Seattle: Lenin statue and Fremont Bikeride

Leering over a street corner in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, the 16-foot tall statue of Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin can certainly catch you by surprise if you're not expecting his looming, statuesque presence to pop up around the bend. While the statue was originally crafted by the Bulgarian artist Emil Venkov in Czechoslovakia in the late 1980s, it was discovered in a scrap yard by an American and eventually, mysteriously, it found the way to Washington state, where it's become a landmark of the Fremont neighborhood of Sea-town.  Certainly not devoid of controversy, the statue remains in its stalwart vigil, staring out at pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike with the same stoic sneer. He's frequently vandalized, and there was a protest as recently as fall of 2017! Love him, hate him, he's become a prominent figurehead for the peculiar and hippie-heavy neighborhood of Fremont. During my very first visit to the city, it was in Fremont where my friend's band practiced in a local recording studio, after getting their fill of steaming hot pho at a nearby restaurant. This artsy-fartsy pro-boho attitude generally lingers, much like the funky odor of a particular smokeable herb, though new money brings in new businesses, and the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes lends towards the existence of several dispensaries nearby. On this particular visit, we were encumbered with bicycles we'd rented through the LimeBike App, and were greatly enjoying the freedom of having two-wheels powering our exploration, though keeping an eye on our vehicles meant we kept our photo-session relatively short. While these photos come from the fall of 2018, traffic was still not an exceptionally endearing aspect to the city of Seattle (though now, with the closure of the Viaduct, it's presumably worse) and riding a bicycle allows you to pretty much side-step the majority of the nastiness. It was fantastic, and I highly recommend trying out the LimeBike app if you find the bikes available! 

There's more to the neighborhood than statues of communists and hippies, though! Lots of beautiful street art provides splashes of color, as did the fall foliage booming at the time. We reveled in the sunshine and thoroughly enjoyed our outing! Hopefully you can ride the vibe through our photos~ cheers!

(Happy Groundhog's day!!!)

Seattle: Gum Wall and Pike's Place at Night

Gumwall color-coordinated thanks to Arrow vape mod

Among the lexicon of places one "must see" while visiting Seattle, especially if it's their virgin visit to the Emerald City, the Gum Wall tends to pop up fairly frequently. This is probably due to a few factors: 1) the gum wall is hidden inside of Pike's Place Market, so if you're already hitting one of the other, arguably larger and more noteworthy "must see" locales, you'll be real close to this one, too and 2) it's exceptionally photogenic, whether it's for your blog (hi there) or your 'Gram. Given these things, you shouldn't exactly be surprised if you find yourself joined by a large, enthusiastic host of others taking photos at the Gum wall. Endlessly photographed, posed in front of, and contributed to, the Gum Wall is a point of fascination, abject horror, collaborative art piece, and local icon. I've gone twice now, though this is the first time I believe I've taken enough photos to really merit a blog post. Antho and I both posed, and were even in some photos together thanks to the kindness of strangers who also wanted their photos taken together. 

Personally, I'm a little skeeved out by the fact that almost every single piece of gum adhered to these surfaces was previously chomped on, hydrated by someone's saliva, and then slapped on to join the collage. Plenty of people visiting at the same time we did were clearly fine, unperturbed by that realization, but you can probably tell from my expression above that I was acutely aware of it. Obviously, the gum wall is a huge tourist destination and there's a reason for that- just, you know, be aware and maybe bring some hand sanitizer for those among us who can't resist touching all the things. While we were pretty tired by this point, we still had a fair bit of walking left to do, and I've included those photos as there's only so many photos I can take of a wall covered in gum before I start to feel a little grossed out. There's plenty of photos in this post, so don't fret- and you can always visit the gum wall yourself if you find yourself in Seattle! It's a little tricky, but there are so many guides out there that I recommend you do your research. Best of luck to you, adventurers!

