Pacific Northwest Trip March 2010 Day 1 Friday March 12

LAST UPDATED: October 24, 2025
 

This is the first of a series of posts dealing my sixth trip to Seattle as an adult and first of two trips that year. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports. Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of three years later or to add further clarification. 

I was hoping to get a good night's sleep last night to be ready for the trip, but it was lighter than usual outside, then a bottle(?) dropped causing a woman to curse, then more glass shattering for a while probably at the garbage bin.

I worked at Pacific Peoples' Partnership.  I was out of milk so ate breakfast at McDonald's.  A woman slammed the door as she exited and then later returned and violently knocked down a garbage bin before being escorted out. 

[NOW: This is the McDonald’s at Douglas & Yates, downtown Victoria.  At the time I was volunteering with Pacific Peoples’ Partnership as part of an unsuccessful attempt to get back into work with the government.  I’ve since returned to volunteering there though no longer as part of a formal process.] 

Okay, the above two bits are technically not part of the trip, but they happened today and I thought you'd all find them interesting.

So I left work and made it to the Victoria Clipper ferry terminal around 3:40.  My friend Troy, who is also going to the same convention but staying at a different hostel was already there so we chatted until it was time to go through Immigration.  As with the Coho you go through Immigration on this side and then Customs in the US.  

[NOW:  The Victoria Clipper base in Victoria has moved a short ways. Troy was at the Green Tortoise, which I used to go to but will no longer do so due to reasons outlined in previous reports.  My main reason for taking this trip was the Emerald City Comic Con, hence the convention reference above. Because I was juggling this and my volunteering efforts and because it was off season, I opted for the more expensive but more direct Clipper ferry this time.] 

The Immigration line opens at 4, an hour before the ferry leaves, and it really needs that time due to the number of people; I got a really happy guy luckily.  The Clipper boards by group numbers and Troy and I were both Group 5.  Consequently while I did let a window seat, it was on the left side rather than the more ideal right side.  Also in the five hours since the ferry would have arrived, no one had cleaned the windows.  The seats are somewhat like an airplane, only without the seatbelts.  Moving around opportunities are minimal and yes, there is a tray for food.  Selection was minimal but actually comes with more items than you'd think from a Light Dinner section.

While Troy and I were talking we were talking we were often interrupted by a woman making announcements who repeated herself a bit. I want to stress that she repeated herself a fair bit.  She really repeated herself a lot.  She also talked fairly slowly.  At one point she talked at length on how this was the last announcement.  There was a pause and I attempted to talk to Troy again but then the last announcement from her resumed.

 But the most interesting bit of news was that a piece of wood had gone into the engine as the ferry was arriving in Seattle.  Nothing serious happily. 

The ferry arrived a little after the schedule 7:45 time, but the lady who had previously announced that she had given her last announcement made a new announcement indicating that the people without checked in luggage had to wait until baggage was ready; people without baggage could leave.

Half an hour later the people with baggage were allowed to leave the ferry to pick up our baggage and go through Customs.  I took some pics of the baggage pick up area but had to erase them.  The Customs guy said that the no photos rule had been announced but I'm pretty sure I recall most of what slow and repetitious woman said.  In fact I have bits of info regarding a tulip festival not for a few more months permanently burned into memory thanks to her.

[NOW: Perhaps fortunately her specific points have actually faded; it’s more the general experience of her announcements and not what she actually said that’s stuck.]

 Customs went okay beyond the above and I finally made it out of the Clipper building 55 minutes after the ferry's scheduled arrival in Seattle.  All talk the whole trip from Clipper arrival was 5 hours.  My usual route (ferry to Port Angeles, transit hopping, then ferry from Bainbridge to Seattle) is a little over 8 hours but I get to move around a lot and explore towns along the way.  Any guesses as to which is my preferred means of getting to Seattle now that I've sampled both?

[NOW: Ironically, my next trip to Seattle required a new longer route because they cancelled one of the bus runs, but that route is now possible again.] 

