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0 Mr. Potato Head: A Travel Journal

Hello friends.

Recently while my kidnapper was pre-occupied I attended a soiree in Seattle... With an old Australian friend.

And i discovered the legend of the red and blue plastic cups at American parties was actually true!

Cheerio!

Mr. Potato Head

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1 Tours and Teepees (Seattle/Whidbey Island)

Hiya!

Remember how we left off last Sunday (i.e. more than a week ago)? Well here’s what been going on… Monday morning I caught a bus North, out towards Bothell. Here I met up with Spencer, a friend I met in London just before leaving, who is friends with my English cousin’s American girlfriend… We hung out some and caught up and then drove to the Snoqualmie Falls, this epic waterfall right in the middle of the pines. So beautiful and so much mist! It’s about the height or taller than the Niagara Falls only not the width. We took some time to wander the gift shop and marvel at the ability of such places to sell completely unrelated objects including a very suggestive deer/lollipop combination. That night I was introduced to a Dairy Queen blizzard, the pre-cursor to the McFlurry and sooo much better!

Tuesday was slow during the day but in the evening I met a bunch of Spencer’s friend who were all amazing at the Pike Place Brewery right inside the market. I’d walked past it but didn’t realise down a flight of stairs there was a whole restaurant/bar and down another an entire brewery! The beer and food were great and from there we drove to Fremont to a bar called Tost (said ‘toast’) and we watched a girl sing and then this amazing guitarist who sang into his guitar and did al kinds of trippy stuff. Wednesday I moved out of the City Hostel and checked into a private room about a block away. So nice to have a whole room and bathroom! Needless to say I spent the afternoon/evening in watching numerous episodes of NCIS (that’s why Wednesday doesn’t get a whole paragraph).

Well rested I managed to do some washing on Thursday morning, this may seem insignificant to you but it was kind of vital at the time. In the afternoon I headed out to the Redhook Brewery in Woodinville, just North of Seattle, where Spencer gives tours. I met up with one of Spencer’s friends, David, who was also taking the tour. One of the other Redhook employees thought it would be nice to offer us some free beer before the tour and it was very much appreciated. The tour was really interesting and very entertaining and also every segment was punctuated with a new beer! We left the tour very happy. That night at the brewery was the first night of moonlight cinema so we were staying around to watch the movie. This meant having a number of hours to kill. Having enjoyed the tour so much we decided seeing as it was free (for us anyway) that we might as well take it again. This time we had a different tour guide with a more brutal approach to crowd control then Spencer. We enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. Also the movie was really fun, it was Step Brothers and I don’t remember much of the movie except that I was really excited it had Mary Steinberg in it.

The next morning I had to pack up my private my room and Spencer and I headed out to Whidbey Island. We caught a ferry, which reminded me a lot of the movie The Ring. Apparently that was because they were the same ferries used in the movie, hehe. Whidbey Island is where Kate (Dorian, Spencer’s friend’s mother, right?) lives and I was going to stay with her for a few nights.

The coolest thing about this however was that her guestroom is actually a teepee!!! With a fire in the middle and everything! Kate cooked an amazing bbq lunch and told us she had a friend who needed help with an errand. I assumed she needed heavy things lifted because what else would you need two young men for? When we get to this ladies house there are two cages with a total of six kittens in them. The

kittens were found under a house and were feral and needed socialising. This meant our ‘errand’ was holding kittens!!! A number of them! So cute! From the kittens we headed to Double Bluff, an awesome beach covered in drift wood and dead tree trunks. I should also note here that everything onWhidbey Island has the coolest name, like Forgotten Lane and others. We found an epic seesaw (or teeter-totter) that someone had made out of logs and a plank and we had super fun on it!

On Saturday and Sunday I explored the Island (Sunday I was accompanied by Kate and her grandson Gabriel who is a wizard and really sweet. Coupeville is a small town on the water and very old-worldy quaint. Langville is another town on the island and is a little artier and a little less touristy. The also have the koolest shop where they sell masks and magic wands and swords and leather bound books with eyes, oh my! Gabe really like lighthouses, so we visited one that was at the top of an old army barracks. I took Gabe up to the top and enjoyed counting the stairs on the way down, apparently 6 comes after 13… ? We finished up the day in the park and I spent my last night in the tepee. Oh I didn’t mention the amazing waterfront view from Kate’s house, spectacular!

