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Old 02-23-2005, 04:54 PM   #16
BigV
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wellll...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clodfobble

--snip--

I have very fond memories of the Boeing factory tour that we took when I was a kid, do they still do those?
um, I guess...in Witchita!

no, I'm not bitter...
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Old 02-23-2005, 05:12 PM   #17
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A clarification

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clodfobble
--snip--
Outdoors is great, but I'm afraid rain might keep us from too many of those types of things.
The rain in Spain--wait--sorry. The rain in Seattle has a justified reputation for it's near-omnipresence (sunny today though), but really, you don't get wet, it's just really light rain, really often. Your head and shoulders will be wetter than your shoes probably.

Another thing, when do you intend to visit? In the summer, we have much less rain, and droughts and lawn watering restrictions are not uncommon. I can't think of any reasonable activity that is substantially inhibited by the rain here. I camp in the rain, walk in the rain, visit the parks in the rain, etc. Little league games have been rained out I confess. But if I had to depend on dry skies for outdoor fun, there'd be a whole lot less fun.

For my outdoor fun I keep this in mind: There are no unfavorable conditions, only inadequate preparation. For Seattle in the winter, layering is key. Fleece, and Gore-Tex and a hat will be adequate for most all situations.

The proximity of the city to the water means our temperatures are pretty well moderated so we don't have the lake-effect snow I saw in another thread.

Kayaking is certainly the wettest propostition mentioned yet, and all the other land or boat/ferry options are much drier prospects.
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Old 02-23-2005, 05:41 PM   #18
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I guess the factory closed? It was a long time ago, I admit...

We'll probably be going in late March.
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Old 02-23-2005, 06:26 PM   #19
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In-city ideas, part 1

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clodfobble
What kind of things do you want to see/do? City, country? Indoor, outdoor? Eat, watch, walk, listen, etc??

Um... all of those things? ...
In the city... hmm. A really cool tour is called Underground Seattle. Seattle had a terrible fire over 100 years ago and the rebuilding took place on top of the burned remains (kinda). Much of the old stuff can still be seen at the original grade level on this tour.

Bruce mentioned EMP, the Experience Music Project. I know you said listen was low on your list, but if minimal musical taste overlap is the reason, you can both be satisfied here, I promise. I know it's an awful/wonderful pun but this place ROCKS!!

Adjacent to EMP is the Seattle Center, site of the 1960 World's Fair, and home to the Space Needle. It's a cool but expensive trip to the observation deck. There's also a restaurant that revolves once per hour. Verrrrry swank. You can see forever from up there. Speaking of seeing, you know, Seattle (and this local area) is the only place in the country where you can stand in one spot and see three different National Parks! The Cascades National Park to the east, the Olympic National Park to the West and Mt Ranier National Park to the south. We have an embarassment of riches when it comes to natural beauty.

There's a ton of stuff to do at the Center, IMAX, fountain, bite of seattle, pacific science center, planetarium, laser light show, seattle supersonics, opera house, thunderbirds, squaredancing, Butterfly exhibit and the Monorail to name a few. (Hey, sorry, I was gonna try to give you links to alllll the above, but you're smart, just check out the seattle center link. You can get the info there, and beaucoup more)

Ride the monorail and ride the waterfront streetcar. The streetcars were imported from Australia(!) The Seattle Aquarium and the Woodland Park Zoo are family favorites. We have annual memberships to both.

Sports? Tbirds are the junior hockey league team, the SuperSonics are first in the West for the NBA, the Seahawks play in the winter and the Mariners, my favorite, play in the spring and summer.

Take a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island. You can walk on too. The views of the city on the eastbound trip are killer in the low angle light of the afternoon.
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Old 02-24-2005, 11:05 AM   #20
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Wow! Thanks a ton, BigV!!
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Old 02-26-2005, 02:18 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigV
um, I guess...in Witchita!

no, I'm not bitter...
Witchita has been sold.
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Old 02-28-2005, 06:14 PM   #22
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My knowledge of Seattle is predominately about it's parks and schools.

