inbhirnis

Well, bear_left has already made a pretty decent summary of the beginning of the weekend's events, but I'll just add a few thoughts:

First, I was very impressed with my inaugural flight with JetBlue from SAN - SEA. At both ends, it was an easy check-in and smooth departure. I got in about 30 mins earlier than expected on Friday, and - IT WASN'T RAINING! The only iffy thing during the entire trip was when I went to get my Thrifty 'intermediate' rental car, all they offered me in the category was a PT Cruiser. I said I didn't want to drive around in a van, and asked for a sedan. They put me in....a Chrysler 300. Ugh - it was a mafia hearse. It drove like it weighed as much as the latest bullet-proof Presidential limo, and the interior was incredibly cheap. Oh, well - it got me and my cast of characters for the weekend around the place.

I had a completely smooth trip north to my hotel, which was nicely located on the waterfront. bear_left and shirtlifterbear had already checked in - great to see Mr. Left again, and to meet Mr. Lifter for the first time - he's a bit of a force of nature.... ;-)

THE event of the evening was, of course, to watch the BSG finale. shirtlifterbear had managed to find a friend of his, the utterly adorable and charming altf4ljdrama, who was kind enough to open his apartment to a bunch of strange men he'd never met before. Also there was wrascalbc and a friend of his from the area - it was great to finally meet my BC friend. We got some freshly made, bake-in-the-oven pizza, Canadian choccies, and thoroughly enjoyed the season finale. Very well done, indeed.

(Couple of quick asides - now that the show is over, I can no longer pretend I'm the 5th Cylon, hence the name and icon change... ;-) I'll try it out for a little while. Also - dear LJ Collective - anyone know where on the intertubes you can get some of the BSG music? It doesn't seem to be on iTunes, except for the main theme.)

Saturday saw us wandering around Pike Place Market while Prof. Left worked on a paper. Lots of interesting little shops and fresh food. Again, no rain! In the afternoon, we went to the Space Needle to take in the view, and in the late afternoon/early evening, we went to a beach bonfire to celebrate badfaggot's birthday. quirkstreet was in town, too, and it was lovely to see him again at the bonfire bash. Later that evening, we all went to 'Bearracuda', a fun dance thingy, where arthole was one of the DJs. They actually played things I recognized, rather than 20 minutes of drum beats and grunts. I briefly met the statuesque and impressive bukephalus, among many others. Good night - I'm not really much of a party-goer/bar/disco kind of guy, but this was very enjoyable, and very scenic.

On Sunday...there was LIGHT DRIZZLE! So, I was largely spared Seattle's wet reputation during my visit. The major event of the day was a trip to Snoqualmie Falls, to the east of the city. It was nice to get out of town for a little while. shirtlifterbear got on his ferry back to Port Townsend, and we soaked in the hotel's hot tub for a while. Later, we met up with quirkstreet and badfaggot for a tasty meal on the waterfront, and dessert and coffee at a very nice cafe - I wouldn't have minded trying one of their choccie truffle martinis, but it was late, and I was driving.

I had an early start this morning. Left the hotel at about 5:45am for my 8am departure. Back home by 11am. Unfortunately, I left my reading specs in the rental car, but they're going to mail them to me. I took a 3 hour nap this afternoon - late nights and a strange bed made for a bit of a sleep deficit. Now, off to forage for something to eat.

There were many new LJ folks I met, and I've only mentioned some of them in this rather lengthy post. Thanks to you all, mentioned, and unmentioned, for a fabulous weekend - I really needed the break.

(oh - here are a few piccies. I know bear_left took many more, and better ones, so I'm sure you'll eventually be able to see them. I've got to crack open my manual and find out how to turn off that damn date stamp - I've no idea how I even activated it in the first place.)

(To borrow a phrase from cpratt):

I've got a couple of my Scottish Trek friends are coming out to visit at the end of the month. They've expressed an interest in crossing over into Mexico. Apart from a road trip with a friend halfway down the Baja peninsula about 18 years ago, I've taken the trolley down to Tijuana and walked over a couple of times. Last time, I was with my sister and (blonde, well developed) teenage niece, and, well, it was uncomfortable for them.

Does anyone have a suggestion for an easy trip across the border that isn't quite so grimy/misses the grime? Should I investigate taking my car over in order to go further south than TJ? Is it worth driving out to Tecate or Mexicali or somewhere instead?

Talking of having a lovely Mexican experience, I was thrilled to finally meet my LJ friend estudioso on Friday. Too brief a visit, unfortunately. He is as charming as you'd imagine!