Monday I headed back to the mainland and Spencer and I drove to this awesome tall bridge called Deception Pass. It’s actually two bridges built over these amazing rock/cliff structures.

Also down one of the bridge are these beaches covered in pebbles so we had a walk and looked at the pebbles and by the time we headed back the tide had risen and we had to walk in the really cold water to get back. It was a long drive out there but it was so amazing! That evening one of Spencer’s friend was having a birthday party so we attended and brought wine and… side story: Spencer’s mum (mom) went looking for vegemite for me and found it and then liked it when I made her try it, win for Australian culture! …vegemite. It was a really fun night made especially so by a balloon that if you tap it it sings ‘Happy Birthday’ in Mexican, which is feliz something.

Wow this is a big one… I’m exhausted.

Thursday was my last day in Seattle :(. It started well with an excellent breakfast with everyone who stayed at the party venue and then Inception on the Imax screen at the Seattle Centre(omg!) and then to the brewery again for more free beer, which flowed even more freely because we took a private tour because there were birthdays involved. I’m really glad I got to see the Space Needle and a bit of the city again before leaving but I also really enjoyed having some time away from cities on the island. I really enjoyed my time in the North West, so pretty and the people i met/caught up with were amazing! Spencer dropped me off at the airport on Tuesday night and I caught a flight to Boston… which is where I am now! Sleeping on a boat…

To Be Continued…

Josh…

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0 Trolls and Chickens (or More of Seattle. Lame title.)

Howdy!

It's been a good few days since my last post and not a whole lot has happened, although some things have indeed occurred. I think we left off on Wednesday when i had to change rooms in the hostel. This seemingly painless task was made kind of painful by a rather abrupt girl who works at the hostel. I had to sort of pry information out of her as to the procedure while she seemed pretty annoyed that someone would expect, i don't know, hospitality in a hostel. Weird, so i gave in my key and was told to come back at two. Which proved to be an issue because you need a key to get back in and i hadn't been given a new one. Oh well... I spent my hours away from the hostel walking into Fremont. This kool area just north across a bridge that's know for being arty and very pretty. It sure was. There's like a different sculpture or installation on every corner, the buildings are all nice brickwork and it's very leafy and green. I think it's also the home of Google, or they at least have an office building there. Fremont is probably most known for the Fremont Troll, a large concrete troll that was built under the bridge and was used in the film '10 Things I Hate About You,' which i guess was set in the area.

My new room is nice, the art isn't as interesting and i've had the same room mates all week, although haven't spoken to them all that much.

Thursday was my Birthday! As many of you would probably know. It was kind of weird being all alone but i spent a good portion of time, credit and battery power talking to parents and friends which was super nice! I took myself out to see the Experience Music Project (EMP and also the science fiction museum that's in the same building.)

Although kind of short on content the building itself is very interesting and the North/West tunnel, which is actually a hall timeline-ing the progression of music produced in this area, is really informative. One of the most exciting moment in the science fiction section was seeing the Donatello suit. Although i was slightly disappointed to learn that it was the suit used in the third live action movie which i haven't seen but is by all accounts dreadful. Side note: did everyone know there was a new live action movie coming out next year or maybe the one after??? Yay! I spent the afternoon in Borders reading Scott Pilgrim comics (the last one is released on the 20th!) then eating Thai food and i took myself out for a beer in the evening. Below is a picture of my birthday cake. It's actually a cake batter flavoured frappe but it was none the less enjoyable.

So funny story... I have no idea what i did on Friday, I know I woke up and did stuff but there aren't any photos and that's how i remember things... Oh, i did go and see Inception on Friday night and very much enjoyed it, please see it.

Details are kind of blurry for the latter part of this week because i've spent a lot of time sitting and writing stuff or reading in bookstores without making purchases or just strolling around enjoying the city. And that's pretty much what the weekend was, except for Saturday morning where i had a wicked craving for pancakes and when they proved illusive endeavoured on a massive hunt to find them and was duly satisfied! I also visited the Bite of Seattle festival which was being held in the Seattle Centre. Massive crowds, bands, free Dr. Pepper and lots of food stalls. Today i ate from the pan-asian type stall and had fried rice some kind of cabbage noodle thing and a chicken kebab. One of my favourite things it burnt meat on a stick at festivals, can't be beaten. I have some random photos from this week including: inflatable salt water plumped chickens floating...