Seattle: Top Pot Doughnuts and Dusk

It had been quite a long day, having explored Capitol Hill, Dog in the Park, Pike's Place Market, the Waterfront, and Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, and with the cool winds of evening rapidly sweeping in, we were ready for a hot beverage to boost our spirits. One of the better options in the area is Top Pot Doughnuts, one of the top rated spots in the region. There are several options to find them, so you don't have to go to the same one we visited, which was in a bit of an unusual location beyond an elevated walkway from the waterfront. I opted for a coffee while Antho grabbed himself a hot chocolate, and our appearance helped defuse what we can only assume was a heated conversation prior based on the brief exchanges between a flustered barista and a grumpy guy hiding behind his computer screen. Curious, but none of our business, so we stepped aside and waited in the awkward silence that flooded the space in the interim. This gave me the opportunity to take a photo of a plaque boasting of a visit from President Obama, so that's neat. I can't say it's the first time in my life that I've stumbled upon a restaurant that Obama had popped into at some point, though I think that's where our similarities probably end. He's far more educated than I am, an much better traveled, after all! 

When we got our drinks, they were quite good. Perfect little pick-me-ups for the cold evening, and the sugar in Antho's hot chocolate while the caffeine in my cappuccino served to power us through the walk back to our vehicle, which was parked in Capitol Hill. Of course, the name Capitol Hill is derived from one of the predominant features of the area- the fact it's perched atop a fairly steep hillside. We needed all the extra motivation and energy we could muster to conquer that climb, and I'm happy to report that this little stop at Top Pot Doughnuts certainly helped. While we didn't actually try any of their doughnuts on this visit, I later learned that their doughnuts are infamous and have since tried, unsuccessfully, to procure some of their doughy goods. One of these days it's gonna happen, I promise you. One of these days.

Seattle: Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe and sunset on the Pier

Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, a staple of Seattle's odd, eclectic, esoteric curious consumer. Whether you're looking for a shrunken head, to...uh...do whatever it is people choose to do with shrunken heads...or a taxidermied monstrosity, a mummy, a goofy gift, post-card, or general trinket to show you've been there, you've found the right place. This was one of the few locations that Antho actually researched prior to our ending up there by coincidence, so he was beyond ecstatic when he realized where we'd arrived. While there are some signs floating around, you might have to search with the purpose to find the place, though we found it by sheer chance, the Shoppe is nestled into an inconspicuous location on Pier 54 behind a meat pies restaurant. Antho could giddily spend days exploring these kinds of places, googling all the odds and ends that proliferate, and Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe is certainly not lacking in curious bits and bobs to lay your peepers on. I have to admit, I get a bit of a bad vibe from the idea of taking a dead thing and putting it on display as a novelty, in the case of their mummies and shrunken heads, though I suppose they could simply be mimicries or fakeries made out of other dead things stuffed and sewn back together...but, still, kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That isn't to say that being into taxidermy is wrong, it's just not my cup of tea, my shot of whiskey, or any approximal form of appealing to me, personally. To each their own, sugarbear. You do you if you're into it, so long as we're not talking Silence of the Lambs level taxidermy, in which case, you should consider seeking out a therapist, to say the least. 

But then again, maybe it's just me. Do you, the casual reader/viewer of the blog, find the above image disturbing? Given the fact that Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe clocks thousands, if not millions, of visitors every single year, it's safe to say the average consumer is at least mildly curious about such curios. Should you find yourself down on the Waterfront of Seattle, near an inconspicuous pier where meat pies are sold, you might want to take a gander into the strange world of this little business. They'd be happy to have you, and you can always say you've seen the Mer-monster! That is, at least, up until it sells to the next collector with a fat pocketbook, in which case your window of opportunity will have shriveled up like that poor mummies' chest. Yikes. Better get to it! While I'm not 100% sure that everything inside is for sale, I'm sure there's a high enough price for anything you might have an interest in, that someone could walk out with it...so, you snooze, you lose, ya dig? Not to mention, if you go behind the shop, you've found an exceptional location to take in the sunset. Not bad, eh?

