Seattlites

Seattle pics up.

I've only just noticed the title of the last post was Seattle to San Fran. The direction of travel was of course the opposite to that, and we've been in the Seattle for the past week. During this time, my position on the state of affairs in the US has softened a bit. In fact, I've found myself quite taken by the Seattle (and the Pacific Northwest in general). A city that spawned grunge culture with bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam might either be a highly conservative industrial society that was being rebelled against, or a left leaning, thoughtful and progressive society that fosters creativity and self-analysis. The latter appears to be the case.

The city is built between Lake Washington and Lake Union, snow-capped mountains to the east and west and the largest and whitest, Mt Rainier, looming in the south. Hiking, skiing, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, horse riding and other outdoor pursuits abound from just the city fringe. The city itself has a variety of cultures and architectures that vary hugely between suburbs.

We were told that after the 4th of July the sun would come out, and has it ever. Cold, damp days have been banished to day dreams by the now apparently irrepressible sun. The cloudless days and more subtle nature of Seattlites has most likely made this city (and the USA in general) feel vastly more livable. And for some reason I'm evaluating everywhere I go in terms of its livability - rather than what it offers to the temporary visitor.

But our week here with my brother Lukas and his little boy Oliver finishes today and we move forwards, and ever more eastward, this time to Toronto to visit Lucas and Farah. So in the words of a guy called Rudd (not Kev though), goodbye to the west and hello to the east.