I actually recognized the "Enter as strangers, leave as guests" slogan at the hostel before I saw the actual hostel sign.  When I arrived at City Hostel Seattle the manager, Nancy, who hadn't actually met me during my July trip, correctly guessed my last name from previous correspondences with her and gave me a warm welcome.  A security guy also apparently remembered me.  During my various visits to the Green Tortoise the people there never seemed to have any strong opinions one way or the other that I was a returning guest so this was a very nice change.  The previous visit the hostel was in a remote area of Ballard; this time it's in Belltown, close to Seattle Center. 

 

[NOW: Google says it's temporarily closed but given that it's been closed since 2020, it's likely permanent.]

My room has four people max which is nice.  After storing my stuff it was 9 pm.  Heading out, I passed the Chief Sealth statue (from whom Seattle gets his name) and got a shot of the Monorail passing over the statue.  This being night it's probably a neon white blur over the statue, but appears to still be a nice shot.

I visited Silver Platters (bought 3-movie set of SS-related 1970s exploitation films), visited Seattle Center and got some nice night shots.  The International Fountain, which first caused me to fall in love with the city was at low power but still running).  I visited Easy Street Records and got some more cult films including a 50-DVD set for $9, then returned to Seattle Center for some more pics.  The Space Needle  looked really nice at night as did the fountain in front of the Space Needle (Robert S. Wright I think; the water looks a shiny yellow at night).  And Pacific Science Center looks great at night as well.  Sadly the International Fountain's lights were off, but I managed some okay shots by positioning the Space Needle in the background. 

 

[NOW: That Silver Platters moved to 1st Ave S and that Easy Street Records is now closed. The fountain is actually the Howard S. Wright Memorial Fountain]

At one point I saw an animal (cat?) passing through the amusement park side.  It went under the gate labelled "Enter" so it was considerate at least.  I got some refreshments at Seattle Center and then returned to the hostel.  There are more computer terminals this time and the computer screens are incredibly wide. 

 

[NOW: The computer terminals were later removed.]

Pacific Northwest Trip July 2009 Day 11 Friday July 31

 LAST UPDATED: October 24, 2025

This is the eleventh (and, other than final thoughts, the last) of a series of posts dealing my fifth trip to Seattle and second of two trips that year. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports. Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of three years later or to add further clarification. 

Got up at 4:30 to try to get the first ferry back but found I misread my itinerary and the bus I needed was further away than expected.  So with my first choice gone I found  myself at the stop for my third bus choice, which would allow me to make the second of two possible ferry connections, but there was another bus I could take that would get me downtown even sooner.  I should stress that there was no real risk of my missing the next ferry at this stage.

To hedge my bets, I dashed to where my 2nd and 3rd choices intersected, though that meant for a longer walk than if I dashed the quickest way to my 2nd choice.  Regardless, I just barely got my 2nd choice so made the 2nd ferry with a little extra time to spare.  I grabbed breakfast at McDonald's (had I gone with my 3rd choice that might not have been possible) and took the ferry to Bainbridge Island.

[NOW: I left from Hostel Seattle in Ballard. It became City Hostel Seattle in Belltown. Google says it's temporarily closed but given that it's been closed since 2020, it's likely permanent. The bus I took was a King County Metro Transit one. The McDonald's at Seattle Ferry Terminal is now closed. The ferry was Washington State Ferries.]

 

From there it was a bus to Poulsbo (where I stayed put instead of looking at Poulsbo Village, being weighed down), Poulsbo to Four Corners (there were other travellers from the Midwest heading to Forks for hiking, not Twilight so I told them they could miss the bus to Sequim if they stayed on to Port Townsend; this also applied to myself of course).

[NOW: The bus Poulsbo was the 90/Kitsap Transit, and the bus to the Four Corners stop was the 7/Jefferson Transit. I got a daypass where boarding that bus. Buses now connect in Poulsbo at North Viking Transit Center instead of Poulsbo Transfer Center. The 4 Corners stop is now at a Park & Ride.]

From Four Corners I took another bus to Sequim, stayed at Sequim Transit Center, then took a final bus to Port Angeles. 

[NOW: The bus to Sequim was 8/Jefferson Transit and to Port Angeles 30 Commuter/Clallam Transit.]

