Day 1 of the PNW USA trip also included a visit to Caffe Laddro along Union Street:

A plain latte in my mason jar.

Nice.

It was alright - it’s no Culprit Cafe, but it ain’t horrible either. Clean enough, with a couple of crumbs, and friendly service. I’d come back in a pinch… [SIDE NOTE: As I’m writing this, I am suffering from caffeine withdrawal – chills, intestinal discomfort, headaches… I tried to go a day without coffee at work and I swear I almost DIED.]

This was enough to carry me through the 2 hour drive in bumper to bumper traffic from Seattle to Seaside, where we were staying. The highways got super dark, and it started to pour. H took over the driving after, I was clearly going to be a hazard. How do people drive so fast in such low visibility?!

We also drove over the Astoria Bridge in the dark and there was no time to make a pit stop, so no pictures. It really felt like a never ending bridge… One of the longest, most awesome bridges I’ve seen in my short time in this world.

I'm so impressed by your brave drivers and America sized things.

First off… Here’s the rough schedule of what we did:

Nov. 11 – Seattle – Part 1, Part 2

Nov. 12 – Seaside & Cannon Beach & Portland - Part 1, Part 2

Nov. 13 – Mount Hood National Park + Columbia Gorge

Nov. 14 – Shopping and Eating around Portland - Part 1, Part 2

Nov. 15 – More Shopping and Eating around Seattle

Links will be added as they become available.

Day 1, we left H’s house around 8AM and grabbed McDonald’s this is apparently how road trips start. We got to Seattle pretty quickly, the drive was pretty smooth. H was afraid he’d get arrested for his speeding ticket from 2014, which he had paid off just barely 2 days ago for the purpose of this trip. Of course, we had to walk around the pier and explored the Public Market:

Then we had lunch at Crab Pot:

It’s a unique experience, where you get to go HAM on crab, shrimp, shellfish… We had the one with oyster, for $40 each, that also came with salmon and corn. They require you to order a minimum of 2 servings, which was a bit too much for the 2 of us. The food comes out in a metal bowl, steaming hot, and the server pours it into a piece of paper over the table. As the meal progressed though, the food got cold and it wasn’t as appetizing. If there was a way to keep it hot, I probably could’ve finished it.

Also, their table cloth REEKED. I probably wouldn’t go back regularly, but I might go with others who have never been just for the experience.

Anyways, back to the daily grind. Everybody should be back in the office today.

1st night was good, and old habits die hard. Gotta have fun while I’m young, but one of my friends said that I’m too close to 26 to still be doing this. 2nd night got cancelled, definitely not happy with that. Took the day off today to recover, but no recovery needed. Should’ve just went to work. Didn’t get any good photos or videos of any of the sets because I was waiting for Tiesto & Alesso, so this photo of Pike Place will have to do.

 

This trip felt so incomplete. Less than 2 months till Contact. See you there!

PS – I think I’m done with the PSL hunt, getting tired of pumpkin. I conclude that Starbucks still has the best PSL. All the others are just weak copy cats. Especially you, Tim Horton.