Season Wrap Up

Well, the joke goes that the Seattle winter officially ends just in time for July 4th. But this winter has not been a typical one here. The primary reason is that we got snow and lots of it. It all started back in December, right before Christmas when Seattle received about 15" of snow over two or three days. We were lucky that our flight to LA got out on Christmas eve. We were delayed by two hours, primarily because they had to evacuate the plane at the gate next to ours because the de-icing chemicals had gotten into the ventilation system and made several people sick. We did not know this at the time, but later learned that it was on the national news so we put two and two together and realized why all of those emergency vehicles were blocking us from departing from our gate.

Anyway, getting back to the weather, it is worth noting that Seattle rarely gets more than a dusting of snow that typically turns to rain and melts withing a few hours. The city shuts down for just a few inches of snow, so you can imagine the panic that set in as the snow began to accumulate. For us it was like a typical snowstorm back east, but for Seattlites, it had been about 10-12 years since they had seen this much snow. So it was time to close offices, leave the car in the garage, and break out the cross-country skis to get around. Unfortunately, getting so little accumulated snow on a regular basis alleviates the need for snow removal equipment and things like, say, rock salt and snow shovels. As a result, sidewalks were terribly icy and after a day or so, driving on anything other than highways was like maneuvering on the lunar surface (I would imagine). We were thankful to escape to the warmth of LA.

We have also had a couple of more days in February and early March where we've had an accumulation of snow, but nowhere near the December dump. But, the interesting thing is that in my perception we've also had more sunny, clear days this winter than usual. Since I have a sample size of two winters, I'm clearly not the best judge, but I just don't feel like we've had the extended stretches of gray that are typical of Seattle winters...but, we still have all of April, May, and June.

Unfortunately, all of the snow did not translate into a great snowboard season. In part it was because the mountains just didn't get a steady dose of snow and in part because we did not make it up there as much as we hoped. However, we had one phenomenal day at Stevens Pass. It had snowed 16" the previous day and we got another 10" to 12" while we were up there (no snow in Seattle, though, thankfully). It made the trip home a bit tough since after we dug our car out, we sat, inching our way out of the parking lot for 45 minutes only to be told that the road was now closed. We now had to wait out avalanche control along Route 2 for two hours, but we made the best of it by parking the car and finagling two seats at the bar. We did make another trip up the next weekend, only to have Dave catch an edge and tweak his bad ankle on the first run of the day. Oh, well, we'll just have to wait until next season for more of this...

March Madness

Well, the big NCAA dance begins today and Seattle sports fans are confident that the local UW Huskies can make a long run in the basketball tournament. However, for many people here in Seattle, there's bigger news. So indulge me as I talk about one of my favorite things. As you may have heard, Seattle sports suffered through a terrible 2008 during which the Mariners lost 101 games (dead last in the league), the Seahawks were far from stellar (4 wins), the UW football team was winless (0-12), and the beloved NBA Sonics just up and left town for Oklahoma City. But 2009 brings new sports blood to the northwest corner in the form of the newest Major League Soccer team, the Seattle Sounders, which opens its season today.

Now this is a pretty big deal in Seattle. As a recreational player and follower of soccer both in the U.S. and globally, I've been quite impressed by a couple of things. First, the extent of the participation in rec leagues here in Seattle. I play in the Greater Seattle Soccer League, which has six open divisions, five over-30 divisions, three over-40 divisions, three over-50 divisions and, get this, one over-55 division. With eight to ten teams in most divisions, that's a lot of soccer. The other thing that amazes me is how many people follow international leagues like the English Premiership and German Bundesliga. My soccer team, sponsored by the Lock & Keel pub (owned by our sweeper), boasts ardent, knowledgeable fans of Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs, and Arsenal (I'm the lone supporter of the Gunners). Also, seven blocks from our house, the George & Dragon pub usually has standing room only on Saturday and Sunday mornings, with folks packing in to follow their clubs and have an English breakfast. Anyway, what this all means to me is that Seattle seems to have a strong fan base to support a thriving MLS club.
But before we chat about the 2009 Sounders, let's take a trip back in time. You see, the first incarnation of the Seattle Sounders played in the NASL from 1973 through 1984 and actually had a decent amount of success. My memory of the Sounders comes primarily due to the fact that I was a big Cosmos fan in those days and the Sounders lost to the Cosmos in the Soccer Bowl (NASL's version of the Super Bowl) in both 1977 and 1982. The 1977 game was decided by one of the worst goalkeeping blunders of all time. After folding in 1983, the Sounders did come back as a semi-pro team from 1994 through 2008, winning four championships over that time. There are even a couple of players from this squad that are now on the roster for the new pro Sounders.