The Ballard Locks is one of my favorite places here, and whenever friends or family visit for the day that's where I go. You can watch the Locks ebb and flow as the ships go through, and you can walk across to the other side of the canal. On one side is the neighborhood of Ballard and on the other side is Discovery Park.

If you want a great view of Seattle that includes the Space Needle, go to Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill.

Walking around Green Lake in the afternoon before the sunset is very popular. =]
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Old 03-04-2005, 06:09 PM   #23
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Hey! Wish me luck!

Each year one of the local seafood restaurants runs a fun promotion called the Oyster Olympics. I am the returning champion in the Oyster Slurping Contest, 2004. You thought all those "You SUCK!" remarks were insults, didn't you. Heheh, nope, they're right, I do. Well, slurp is more like it. And fast too. Think of it as oysters as performance art, on fast forward.

They bring you the obligatory seafood bib with the restaurant logo on it and an enormous platter covered with crushed ice, with a dozen oysters on the half shell, already cut from the shell, resting obliviously in their own delicious juice. You are permitted to arrange the oysters on the platter to your liking, (condiments, anyone? I like mine naked) then your hands go behind your back and you wait for the starting signal. After the signal, the first contestant to get all the oysters down, and stay down, with no hands wins!

One Friday last March, I called up MrsV and asked if she wanted an after-work cocktail, and we decided to meet at Chinook's. We went to the bar and as we were reading over the appetizer menu the waitress handed us the "Oyster Olympics" menu, filled with several different kinds of oyster dishes. They looked delicious, but kind of expensive for just a trifle before dinner. There was a commotion at the end of the bar and when asked about it, she said it was the contest starting up. Wow, they give you a free platter of oysters? Cool! They had room for one more, so I signed up.

The contest proceeded as I have described--my platter came and I arranged my treats in two concentric arcs. I planned to start on the upper right and move to the left, inhaling as I went and swallowing as I needed. At the end of the row, I adjusted downward a couple of inches and continued my motion. The round trip took about 4 seconds, and I threw my hands in the air: First Place!

I got a paper crown, my picture, a $30 gift certificate for lunch or dinner, an invitation to the championship round at the end of the month, and, of course, free oysters. Not a bad deal for a minute's worth of work.

The championship round was the following Friday, (I had qualified in the last round--lucky), and the process was repeated. All the winners from the previous 4 Friday competitions lined up, leaned over, and followed me across the finish line. I'm told I looked like a duck pecking up crumbs, dart, dart, dart, gobble, glug. Another crown, picture, gift cert, and free treats. Ahhh.

So, this afternoon, I am trying to qualify for this year's championship round. The show's at 6:00 at Chinook's at Fisherman's Terminal. Please cheer me on, from wherever you may be (come on down, if you can!). I'm excited, but not stressed. I can honestly say winning isn't everything. There's free oysters, too.
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Last edited by BigV; 03-04-2005 at 06:17 PM.
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Old 03-04-2005, 08:26 PM   #24
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Well good luck you big slobber snot sucking so-n-so !!!!!!

Just mess'n with ya , i like my oysters with a dash of hot sauce and a sprinkle of lemon , swich and slurp !!!! Ahhh , life is GOOD !!!!!
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Old 03-04-2005, 08:30 PM   #25
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Well, it's 8:30 now... didja win?
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Old 03-04-2005, 09:38 PM   #26
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Is this you BigV?
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Old 03-04-2005, 10:43 PM   #27
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Naa here's the big V , the one on the right !!!!
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Old 03-05-2005, 12:04 AM   #28
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Aw *shucks*, he's cute!
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Old 03-05-2005, 12:19 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 404Error
Aw *shucks*, he's cute!
owie.

The only problem with such a contest is that you actually have to eat raw oysters drenched in oyster piss.

I don't think so.

Perhaps this should be in that foreign food that scares you thread ...

But I do have to ask ... BigV, did MrsV reap the benefits of your oysterage?
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Old 03-08-2005, 07:09 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clodfobble
Well, it's 8:30 now... didja win?
WINNAH!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by WOLF
But I do have to ask ... BigV, did MrsV reap the benefits of your oysterage?
By the time I finally got to sleep, I was thoroughly bushed...
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