Sunday, April 27, 2014

Pacific Northwest Trip June 2013 Day 10 Tuesday June 25


UPDATED: February 10, 2021
 
This is the tenth of a series of posts dealing with my tenth and most recent trip to Seattle as adult. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports.  What few updates there are indicated by NOW in brackets.

Some potential bad news. Seven out of day days of touring in rain has noticeably affected my health. I'll see how I'm doing tomorrow morning and if I don't think I can safely continue I'll check out early and eat the cost of a $88 one way ticket on the Clipper home. I can handle the trip on an emotional level still; it's the physical decline that worries me.

[NOW: By next morning I had recovered well enough to complete the trip.]

A couple things I overlooked before: the previous two days some people (usually kids) wandering into the International Fountain carried umbrellas with them.  Also the nearest crossing area near my hostel (heading south has been blocked; last night they moved the barricades slightly so people could at least cross the street on the sidewalk.

Noticed a slight ulcer last night. Not too bad.  Had trouble sleeping due to someone coughing and my toe still being in pain from the new shoes. Got a bandaid before heading out this morning. It was pouring rain as I walked to Target (passing the giant red popsicle statue; I think I did so a few times today), then Pike Place Market/Rachel the Pig, then back to the hostel for breakfast. I then returned downtown and caught a 510 but (Sound Transit) to Everett Station, then a 201 bus (Community Transit) to Marysville;  As usual I found some DVD sets there. I then took another 201 bus back to Everett and after a chase caught a 7 bus (Everett Transit) to the first stop at Everett Mall.
 
[NOW: The Marysville stop was a now closed Kmart.]

As I limped across the parking lot I felt someone cool on the back of my right thigh; probably blood or puss   I visited Half Price Books before taking another 7 bus to Evergreen Way.  I think I got off too soon and thus missed a connection that had a domino effect on missing buses by a bit. I took a Swift bus (Community Transit) to another Half Price Books in Lynnwood.  While waiting for my next bus I got a $3 DVD at Big Lots, wandered around a little at Strider Lake Park, and then took a 196 bus (Community Transit) to Alderwood Mall.
 
[NOW: That Swift route is the Blue Line.]

As usual I got some photos of the nice horse statue outside the mall. Inside the mall I visited f.y.e. where I learned that James Gandolphini (Sopranos) had just passed away; I also got a couple of Godzilla DVDs. I grabbed lunch at Sbarro; at this point the weather was okay so ate the lunch in the outside area of the food court. I went to the bus stop and pretended to be dense about one guys' hint for money.
 
[NOW: That Sbarro is closed.]

I took a 535 bus (Sound Transit) to Bellevue Transit Center and then a B Rapidride bus (Metro Transit) to Crossroads Shopping Center (still Bellevue). In my fatigue I decided to skip Barnes & Noble there and just went to Half Price Books and Silver Platters; I got DVDs at the latter. I would have liked to have taken a B bus to Redmond but in my current state decided to just take a B bus the other way back to Bellevue Transit Center. I took a 550 bus to Westlake Center. Not first the first time this trip (though oddly not on the day after I had no sleep at all) I found myself fighting sleep riding the bus. I walked north to the 7-11 across from Seattle Center. I rested with my shoes off at the International Fountain. It started to rain so I went to Mod Pizza for dinner. It was really pouring then. I returned to the fountain a little bit, with the rain more subsided. I walked to Mercer Street Books and saw a graphic novel that I MAY pick up if I continue with the trip.
 
[NOW: That Barnes & Noble has closed. That Silver Platters has moved. The 550 bus is Westlake Center.]

The day ended with an embarrassing note. [I’ve decided not to share this particular story with the world.]

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