Another Real World reminder!

Days 4-5. Our last night in Portland, LL and I went on a mini "hipster hunting" bar crawl. We started our night at a bar/restaurant by our hotel where a friend of mine from NYC (who now lives in Portland) met us out for some drinks. While in Portland, being the land of craft beer, I knew I couldn't simply order my usual Miller Lite. This bar had over 100 beers on tap so I decided to try something new. When in Rome, right? I started with a Pear Cider and then moved to an Apricot Ale. Both were delicious. And of course LL and I took advantage of the Happy Hour food specials for yet another cheap dinner. From there, my friend drove us over the bridge to a part of Portland we had not yet been to. This was more the local/non-touristy part of town and the hipster part. LL and I had been disappointed thus far of our severe lack of hipster sightings that Portland is so well known for. I had seen a dude in a extremely low V-neck and some jorts, but nothing else too exceptional on the hipster front. My friend assured us where he was taking us would be excellent for hipster spotting and it didn't disappoint. It felt very "Williamsburg-y" so we were all set. LL and I decided to have a beer and people watch at each bar we went to and after a few bars took a cab back to the hotel where we finally went to sleep. 

On our last day in Portland, we felt we had seen all the touristy stuff there was to do and literally covered almost all the ground on foot on the map given to us. We had the morning to do anything we wanted before our bus to Seattle. Since both of us had very tired legs from all the walking, running, and hiking the past few days, we decided not to run in the morning. As we exited our hotel, there was a very large ground all lined up. Turns out American Idol was hosting their auditions there. There were hundreds of people in line all ready for their turn in the spotlight. We were fascinated and watched a bit. No Steven Tyler. No J.Lo. No one of any importance was there. Since I don't watch that show, I didn't really care one ounce and we moved on with their day. We had pretty much seen all the touristy stuff (and more) that Portland had to offer so we really didn't know what to do but of course we made do. First, it was off to the Portland Farmer's market to scope it out and then we walked around Portland State University, and then had a fantastic brunch at Mother's. We then went our separate ways a bit and I went for a walk along the river. It was so clear outside today I was able to see both Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helen's from one of the bridges. It was pretty damn cool. (If we had gone on the tram today, it would have been perfection. Can't win 'em all though.) Because I rarely see mountains, I just get so excited and get so giddy from the views. It doesn't get old to me. Soon enough it was time to go back to the hotel and grab our stuff so we could head to the bus.

LL and I were hoping we would get our own seats on the bus and thankfully we did. The Bolt bus is pretty great with its outlets and free wi-fi. Not a bad way to travel. The three-hour-ish bus ride went by pretty quickly and soon enough we were in Seattle. Once there, we walked our luggage to our hotel. I certainly didn't know how hilly Seattle was which was an unpleasant surprise with a giant suitcase. By the time we were checked in and settled it was almost six and we wanted to explore a bit.  Our first stop was the Sky View Observatory at the Columbia Center. It is the tallest building in the city and has 360 degree views of Seattle. As everyone knows, there isn't an aerial view that I don't like. We got to see all of Seattle, including the Space Needle from there along with Mt. Baker and Mt. Ranier. You can also see the baseball field where the Marlins play and the football field where the Superbowl Champion Seahawks play.  It was a pretty spectacular view and to make matters even better, our ticket was good for the rest of the night so we planned on going back when the sun was setting for another awesome taste of the city. With that in mind, we headed back out with the plan to return.

As our journey around Seattle began, we headed down to the water and the piers. I even got offered by some random dude on a bike if I wanted some "medicated rice krispy treats." Ummm no dude. I know Washington just legalized marijuana, I will take a hard pass on that. We made it down to the water, then to Pike Place (saw the very first Starbucks ever!!) and the famous Gum Alley. We both added our gum to the walls and it was definitely a site to see. We plan to go back to Pike Place tomorrow as well to see the fish being tossed. Many places were closed by the time we go there today so we want to see the place in action. It totally reminds me of The Real World Seattle. Obviously. Duh. The cast worked there for a bit and got to toss the fish. Oh yeah, and the famous scene were Irene gets slapped by Stephen happened that season too. Quality TV right there folks. Anyway, I digress. We once again spotted yet another city Target and then looked for a spot to eat dinner. We ended up at some Mexican restaurant for a mediocre dinner and then just walked around a bit. At one point the area started to get a little sketchy. Like an entire park of homeless and/or drug addicted vagabonds. As we were walking, it just seemed like they were coming from all angles toward us. Honestly, I was a little scared for a few minutes but we made our way away from there. It was suuuper shady and so odd because it came out of nowhere. I guess that park was behind the courthouse and corrections center along with a bail bondsman across the street. Needless to say, we will NOT be walking that way again. Seattle's seedy underbelly was not my cup of tea even though it only lasted two blocks or so. That was enough for me. Yikes. Then back to the Skyview for our nightime view which was of course amazing. The sky had a pinkish hue and the city lights were on. It was pretty great and a solid way to end our first few hours in Seattle.

Finally, we chugged up the hill to our hotel. We will probably cover all of our tourist destinations tomorrow since we move so fast, but I'm sure we'll find plenty to do. The weather looks amazing and my legs got a little rest today. Instead of the almost 20 miles we have been covering a day, I only walked about 10. Still pretty solid and I can almost call it rest as far as trips go! I'm sure I'll make good use of my legs tomorrow!