Seattle: Pike Place Public Market on Fourth of July

July has settled into the Northern hemisphere, with long sunny days baking away any vestigial chill from spring's showers, and lush verdant greenery bursting from any patch of fertile ground it can find. Seattleites have certainly noticed, and when they're not basking in the glorious sunlight and soaking in the vitamin D while indulging on some form of aquatic activity, they're likely thinking about food; as in, what they're going to eat tonight and whereabouts to procure it. Whether you're pining for juice-squirting stone fruits that dribble down your arm and chin with each luxuriant bite, or rich oceanic goodies served over ice, you can find your fix at Pike Place Public Market. And really, what is more American than the unadulterated consumerism and capitalism to be found at the market? You can find eager vendors vying for your pretty pennies, juxtaposing their shops' locales, the colorful arrangements, and witty signs just-so to try and catch the eye of the buyer. Shops live or die trying to manifest their destinies in the crowded aisles, and on this year of 2019's Fourth of July I opted to walk the deeply-packed and often soggy streets that wind their way through Pike Public Market and Post Alley. 

It's cherry season, y'all, and people are losing their god-dang minds up here! I enjoy a cherry as much as the next girl and have admired many a perfectly pink or pristine white cherry blossom while living in Japan, but people in Seattle are on another level when it comes to their obsession with cherries. You can find a wide array of stalls at Pike or any other farmer's market more than glad to sell you a cup of the delicious little stone fruits, packed with juicy tartness and sweet freshness. And oh boy, those little yellow-blush rainier cherries? They are the superstars of the show! Not unlike the curbside shrimp-selling vans of Arizona (any other fans of Small Town Murder here tonight?), you can find little tents propped up selling bags upon bags of cherries from any corner store, gas station, or vacant lot open with a modicum of parking. Pike's place is no exception, with ample opportunities to pick up a handful of the sweet little delights to snack on as you wander.  

Don't forget the chilly, slurpable delights! With temperatures reaching some sweltering (by Washingtonian standards) heights, there are plenty of cider and juice stalls open, taking advantage of Washington state's preternatural overabundance of the tree-growing fruits and access to ice. Pear will often make an appearance, too, as there are some nearby valleys that grow an inconceivably large amount of the juicy, sometimes grainy fruit. If you're lucky, you might catch a particularly animated vendor shouting an exuberant "Yeeeeeessss!" to the cup-grabbing curious hordes. If you find him, call him "boss". I think he likes it. 

No matter what time of year you find yourself exploring the Market, it's going to be an experience. In summer, the overwhelming verdancy of the various blossoms available, paired with the cornucopia of fruits and vegetables coming into the season, may lend it towards being a bit more colorful than in the winter months, but any market is well worth a visit for a glimpse into the communities that surround them. I'm glad I stopped by for the Fourth, as a patriotic (or anarchistic) vibe was rippling through the air. I missed seeing it, but there was someone running from the cops darting between the stalls! And tourists from the whole world over ambling by, whether they spoke in Mandarin or Russian (both of which I heard on this visit). A commingling of consumers over a veritable cornucopia of consumable goodies...again, I ask you; what's more American than that? You can load up on hot dogs, fresh corn on the cobb or any locally grown (or imported) produce you could possibly desire, if you look long enough. There are glistening, rotund fish upon ice, or slurpable stacks of oysters and other shellfish on ice ready to be taken home, or even shipped if you'd rather delay the gratification. 

There is no shortage of photos below! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Ritual 2018

Fields burst with ripening fruits and vegetables, gorgeous gourds in a startling array of shades crowd fields with their vines and rotund bodies. Autumn time is a prodigious season for feasting, with so many varied crops coming to full harvest and abundance, well, prominently abundant. Given this state of affairs, and a particular set of historical myths and traditions built upon the mistreatment and forcible expunging of indigenous people from their homes in "The New World" by land and resource hungry Europeans, most citizens of the United States these days find themselves celebrating a holiday dubbed "Thanksgiving". Ostensibly, the holiday is a period of reflection and a time to pause and be grateful for the many blessings we may be so fortunate to have in our lives, which in and of itself is a nice message... There's nothing wrong with appreciating what you have and being mindful of it, but there are some issues with trampling over the historical facts leading to the situation for more euphemistic ideas. 

Anyhow, to celebrate this time of year, many Americans opt to roast, fry, or otherwise find a means of preparing a turkey. Antho and I wanted to partake in this ritualistic consumption of big birds since we had access to a full oven for the first time in quite a while, though it was just the two of us celebrating so we opted for a smaller roughly 8 pound bird. Still, that's quite a lot of bird to work through, but we had no issues eating leftovers on sandwiches or in soups over the next week! I always save the vegetable scraps and shrapnel from the bird's carcass, bones, and skin along with whatever leftover bits remain, as I use it to make stock/broth. This means my stocks and broths are always perpetually changing and evolving with whatever vegetables and meats we're eating the most, along with what's in season.  To each their own, but it works for us! Since I roasted the turkey with lemons stuffed into it's gaping innards cavern, they went in with the stock, lending it a nice citrusy tang along with boosting the vitamin and mineral content of the end result. Can't really go wrong with that when there are so many bugs going around, right? I've got a case of the sniffles as I write this, in fact... 