Vegas: Drunkachu and so long to Stan The Man

We live in strange, unpredictable times where anything is possible, no matter how incredible or how awful it may seem. Some of our greatest heroes have left us behind as they venture off to traverse the Rainbow Bridge, leaving a gap that many fans of superheroes and comic books will sorely and deeply feel. So long, Stan the Man. It's been an incredible ride, and your empire of creative work will undoubtedly continue to inspire and strike awe into the hearts of young and old for decades to come. Sigh. Not only did we lose Stan the Man, but then we got the trailer for Detective Pikachu. A live action Pokemon film in and of itself doesn't necessarily bode of impending cinematic craptitude, though previous anime adaptations to the third dimension have generally struggled to bring their subjects to satisfying reality, but we get a wise-cracking Ryan Reynolds as the voice of the typically linguistically limited character of Pikachu. To be fair, anthropomorphizing the little squeak isn't exactly new terrain as speaking animals have always been a favorite in films for Disney, but when it comes to Pikachu the last time he(she?) spoke people lost their minds.  

I guess, if I were a real-life Pikachu, I might want to run away to Vegas for a weekend of debauchery in a futile effort to escape my situation or the reality of losing another architect of my childhood. The world can be a dark and disturbing place, and we need people like Stan Lee to help us reimagine things, to look for the good, the heroic in people. While sometimes the stories of Good Versus Evil can feel trite, it's because they've been built upon an archetype established by the imaginations of men like Stan early in the advent of widely accessible comics. The premise of this escape from the difficulties of life was a huge part of what inspired the founder of Critical Care Comics to establish his non-profit organization! It may be only 28 pages of fantasy, but when you're stuck in the hospital it can be an absolute lifesaver to have a distraction from the endless beeping of machines or unsettling nature of hospitals themselves. Due to my location, I'm no longer able to volunteer my services to the group, but it makes me so happy to see them out there still doing their good work for the community of Las Vegas and any nearby hospitals they get called to. They're a seriously wonderful group of human beings, and I know that they'll be mourning the loss of Stan over the last week and into the future. I guess we all kind of need an escape these days, huh?

Photos in this post were taken by Antho!

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.

Vegas: Cosmopolitan and Aria

Given that summertime temperatures in Vegas are regularly soaring well over 105 degrees Fahrenheit (or a cool 40 degrees Celsius), it should come as no surprise that one of our city's largest attractions are the obligatory hotel pools at each resort. There are more pools than there are casinos, by far, as most have multiple places to swim or play with beach and pool clubs running alongside their usual family-friendly offerings all along the Strip, not to mention our suburban waterparks like Cowabunga Bay. Each pool is going to invariably be as unique as the individual casino hosting it, and it's well worth staying at different hotels or paying for a day pass to explore the different offerings available all throughout the city! Another way to keep cool, between relaxing swims, is to explore the nicely air-conditioned interiors of the hotels themselves and dabble in some real or window shopping. There's a lot of connections and bridges making it exceptionally easy to get from one to the next without having to risk traffic, though you might get accosted by a "monk" who demands a donation in exchange for a cheap bracelet or fancy golden card they try to push on you. Don't let them dupe you, though- they aren't allowed to demand money from you, no matter how aggressive they get. They make me really mad and I've shouted obscene things to them in the past when they tried to get hands on. There's a lot of buskers and hecklers out there on the public streets, but they're kept out of casinos due to private property laws and security, so don't worry. 