And a wall of gum!

That's all...

Josh... (Justin is good and having fun in San Francisco and planning to camp in Oregon in the coming week/s, i'm sure if he were here and i told him what i was doing he'd say to say hi!)

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0 Food and Beverage (Seattle cont.)

Hey,

So i think we left off on Friday night. After having blogged I went out for a walk and had a beer at a place in Pike Place Market where i had a great view of the Puget. Then i head closer to the water and had a salmon burger before picking a spot on a pier and watching the sun go down behind the mountains. Seattle is like surrounded by nature there's mountains (including Mt. Saint Helen to the south) and water and forests. And the view from the pier was awesome. I headed back to the hostel and chatted with some girls from Atlanta, Georgia who were going to a wedding the next day. This hostel is a little strange: whenever i head home in the afternoon there are people sleeping at like 4, and most other lodgers only stay one or two nights. It's weird but it makes me feel like i have some ownership of my room because i'm there constantly, which is nice; i've nested.

Saturday started with coffee down at the market and then a rendezvous with Justin in Capital Hill. Capital Hill is a really neat area: lots of interesting and arty shops, food and bars. It's also the gay district. Justin had come up from SF with three girls: Linda, Vanessa and Kat (or Cat, didn't ask). Together we wandered and looked in some shops, found some sweet ties and waistcoats but didn't buy anything. We looked around the market again and because it was Saturday it was packed and we ate at Pirosky Pirosky, which is apparently a famous pastry shop (bakery?). They made a mean Cheddar, onion and chive scroll. Linda's brother lives in Seattle and invited us all to dinner which was lovely. The food was great and the weather was still amazing. Also he lived just up the street from Lake Washington (the big one to the west) so we saw the Lake and the worlds longest floating bridge which crosses it. Justo and the girls were staying in the guest suit of an up market apartment building in Bellvue which is across the river and we went back there to drink a little and freshen up before heading out. I also popped home to change. We headed out on Capital Hill and visited some amazing bars, specifically one called Unicorn which is done up with candy striped wall paper and ornate chandeliers, and a club called The Cuff where dancing occurred. That night i slept very comfortably in a closet of the guest sweet.

The next morning we headed down to a large viewing room in the building to watch the soccer. I'd decided to barrack for the Netherlands, which turned out to be a bad idea. We had some good Seattle coffee and Mexican for lunch. We then visited Molly Moo's, an ice cream parlour with amazing flavours and generous portions. One scoop of Scout Mint almost killed me. While the others visited the Space Needle i went home to freshen up and i met them at the Seattle Centre and we caught the monorail back into downtown. That night we ate at a great restaurant called Barrio and i tried my first chilli relleno (i think that's how it's spelt, pronounced re-ano) only it was a crab relleno and it was food heaven! Later on, same evening, we visited a bar called the Chapel, it was formerly a mortuary and known for it's cocktails. Cucumber is esspecially good. After that we visited Linda's, a grunge bar where Kurt Cobain was last seen alive. A guy who worked there invited us to a pool party in a hotel but we didn't quite make it.

Monday morning didn't really happen. But in the afternoon we set out on a culinary mission. We started with coffee at Vivace, then hot dogs at Po Dogs. I ate the Chicago dog which had relish and pickles and lots of sauce and was very good. The next stop was Cupcake Royal (i think was the name) really good cupcakes (i had peppermint) and I bought a badge: it's rainbow striped and says 'Legalize Gay Cupcakes,' cute and funny! We also wanted to find buffalo wings, and try Dicks, a drive through burger place. We didn't manage to achieve the latter but i will get back there. A friend of Kat's who lives up here told us about this event he was organising. So we stopped in at a bar called Shorty's that is decorated like a carnival and has a room full of pinball machine in the back and then headed to Cine-oke! The concept is karaoke but you choose from movie musicals and they play the video with sound behind the singer. It was hilarious and fun although there were too many guys singing songs from Glee. Vanessa sang Mien Heir from Cabaret and I sang Origins of Love from Hedwig; these two guys who took it quite seriously shook my hand after; it was very fun! Then we went to a bar called the Funhouse where Vanessa's boyfriend's band were playing a gig. The bar was very kooky and the beer was cheap. The bands were pretty good too. We finished up at a 24 hour cafe called 5 Points where buffalo wings were had (and also a chilli burger). Very full we strolled back to my hostel and said our goodbyes. The girls were super fun and it was a little tear jerking to say goodbye. They all went home this morning and i headed to Lake Union Park to rest up, only the park was under construction so i found another park before heading home to do some much needed washing.

