ve stopped at their houses to drop off the luggage and freshen up, we’re heading to La Jolla to walk though the arts district and just hang out.

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Walking along the La Jolla Cove, we saw these guys.