Day 21

Day twenty-one,July 29, 2011

Back to the United States and more importantly to our cell phones and a GPS.  Once again boarder crossing was smooth sailing. We were back in the states and our first stop was Walmart.  We were determined not to look like rookie camper.  What better place to prepare ourselves for our upcoming camping adventures than Walmart?  We purchased some needed camping supplies and were off to Seattle.  

Seattle was amazing!  One of our favorite cities.  There was so much to do and the folks of Seattle sure did keep us entertained.  We spent most of the afternoon at the Pike Street Markets.  Here the streets were lined with fresh produce vendors, who would throw samples of cherries, peaches and nectarines at you as you walked by; fresh fish market stands where fish were being thrown from the sidewalk to a man working behind the counter; souvenir shops, jewelry stands, and entertainment.  For me this was the perfect scene; being right on the water, surrounded by tons of people, shops, and food!  We took a lap and then our decided on our plan of attack.  Rob was hooked on the sweet white cherries and was amazed at how huge the nectarines and peaches were.  Now we just had to pick the vendor with the sweetest (and cleanest) fruit.  We settled on one who let us try a piece of a white nectarine...super juicy and sweet.  We grabbed our 2 1/2 pounds of nectarines (2 nectarines) and white cherries.  Rob knew that trying the seafood at a place like this was a must.  He settled on the crab cocktail (he loves him some crab!).  At this point we were getting hungry and did not feel like eating and walking at the same time so we started to make our way to the park.  On the way to the picnic area we passed one of the most famous parts of the market - the home of the original Starbucks.  There were tons of people swarmed around this tiny coffee shop, but of course we stood on line and brought so e coffee.  Rob insisted that it tasted so much different from Starbucks at home! :)

The picnic area attracted people of all kinds.  Lots of tourists, some locals who were sun bathing on the open grass, local artist playing their instrument of choice for a few extra bucks, and then some less fortunate individuals who were homeless looking for something to eat or extra change.  We did not stay here long at all because we had lots of shopping ahead of us but the experiences we had here were priceless.  We found an opening along a wall sounding the grass where we could sit, eat our fruit and drink our Starbucks.  Here is where we spotted the first two unique individuals.  Two young girls were struggling to carry several huge bags across the walk way.  They settled down next to a man who was playing his guitar and belting out classic 80s mixes.  They began to quickly unpack their bags.  They pulled 2 milk crates out of one a large black garbage jump, jumped up onto them and thats when they revealed their talent.  These two girls were doing their best to drown out the man already stationed at this corner with the sweet tunes of their violins!  Although, they would have made Olivia McPeek so proud, their melodies did not quite blend with the jams of the guitarist.  In the middle of watching the events across the way unfold, I could not help but notice a homeless man sitting right across from us.  I could not tell what he was doing but every time I looked at him he was staring at Rob and I.  At first I did not pay too much attention but then I couldn't help it.  This man was staring at us and every time I looked at him he quickly looked away and began to write on the notepad in his lap.  Just as it started to get super creepy, I turned to Rob and told him that I think the man across the way is writing or drawing something about us.  He asked "what man?" When I turned to point the man out to Rob, he was no longer sitting on the bench across from us but was about 2 steps away.  He handed Rob a rolled up piece of paper and said "here you go son, this is free." We immediately unrolled the paper and sure enough it was a cartoon illustration of Rob and I.  I KNEW IT!  Right around this same moment, the quiet, open grass behind us became the meeting place for about 85 loud, annoying teenagers who were on some sort of summer camp trip.  We were not done eating and relaxing but knew we had to move.  We quickly picked up our belongings and moved to the other side of the park!  And boy am I glad we did this!

We found an empty bench and once again tried to get a few minutes of relaxation in.  Negative! There were so many distractions all around us.  The first was yet another photo shoot that involved an AI.  This girl was intent on capturing the absolute perfect shot of her and her boo.  Before even getting into the shot, she positioned her bf from head to toe.  She would cross his legs, then back away to see how it looked.  Then rearrange his pose, back away and take a look.  This poor guy just stood there, not saying a word, following her every command.  Once he was situated in the perfect pose, she tried to figure out how she should position herself.  To make this story even better, the entire time they were setting up for this picture she had a random person holding her camera waiting to snap away.  I don't think that this man realized when he agreed to take a picture for this beautiful couple he would be standing there for 10 minutes.  During this shoot, Rob spotted the next character.  In the middle of the park, with his supplies spread out on the bench, an older gentleman was giving out $10 haircuts.  His customers would put a towel over there shoulders and he would cut their hair right there!  This was our signal.  We figured the best way to get a picture of this was to get all of our stuff and snap one on our way out of the park.  Needless to say we did not get our act together in time and the gentleman on the bench seemed to have been his last customer of the day.  We were able to get a picture from far away but that was about it!

We took another lap through the market, bought some souvenirs and headed to Safeco field for the Seattle Mariners baseball game.  The Mariners have been struggling greatly this season but just recently broke an 18 game losing streak. They  were playing the Rays so we were really hoping they could pull off another win.  We arrived to the game nice and early because we wanted to walk around and scope out the stadium.  To our surprise, before the game there was a dedication to the late Seattle Supersonics.  Which explains why there were more Supersonic jerseys than Mariner jerseys in the crowd.  Famous, former players and coaches were introduced and stood out on the field to be honored by their diehard fans!  The stadium was rocking during this dedication and the former players were definitely feeling the love and enjoying themselves.  The game started shortly after the ceremony and the first chant that rang through the stadium was for the Supersonics!  In fact, fans were more interested in the video clips of classic Supersonic moments that were played in between innings than the actual baseball game.  

During the 45 minute long second inning the Rays scored 8 runs!  Many fans stayed for a few more Let's Go Supersonics chants and even a "Bring Them Back" and then headed to the parking lots.  People everywhere quickly began to filter out of the stadium, expect for a couple of lone rows way out in the upper deck section of right field.  We were able to see them running up and down the aisles waving a Supersonic flag and hear them chanting all the way from behind home plate.  In fact it seems as though most of the stadium was able to see and hear these insane fans because as the game went on, this section grew and grew.  By the 7th inning the section was half full of screaming Supersonic fans who even made it up on the big screen a few times!  During the 8th inning this group of crazy fans started a Congo line and started walking in and out of the rows in the upper deck.  They made it past first base but then were stopped by security and forced to continue their chants through the halls.  One crazy fan got confused and apparently thought the Congo line was going to meet out in center field because that is where he ended up!  After a few sprints and darting away from security and cops he was brought down to the ground, arrested, and escorted off the field!  What a game!  After the explosion from the Rays in the second inning, the rest of the game was scoreless and ended In an 8 to 0 Rays victory.  That's all for Seattle, off to Montana tomorrow.  Peace, love, and happiness, the Nomads.