After being here for a few days, I, not surprisingly, have Some Thoughts.
1. Traffic is nuts. Maybe I hit the more congested parts of the town at the bad time(s) of day, but holy crap. It took me nearly 25 minutes to go 5 miles on the freeway into town. Thank you Apple Maps for giving me an alternate route that probably cut the remaining trip in half. Pretty scenic too, going through some older neighborhoods. Another instance of being stuck - unmoving - for 25 minutes in an intersection didn’t endear me to the traffic situation in the neighborhood. Having to drive AT ALL around UW is an exercise in insanity.
2. A hill-repeat is only steps away, no matter where you are. I’m accustomed to hills, but damn, these are steep! On my posted run, though, I didn’t go out of my way to really hit them. I needed to simply do a reasonable distance of non-stop running. My event in a few weeks is going to be difficult regardless, but I’d rather it not be a total suck-fest. Getting time on already sore feet is necessary.
3. Stamps? We don’t have any stinkin’ stamps. Is there a national shortage, or is it a local thing? I tried to get stamps in three different places and all were out. Out of stamps. Effing weird. I ended up getting what I actually wanted to mail at the third store, and hoofing it back to a UPS Store where they could meter-mail it. Something that I expected to take 15 minutes ended up an endurance event lasting hours. Traffic included.
4. The architecture and landscaping in the area I am in are spectabulous. Most of the houses are (I’m guessing) at least 70 years old, and the variety of colors and textures in both building and landscaping materials is quite something. I’m a little too early for the real color show, but what a show it will be, with the varieties of maple, oak, beech, birch, and a veritable plethora (had to work that in) of understory deciduous plants.
1. Traffic is nuts. Maybe I hit the more congested parts of the town at the bad time(s) of day, but holy crap. It took me nearly 25 minutes to go 5 miles on the freeway into town. Thank you Apple Maps for giving me an alternate route that probably cut the remaining trip in half. Pretty scenic too, going through some older neighborhoods. Another instance of being stuck - unmoving - for 25 minutes in an intersection didn’t endear me to the traffic situation in the neighborhood. Having to drive AT ALL around UW is an exercise in insanity.
2. A hill-repeat is only steps away, no matter where you are. I’m accustomed to hills, but damn, these are steep! On my posted run, though, I didn’t go out of my way to really hit them. I needed to simply do a reasonable distance of non-stop running. My event in a few weeks is going to be difficult regardless, but I’d rather it not be a total suck-fest. Getting time on already sore feet is necessary.
3. Stamps? We don’t have any stinkin’ stamps. Is there a national shortage, or is it a local thing? I tried to get stamps in three different places and all were out. Out of stamps. Effing weird. I ended up getting what I actually wanted to mail at the third store, and hoofing it back to a UPS Store where they could meter-mail it. Something that I expected to take 15 minutes ended up an endurance event lasting hours. Traffic included.
4. The architecture and landscaping in the area I am in are spectabulous. Most of the houses are (I’m guessing) at least 70 years old, and the variety of colors and textures in both building and landscaping materials is quite something. I’m a little too early for the real color show, but what a show it will be, with the varieties of maple, oak, beech, birch, and a veritable plethora (had to work that in) of understory deciduous plants.
It’s not quite “Sleepless in Seattle” but similar vibe.
5. The AirBnB I’m in is quite nice. Remarkably quiet given a highway is about 200 m away. I can’t hear it at all. Also includes wicked-fast Internet. Is that a universal thing here? Cozy and comfortable place, good bed; everything I need.
Well, except company. I’m acclimating to pretty much completely solo, though. Having the man-cub a couple of K away is nice and is easing me into the mode. Poor kid has to work though. Sucker. We had legit ramen last night. It’s radically different from the bags o’ ramen I ate in college.
Next stop is going to be Spokane, and a visit with my brother. The man-cub is going along for the weekend as well. He hasn’t seen his uncle in a few years. This should be a fun weekend!
Until next time, take care of yourselves, and if you can, take care of someone else, too. Above all, be excellent to each other, eh?
Well, except company. I’m acclimating to pretty much completely solo, though. Having the man-cub a couple of K away is nice and is easing me into the mode. Poor kid has to work though. Sucker. We had legit ramen last night. It’s radically different from the bags o’ ramen I ate in college.
Next stop is going to be Spokane, and a visit with my brother. The man-cub is going along for the weekend as well. He hasn’t seen his uncle in a few years. This should be a fun weekend!
Until next time, take care of yourselves, and if you can, take care of someone else, too. Above all, be excellent to each other, eh?
RSS Feed