If you're traveling these days to go visit family and friends for the holidays, be safe out there! Happy holidays!

Oregon: Upper Klamath Lake

Believe it or not, there's a lot of water out on this part of the country! Coming from a drought-stricken desert where the better part of my lifespan has been spent conserving water and watching our most precious resource dwindle and wither away, it's kind of mind-blowing to drive for hours and pass one body of water after the next. From one river to a boat launch at the end of a neighborhood street, to endless lakes, there's so much water in this area! This, of course, facilitates the explosion of greenery that you'll see as you drive along. Coincidentally, there's quite a lot of farmland proliferating throughout the region, perhaps due to this abundant foliage and potential grazing lands. Like I said, coming from a desert, this all seems a bit weird. Everything is so green, and there's so much life springing from every nook and cranny, any location where a fortuitous foothold might be struck and dug into. The tracts of mankind's interjections can be seen stripping the land in bland, blase streaks of nudity, but even with our tireless efforts nature, uhh...finds a way... 

Upper Klamath Lake is one of these bodies of water you may find yourself driving by, should you follow a similar path to ours. There's something poetic in the blue sky touching the tippy-tops of purple mountains before a horizon of pallid water stretches out below. It's majestic, one could say. Inspiring. It can be difficult at times to quantify just how large these United States actually are...in the span of three days we'd driven over 1,000 miles (1,609 Km)! And we still had some miles yet to traverse before reaching our destination, too. We drove more than the entire length of the country of Italy (1,185Km or 736 miles)! We'd safely traversed the Extra-terrestrial highway in South-Central Nevada, visited Reno without getting divorced, spent the night and troubleshot some vehicular difficulties in the town of Merrill, in Southern Oregon...and now? Now we'd made it here, to Upper Klamath Lake, a beautiful expanse of blue where the earth and the sky blow kisses at each other. I recommend pulling over to take a moment and appreciate all the beauty surrounding you because if there's one thing you can say about nature it's that she's an absolutely inimitable genius. I mean, humans do some cool stuff- like the Cavendish banana is tasty enough, though it's potentially going to go extinct in our lifetime due it's simplistic genetics. Again, leave it to nature, she'll, uh, find a way.

Oregon: Jefferson

Hours spent rolling down the road and we found ourselves pulling over to stop at a small grocery store in the town of Jefferson, Oregon. We'd gotten stuck in a bit of traffic a bit further back and upon finding a safe and amicable place to pull over for a minute, I opted to so we could rest our cars and grab some refreshments. We'd made pretty good distance and were nearing the Northern edge of Oregon, though there was still some miles left yet. Even so, when I found myself at the edge of a street that ran directly into a riverway while searching for a public bathroom, I knew we had to at least check it out!

Of course, no idyllic river scene is complete without a noose? Oh my! Initially I wanted to take this as a bad omen, a spooky sign that the beauty of the Pacific Northwest was really a thin, oily veneer obscuring or obfuscating a nasty propensity towards Shanghai'ing the unfortunate and spiriting them away, whether in a Missing 411 type scenario or simply into old-fashioned human trafficking... but Antho was quick to note that it looked more like a climbing point used by the local graffiti artists to get to higher ground. I'm going to hope it's the second and try to roll with that, because life is full of creepy awfulness and I'd rather cling to the ideal....or I just don't want to let superstition cast a shadow over my otherwise upbeat adventure. Onward and up! Let's go!

And after a long drive, it really is nice to stretch your legs next to the water. The gentle trickle of the flow as it winds its meandering way on to whatever destination this particular branch of hydration hopes to reach. It always kind of boggles my mind that people grow up next to these, casually dipping down to the water's edge to be alone or get up to the standard teenaged mischief. Sure, desert kids can traipse off into the wasteland to build a scrubby fire and dance around a dry lakebed, but the environment is so austere, so unwelcoming. Thick belches of bushes covered in thorns aren't exactly welcoming, not to humans, per se, but they do foster life in other forms by giving rabbits and raccoons a place to hide and forage. 

And while I was enjoying our stroll alongside the stream, Antho was quick to remind me that the grocery store we'd been parked at had ample signs warning against loitering or parking in their lot for extended periods. Better to play it safe than sorry, especially when it comes to the possibility of having your vehicle towed during a multi-state road trip...besides, we had places to be and miles to go, so as much as I'd have liked to linger we packed it in and headed back to the vehicles.