My good friend Blaze and I found ourselves here to see a movie. Originally Antho had gotten tickets to the event for us to go, but he ended up having to work, so I invited Blaze out in his stead and we had a blast! We spent most of the early evening sipping on Fat Tuesday drinks and exploring the Cosmopolitan and the Aria. I'd never really been to either resort before, so it was a lot of fun to see how extravagant and fancy they are! We'll be going to at least a couple more movies throughout the summer, so hopefully I'll get to make a side quest to try the Secret Pizza restaurant, or Momofuku and Milk Bar. If the inclusion of options like Michelin-star award winner Momofuku don't clue you in, the Cosmopolitan fancies itself one bougie bitch. She's not wrong, mind you. The air is pumped full of a dense rich vanilla scent that made me feel a bit like I was trying to snort vanilla pudding. For someone who's not used to smelling much of anything at all, I found the smell cloying and overwhelming and was really relieved to get up to the roof and into the fresh air.   

Vegas: Visit from Kelly and wandering The Strip at night

I've written about the incredibly talented Kelly O'Brien before, and when she messaged me one day to let me know she'd spontaneously found herself Vegas bound I was super excited to show her around! We'd met up before in Seoul, South Korea, and had dinner together but she'd never been to Vegas before this so we felt duty-bound to show her some of our favorite spots. We made sure to hit up the Flamingo's hidden garden, the Linq Promenade, the Venetian, and Caesar's palace before eventually making our way back to the Linq Promenade and topping the night off with cupcakes from the 24-hour cupcake ATM at Sprinkles. What, your city doesn't have a 24-hour cupcake ATM? Huh. 

Kelly was rocking one of our tie-dyes, too, which made me so happy! There's always the initial thrill and pride of selling one of our creations, but to see them actually being worn and enjoyed is kind of like what a bird must feel seeing it's little ones take flight for the first time. In the end, we had a lot of fun and some memorable moments, though after drinking a Fat Tuesday it's questionable how much will actually be remembered! Lol. If you've never had one, those drinks are seriously strong but also seriously tasty, and they're available all over the Vegas strip. You can get vessels shaped like bongos, guitars, rubber duckies, any number of silly novelty shapes to tote your booze slushy around in. They're perfect for this summer heat, but because they're so sweet and tasty it's easy to slurp it down before realizing how strong it is. When it was time to take her back to her temporary home for the evening, we let Kelly sprawl out on the bed in the back of the van since the drink had gotten the best of her, and we made sure to provide a big bottle of cold water to try to fight the hangover. Hydration is extremely important, kids, especially in the heat we get here in Vegas! 

And this was an overcast week, guys. Ugh. One reason, out of many, that I refuse to die in Vegas is that of our summers. Despite this city being my home, and birthplace, thus having a special place in my heart, every summer I vow to be my last summer living in this infernal desert. I know that for many this is ideal, a dry, hot heat that makes it an inhospitable climate for many types of pesky insects (but not for scorpions or centipedes and other creepy crawlies) with predictably sunny weather all year long...  but I like having seasons and weather! When we got hit by typhoons in Japan I was so excited to experience such extreme rains and wind, because it's something that never happens here. I don't mind the rain, I actually quite enjoy it. But I digress... while here in Vegas, it's best to make the best of my location and enjoy the privilege of being able to play host to my friend during her stay! 

Vegas: AJ's Day Out part 1: Harrah's

Have you ever been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras? We certainly haven't, at least, not as far as we're aware. I might have popped down to Louisiana for a visit as a very small child, but I don't think that really counts since I can't remember it. It's on my bucket list, though, especially since I have several friends online who've lived there and expressed quite clearly their affections for the city and it's people and culture. Anyway, this post isn't about Mardi Gras or New Orleans, not really- it's a collection of photos from when Antho recently set loose on the Strip with my camera and not much to do. You see, Antho is such a sweet, doting boyfriend that on his days off or the days he get out of work early he'll typically head down to the region of the Strip I happen to be working and hang out and explore until I get off. That way, if something comes up (like I get ravenously hungry but can't rush off to get food somewhere) he'll be there to help me out, and can head back out to enjoy people watching where he'll be out of the way until I'm free again. Recently he borrowed my copy of Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut for a casual afternoon of reading in the pavilion, enjoying the sunshine and background sounds of human conversation as throngs of tourists passed by. Me? I was resolutely inside for the duration of this lovely day, as ya girl's got bills to pay and work to be done. Antho volunteered to take my camera along, though, for posterity's sake and to share his adventures with me in hindsight. It's pretty humbling, too, for me to go through these photos as he's a pretty good photographer for someone who spends the vast majority of his time around a camera in front of the lens instead of behind it modelling our tie-dye, though he is required to play photographer part of the time. It's fun to go through and see things from his perspective, though, which is one of the greatest gifts photography has to offer. It's the best way to put yourself into someone else's shoes, and the old adage about how "a picture is worth a thousand words" will indubitably ring true for as long as humans have the capacity to view and reproduce photographs.  

