Seattle has changed a bit since the last time I was there, in 1974. But the Space Needle and monorail remain constant. And as chance would have it, the first motel we stopped at happened to be the very same one I’d stayed in as a kid on the first visit.
God, I love Seattle. I haven’t been this excited by anyplace since the first time I visited San Francisco. My childhood memories were right; it’s incredible. A beutiful city in a beautiful setting, with a good mixture of old and new. It looks exactly like I want a city to look.
I could’ve spent days here. Even had a place to stay arranged, courtesy of Patrick and Tad. But when travelling with another person, one makes these certain compromises and sacrificies (translated: Christopher got whiny…) and the trip was limited to one night.
But it was a pretty damned eventful night. After checking into a suitably seedy motel on Aurora Avenue (old US 99), Christopher and I had dinner at an Indian place in the University district (okra massala…yumm…) and met Patrick and Tad for a beer at Cuff’s. Afterward, Christopher stayed home and pouted, so I ventured out on my own.
A few bars I had reactions to: The Cuff was pretty much a standard leather bar. Good bartender, good beer. Not my favorite spot in the city, but not bad either. I’d been warned against R Place, but I liked it. Great beer selection. Tasty bartender downstairs. Good jukebox and darts upsatirs. Not severely cruisy, but there was potential. Seemed friendly.
I loved the Seattle Eagle. Van Halen was playing as I entered. Two levels, dark and cruisy, and (again) a good beer selection. Thanks to the state of Washingtom for making liquor licenses damn near impossible to get and for promoting good beer bars in the process!
I also loved Sit & Spin, a laundromat-cafe-live music venue. I saw Orbit for a $1.00 cover, with a Pike Place beer at my side. Great crowd. There were queers here, actually watching the band. An integrated rock and roll club…imagine that…
Hmmm…I like the city, the bars are fun and serve real beer, rent’s cheaper than in SF,and the sky looks really cool when it rains at night. What could all this mean?