Oregon: Driving North into Eugene

After the initial hiccups and mechanical mischief that delayed our morning a bit, we made good time heading north. As I'd mentioned already, there was a fair bit of forest to make our way through before we fully escaped the clutches of the Deschutes National Forest, but the drive was beautiful so we weren't exactly upset at this predicament. It was a bit difficult to make time to pull over for every stop, so we weren't able to make that happen, but we did try to stop and make time to enjoy the scenery every few hundred miles or so. You might think that over time, the forest would simply become more forest, stretching off into the distant horizon, but in reality, it's more nuanced than that. Shades of green and blue blend together, offset by puffs of white or sharp interjections of yellow or brown. 

The timing for our road trip worked out extremely well, too. Initially, I had wanted to leave earlier and get out of Vegas before the fall settled in, but timing simply didn't pan out with various vehicular issues popping up, work arrangements and gigs that cropped up. We only had to delay by a month or so, though, so it wasn't the worst of situations despite my melodramatically losing faith sporadically along the way. There's a lot of talking and planning involved before actually taking the leap, and with each new hurdle, there were more possibilities for cold feet to settle in and squander our chances. Leaving when we did, at the very beginning of October, however, meant we caught verdant green expanses of forest with some bright shocks of color thrown in as the leaves just began to take on their changing for the season. Pops of yellow and little flashes of orange cut through the foliage to make the drive all the more exciting. I'm glad that we were able to make the majority of the drive under the sunlight, as the days grow shorter going into the cooler months. 

Onward and upward, away we go. Off to the forests of the Northwest!

Reno: Further explorations downtown

To be honest, Reno really does have a lot going for it. Most of the same entertainments and vices anyone could want from Vegas, like fancy dining, gambling, card games, cheap questionable meal deals, booze and slots, along with the natural beauty and outdoors entertainment of the natural splendors surrounding in both the high desert and northern california. Lake Tahoe is pretty close, I guess. Given that you're quite a ways farther north than Vegas, there are more options for skiing and snow play available, though that's not to say that Vegas is entirely lacking in those things. 

In Reno, there are vices you can fulfill and tantalize that aren't as readily accessible in it's bigger brother down South.  

These days, Reno is the closest approximation to my hometown I have available unless I wish to jump on a plane to Vegas (which would end up costing me less in the end). It's still quite a trek, however, to step foot on Nevadan soil. Maybe this should sadden me, but it doesn't, not yet. Maybe in time some aspect of the irradiated desert and it's desiccated expanses will call to me, but for now, this is more than enough pleasant nostalgia.  Suffice to say, Reno has most of the things Vegas has to offer, without the excessive crowds and much more enjoyable weather. There's still the spun-out homeless lingering in alleys, a profusion of booze flowing throughout the city and illicit substances in the veins of it's downtrodden. You can also get a $5 steak! And a hooker! You can even rock-climb the hotel you're staying in! And there's plenty of snazzy street art and beer gardens and other hip, happening things to pass the time and add to the sense of surrealness. 

Reno: Strolling the Truckee River

If you happen to find yourself in the glamorous little city of Reno, Nevada, and only have a limited window within which to try to take it all in, may I recommend taking a stroll along the Truckee River. It's famous! It's wet! Water runs through it! There's even some pretty psychedelic space whale art floating around, for your photographic enjoyment and posing potential. The Truckee river itself is the heart of Reno, the literal life-spring from whence the city sprung up and around, and now it's a scenic city center with ample entertainment and dining options to choose from. During our visit there were hardly any people out and about, though the weather was a bit grey and dreary so maybe it picks up more in more appealing conditions. We quite enjoyed our explorations, and it was pretty peaceful with the absence of any large crowds. Most of the restaurants and bars lining the waterfront were still just beginning to open for the day, shuffling chairs and signs about at a leisurely pace. I can't blame them! Reno is, for better or worse, still something of a small town and smaller towns generally just move a little bit more languidly than their bigger brethren.  

There was a time when Reno was renowned as the world divorce capital, perhaps given its close-ish proximity to the city where many people haphazardly committed to marriage, plus the long drive-time from Las Vegas proper gave people the time to sober up and caused them to reconsider their vows? Whatever the reasons behind the end of the marriage, the Truckee River has long been a popular destination for the recent divorcees to visit, flinging their cursed rings into the river as a symbolic ritual of closure. While Antho and I have had a commitment ceremony (with Batman, in Vegas) we don't have any plans to get divorced, so there was no ring tossing from us. Did you know that millennials are getting divorced at much lower rates than our parents? Of all the things millennials have been blamed for killing/ruining/destroying, that's probably one of the best, right? I'm certainly not going to be sitting around pining over the loss of Applebees, but I digress. 

Overall, we quite enjoyed our visit to the Truckee River. Stretching our legs felt great, especially after sleeping in the vehicles the night prior. If we had more time we might have grabbed something to eat, but we had a long drive ahead yet and I was eager to get back to it, so once we were satisfied with our laps around the neighborhood we popped back into our vehicles and prepared for the next stretch of our adventure. 

On a surprising note, we found a bag of weed while we were walking around, relatively fresh from the dispensary! Huh. Thanks, universe!