 

There I visited Odyssey Books, E-Z Pawn, and Port Book & News, then calculated how much I needed to declare.  I wanted a lunch buffet at China First but doubted I'd have time, so I settled for lunch at Dairy Queen. 

[NOW: China First and that Dairy Queen are now closed.]

I went with the faster/earlier Victoria Express ferry on the way back (it was right across the street from the DQ).  The ferry was a little late getting back, but for good reason: the ferry stopped so we would watch/photograph whales).  One of the straps of one of my new packs broke, but it wasn't a crucial strap.

[NOW: The Victoria Express ferry no longer runs to Victoria; it’s now a local Port Angeles tour boat.] 

At Customs I was permitted entry without being detained and walked home, sometimes carrying my large bag, sometimes wheeling that, though that meant leaning forward.

Niagara Falls 2011 and the Passport Dilemma

I wanted to use my passport in 2011 to cross from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York. Ironically, my passport was a bit water damaged from a previous trip to Disneyland, and during trips to and from Washington Customs people were getting annoyed at the passport. I decided to get an enhanced ID but knew it wouldn’t be ready for my first Toronto trip in March 2011.  The passport office said they thought I should get a new passport, which would have required paying for the replacement costs, costs for a rush order, and cost to have the passport notarized due to the water damage.  Also I’d temporarily misfiled my birth certificate (since found).  Even without the birth certificate it became clear to me that the cost wasn’t really worth it when all I wanted to do with the passport was to cross the bridge from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York, spend a couple hours there, and then walk back across the bridge.  Besides, if I did get turned away, the Canadian Falls were supposed to be better anyway (true).  So I decided to chance the damaged passport and… no hassle whatsoever, nothing like on the west coast; while I liked the Canadian falls more, the American ones are also great.  I saved myself a ton of money just getting myself an enhanced ID when I got back home.

Mishaps Heading Home on Foot from White Spot

Back in the 1990s I worked as a dishwasher for the White Sport in Saanich, and heading home on foot (to downtown Victoria) could sometimes be hazardous.  Once someone drove by in a car and toss an egg at me.  Normally a hit from an egg would just be messy, but from a car it was a bit of a missile and I really felt the impact.

Another time I was jogging home and some busybodies started asking me questions. I mostly ignored them and thought they were bluffing when they claimed they were calling the police.  Minutes later I was swarmed by the police and told to put my bag down and my hands up. They interrogated me and finally one of the cops said on the radio, “He’s straight as an arrow. A little slow but straight as an arrow.” I felt like retorting, “You show me your degrees and I’ll show you mine” but decided that would probably prolong the experience.  Once the police let me go, I walked the rest of the way home, a little more shaken and more feeling like I was in a police state (the next shift a co-worker claimed the cops were right to do that, except maybe the “slow” part; I felt and still feel that just because not everyone runs home at night doesn't make it suspicious; in fact given that there are dangers in the niht, uit's good strategy and people should be permitted to do so unaccosted)/

Commonwealth Pool Homophobe

Another story about being harassed by someone mistakenly believing I was gay.  I like to swim with a shirt on and for a time was swimming at the Saanich Commonwealth Pool regularly. Apparently my wearing a shirt was enough for one teen to assume I was gay.  He kept following me around harassing me, to the point where I had to complain a few times. He tended to hang out with an entourage that wasn’t very bright (one, intentionally or not once belly-flopped off a ten metre board). This guy might have been smarter than his friend but was definitely more aggressive. Someone else I knew who was in fact gay once jokingly offered to bring some of his friends along to the pool, but sadly nothing ever came of that, which is a shame because that could have been fun to watch.  My suspicion is the guy was a closet case himself. I eventually stopped going (I think largely because it was late at night that the really high diving boards were available, and bus service was that good that late).  But if I was a betting man, I’d guess that either he’s admitted his sexuality to himself by now or he’s become an even more militant hating gays.  Me? I still like to swim with a shirt on and my tastes still go towards women, but frankly homophobes strike me as more dangerous than any gay person I know.