Tomorrow i have to change rooms because i booked the two weeks here separately and then i think i'm going to wander into Fremont...

Gots to go...

Josh...

(Also i feel like i just listed a whole bunch of cafes and bars, sorry if it's boring!)

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0 Trains, Needles and Art (Seattle, so far...)

Hello

So it turns out i was horribly wrong when i said 'colder' about Seattle, it's really super hot! Which is a nice change but also means i'm going to have to wash my clothes more regularly before that all get too sweaty. So i apologise to all Seattlites i may have offended. But i'm jumping ahead.

On our last day in San Francisco we visited the SFMOMA (Museum of Modern Art) which was great, then checked out of Geo's place, which was kind of sad. He's such a nice man and we really enjoyed our stay with him. Got some dinner and eventually headed for the train. I had to catch a bus from SF to Emeryville where the train station is, the train was an hour and a half late and this man from Seattle got chatting to me, which was fine until he suggested we sit next to each other and then wanted to chat at various points along the way. The twenty three hour train ride was fairly comfortable, although people who complain about plane food obviously haven't tried train food, bleck! The train driver managed to catch up some time and we rolled in Seattle according to schedule. I headed to the hostel and went pretty much straight to bed.

The next day (and my first official one in this city) was kind of mega. I embarked on an easy walk around town to get my bearings but it turned out to be very eventful. Seattle is quite like Brisbane in a lot of ways. It's on the water, there's loads of brickwork and they both have a kind of industrial vibe, it's kind of nice being in a sort of familiar kind of setup. I headed down 1st street and came across Pike Place Market. These really old markets inside a three level building right on the waterfront. It wasn't actually open yet so i wandered around and found

the original Starbucks. I bought a coffee and took it down to the water. It wasn't great but i guess that's the Starbuck's legacy, and it was kool to experience some coffee history. When i went back the markets were buzzing with people and

there were a tonne of fruit, vege, flower, jewellery and fresh fish stalls. Also used book shops, joke shops, souvenier stalls and many others. It was really nice. I kept walking south through Pioneer Square towards the two massive football and baseball stadiums. Then diverted and had lunch in another square then went back into the city. Seattle is having a Summer Lunchtime concerts thing and i watched a band play at City Hall then wondered through the city centre, where all the big shops and peop

le are, before heading back to the hostel. The Space Needle is right near the hostel which is very central. Also there's a weird skeleton/death thing painted in my room, it looks a little like something out of Pan's Labyrinth but is pretty sweet. It was still early afternoon so i figured I'd head to the Space Needle and the Seattle centre. As i approached i heard this tour guide on one of the duck buses the drive into the water mention that a certain building was used for the external shot in Grey's Anatomy (i don't really watch it but i took a photo anyway). The tower is very impressive. Strolling through the Seattle Centre which is guess was the the site of the World's Fair back in 1960-something (2 maybe)

i found the International Fountain, which i knew from the little known movie Highway. It's this massive dome that shoots water out in many directions and in differentpatterns and there were a bunch of kinds playing in it. It looked like fun and i managed to catch some spray by sitting on the edge of the steep walls that lead down to the fountain. From there i went back to the Needle. I had planned to save this for later in the trip but decided now was a good time to go up the Needle and so i did. The views were pretty spectacular and i had a Jessica Alba moment at the top. I finished my first day in Seattle by walking back to the water and heading along to the boardwalk and having fish 'n' chips by Puget Sound (my favourite part was the 'n'). When i got back to the hostel there were two people sleeping in my room and it wasn't dark yet so i did some internet things then decided to go back out for a night tim stroll. I ended up back at the Needle which looks kool in the dark as well.

