SEATTLE

Part of the reason that our time here in Pacific Beach is so enjoyable and not cumbersome is knowing that on weekends we are leaving our population 141 town for the Big City...more than not, we are going to Salem, Oregon, home of Willamette University and the Bearcat football team where my son is a Senior outside linebacker and captain of the defense. One of the reasons to be here at this time is that we would be able to see all of the games his senior year. Salem is not what I would really term as a 'big city' of course, but remember, we are comparing it to a population 141 small coastal village...

This last weekend, however, he had an away game at The University of Puget Sound, UPS, in Tacoma, Washington. Taking advantage of the proximity of Tacoma to Downtown Seattle, we opted to make a long weekend out of our excursion and stay in Seattle a few nights. I chose a downtown hotel, The Westin Seattle, as it appeared to be walking distance to the waterfront, Pikes Market, Space Needle, downtown shopping, dining and nightlife. And though I have been to Seattle before, I have never stayed more than one night. I was expecting a stay similar to a few night stay in San Francisco, as I had always felt the two cities to be quite similar. After all, they both lie on bodies of water on the West Coast...

Let me start by saying that it did not rain a drop the three days we were in Seattle, so my perception is perhaps skewed by the abnormal weather pattern this weekend...but the moment that we parked the car and started walking around, I immediately felt the difference between Seattle and SF...Seattle has much more of a tight knit and compact feel to it, and my guess is that it is, in fact, quite a bit smaller than SF. The city has beautiful restaurants and bars, coffee houses and breweries, all lining the streets that lead up and down to the waterfront. The waterfront has restaurants, museums, bars, all that capture views of Elliott Bay and the various ferries that transport resident locals and tourists alike to the many different islands that populate the different waterways and channels in the area. This city has charm that is altogether different than any other city I have been to...between the city's love of coffee houses to their love of craft beers, to the beauty of the waters, to the excitement of downtown baseball and football fields, to the fresh seafood, to the birthplace of the grunge movement...all can be felt here in walking its streets. I could see myself living in a city like this...not for a long time, as I do not like the cold and I can feel the proximity to the Arctic Circle here :) But for a few months, long enough to explore the different offerings that the city has, and long enough to say that I once lived in Seattle...