Harrah's hotel and casino here in Vegas is geared towards a Mardi Gras theme, I think. To be fair, I've never been to Mardi Gras nor put any exceptional amount of effort into researching the meaning behind the casino's aesthetic. That being said, it's an extremely convenient place to stay for any visitors as it's right in the midst of some of the most popular tourist spots. The Linq Promenade and High Roller are literally right next door, and the Flamingo is next to that. Across the street is Caesar's and not far from that are Mirage, or Bellagio, depending which direction you go. Vegas is, of course, geared towards being exceptionally tourist friendly in the main corridor here, so the pedestrian access is pretty good though if you have mobility challenges you may need to plan ahead. There's constant construction going on around the area, so there's always some new obstacle or thing to look out for. This translates to there almost always being something new or exciting to do, though!

When you aren't tripping over stray traffic cones or getting elbowed by large packs of people, you'll see just how much detail goes into these buildings. Vegas is basically a theme park for adults, after all.

Korea: Bukchon hanok village part two

If you tire of admiring the traditional architecture and cobblestone streets, you can always make your way to one of the busier streets back towards the major streets. You'll find these areas a lot more populated and bustling, and also filled with an additional bounty of shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, and snack-stands ready to fill the gaping void in your gastrointestinal tract. When my belly demons started piping up from their slumber, I opted to grab a cup of goguma matang or Korean sweet potatoes that have been deep fried then glazed with a sweet and sticky sauce that makes them glisten like candy. I have to say; TOTALLY delicious! SO good! I had to make them when I came back from Korea and forced them upon Antho, who had to admit that even with my amateur recreation were pretty craveable. They're SO MUCH BETTER when freshly made on the spot and the thick, syrupy glaze is borderline hardening.  It's something so deceptively simple that is undeniably comforting and homey....something I think the Korean cuisine does exceedingly well. 

There's no shortage of delicious things to try while wandering the streets of Seoul, to be sure. 

There's also a lot of charm and innovation to catch here. If you can make your way through the throngs of tourists ambling through the bigger streets, you might find yourself stumbling upon the Chicken Museum... well, let's be clear; this is the Ginseng Chicken Soup museum or Samgyetang museum. Samgyetang, if you've never had it, is a quintessential summer food during the doggiest of dog days during the unrelenting heat waves of peak-summer. Summer in Seoul is hot, swampy, humid and oppressive. Eating a hot, steamy bowl of the light but flavorful and rejuvenating soup can help power you through it. Typically made with a whole chicken (ideally a younger, smaller, bird) stuffed with medicinal herbs and sweet, sticky rice, samgyetang is absolutely delicious, and a must try when you're in Korea. You can absolutely check out the museum here and try their version, or more specifially you could head towards Tosokchon, which is one of the most prolific names in Samgyetang, and not far from here.  Personally, I ate samgyetang for the first time at a tiny restaurant just across the street from the apartment I lived in out in Hwajeong, where the ahjummas running the joint were bemused by my presence and the food was cheap, delicious, and absolutely felt like homemade. But to each their own, my friends. 

Many more photos below!