Day one turned out to be pretty massive so i slept in a little on day two. Although when there are three other people moving about in the room it's hard to sleep past 9, unlike my 11 o'clock sleep ins in SF. Today i visited Seattle's Art museum where they were featuring an exhibit of art pertaining to Kurt Cobain and an Andy Warhol show. I enjoyed the 'Kurt' exhibit although some of the art wasn't spectacular, except this one piece which was a sculpture of his head made out of cardboard, and very realistic. The rest of the gallery was really neat. I had lunch at bagel shop and went walking towards Cal Anderson park which has a kool fountain. It was super hot today so i lay in the sun for a while then waded in the fountain, which was a popular thing to do. That was day two so far. I think Justin is coming up tonight for the weekend then heading back down to SF, so that should be fun. I haven't had a beer in a little while and would really like one in this heat so that's probably where i'm headed now. So far apart from adjusting to hostel living Seattle has been really fun and the heat is glor-horious!

Oh, on a side note: i saw these kids (like teenagers i guess) at the International Fountain and they went up the Space Needle in my group on Thursday and then today i saw them again at the gallery. Weird. We must have similar timetables, hehe.

Miss ya faces!

Josh... (and Justin from SF)

This is what i sleep with...

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0 Fire Hoses and Fireworks (Coit Tower and July 4th)

Hello!

So my time in San Francisco is coming to an end. A little sad because it's such a great city but also excited for the next leg on this trip! I should mention now the Super Fags are spending some time apart. Justin is staying in San Fran for a little while longer and I'm heading North to colder pastures.

This week was kind of quiet but definitely ended in a bang, literally. We had a few subdued days after Pride to regroup and rest. Eventually I did venture out of the house and walked down to

the Ferry Building on a hunt for Coit Tower. This tower was constructed in the 30s and was commissioned by a Mrs. Coit to beautify the city that she loved. It sits on top of Telegraph Hill and it one of SF's most recognisable landmarks. She was involved in someway with the fire department and some think the tower is designed to look like the end of a fireman's hose. I approached the hill from the bay and had to scale a whole lot of wooden steps up what is pretty much a cliff face. It was a big climb but the views are really pretty and so are the gardens you pass through. The walk is lined by people's houses and their gardens and it's all very green. Up top the view is spectacular and the tower is very impressive. Inside the walls are decorated with murals depicting the working class of the 30s, i think. There was a massive queue to go up to the top so i by passed it but it was well worth the hike up the stairs to see the views.

That was Friday, on Saturday Justin, Wes and I headed to the Fillmore Jazz Street Festival. This massive street party that ran probably ten blocks or more down Fillmore Street. There were heaps of people, food and market stalls and a number of stages with awesome jazz musicians playing. We walked up and down the street, handed out some flyers just for fun, and I ate some awesome burnt meat on a stick and drank lemonade. That afternoon Justin and I went down to Golden Gate park. Probably one of the busiest and biggest parks in the city. We parked ourselves on 'Hippie Hill,' and chilled in the sun. On the path at the base of the hill a whole bunch of guys bring drums and instruments (apparently everyday) and jam. Very cool. There were people dancing and hula-hooping and it was a very neat collection of subcultures.

Sunday was Independence Day (just like in the movie). Once again we took beers to Dolores Park to show our patriotism. Then we headed to Home, a restaurant on Market St that

specialises in comfort food and we shared a burger and drank a bit more. We were invited to a house party complete with hotdogs which was fun but it started getting cold, as it does here, so we headed home to rug up and headed back to Dolores park and camped out to watch the fireworks. Unfortunately just in the afternoon a huge fog rolled in and we could see anything of the big city fireworks that happen out on the bay but there were plenty happening all over the city and some in the park, that were pretty spectacular. It was a nice way to finish my time in San Fran.

So today i'm packing and organising things for tomorrow. I'll be catching a train up the West coast heading to Seattle! It's a 23 hour ride which means i get a whole night to sleep on the train and should see some great scenery. Very excited about Seattle! I'm sure you'll get to read about it.

Happy 4th!

Josh and Justin...

Super Fag: Fly Boy Adventures!

0 Mr. Potato Head: A Travel Journal

1 Tours and Teepees (Seattle/Whidbey Island)

0 Trolls and Chickens (or More of Seattle. Lame title.)

0 Food and Beverage (Seattle cont.)

0 Trains, Needles and Art (Seattle, so far...)

0 Fire Hoses and Fireworks (Coit Tower and July 4th)

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