It's amazing that we have Drew Carey to thank, in part, for the new Sounders. About a year and a half ago, he and Mr. Microsoft Multimillions, Paul Allen, purchased the rights to the franchise here. They seem to have brought in a great management team and supposedly have sold more than 20,000 season tickets. That's more season tickets than the Mariners sell. And so, they take the field tonight against the New York Red Bulls with a Sounders team that includes Swedish star Freddie Ljungberg (an Arsenal mainstay for most of the 2000s) and Kasey Keller (longtime star goalkeeper for the U.S. National Team). I'm excited to get out to see them play, but won't be able to do so until they take on the LA Galaxy on May 11. I'll be sure to give you all an update after that game to let you know about the Sounder stadium experience.

I Love My Neighbors

A new post will be coming soon, but here's a short story to tide you over:

We have a little market three blocks from the house called Marketime which is a pretty well stocked small, independent grocery. Recently, I've been witness to a man in the store, a rather large man, who lumbers with a purpose while shopping. Then, while checking out he states to the cashier in a somewhat aggravated voice bordering on shouting:

"I would like you to place my items in two plastic bags. I would also like a receipt so I can have a record of what I am purchasing."

After the transaction, he then proceeds to rip up the receipt, making certain the cashier can see him, while stating, "I am now ripping up the receipt into many pieces and throwing it in the trash can."

I've seen this happen twice, but apparently it has been a regular occurrence recently and the cashiers have shifted from being totally scared for their lives to more of a feeling of cautious whimsy.

Thanks to this man for my weekly dose of entertainment...until he snaps at some point and we hear, "I am now strangling this cashier for giving me incorrect change."

Surprise?!?!

Given that this blog was on hiatus for nearly a year, there are tons of things we have waiting in the wings to bring loyal readers up to date and more fun stories to share regarding our little corner of the Northwest. But excuse me for this post as its setting brings us back to the NJ home of our hero. Lisa and I spent Thanksgiving 2008 there and while it's always great seeing the family and catching up with friends in the area, this weekend had a highlight.

Now Thanksgiving fell just close enough to the date that marked two score years since my birth to tempt my wife and my mother to plan a surprise party, but would they go through the effort? I first had an inkling when my mother, far in advance of the Thanksgiving weekend, said that we would be going out to a family dinner the day after Thanksgiving to celebrate my birthday. Silly girls. Did they really think they could pull one over on me. But I needed to be sure, so put my evil plan into action. Now going through the effort of planning a party for someone is a great gesture, but if they were planning something, I would have no choice but to repay this effort on my mom's part by being as difficult as possible.

I started about a week before Thanksgiving, asking my mom if we could move the dinner to Saturday since I wanted to meet up with some friends on Friday. Mom may have gotten a bit flustered, but she was up to the task. "Uh, I don't think that's going to work, your brother has to drive back to Virginia on Saturday." Well played, Mom. Now at this point, I still wasn't positive that they were planning a party, so I also started quizzing my friends as to what they were doing over the weekend. Strangely enough all had plans on Friday night, some better constructed than others. I was growing more certain. So it was time to push Mom some more. Dinner was scheduled for 7PM. Could we push it up to six or even five-thirty so I could meet some friends for drinks afterwards? But this was just another speed bump for Mom who deftly and flawlessly delivered some excuse about my aunt being unable to make it up before seven or something like that. Kudos. I'd have to kick it up a notch.

Time to push another button, so I started to work on Lisa. A few days before we left Seattle, I started griping about being unable to plan dinner with friends due to the family dinner, however, I referred to the dinner as a "party". Lisa's poker face was solid, but not flawless. Was this the tell I was seeking? I was growing more certain.

The day after Thanksgiving arrives and we're getting ready. But something strange is occurring. It's almost seven, we're now running late for our reservation, but Mom is not pushing everyone to finish getting ready and head out the door. Critical break from character, Mom. Now I'm positive that this is a surprise party, so I have the car trip from their house to the restaurant, about 10 minutes to be as big a pain in the ass as I can.

Me: "Where are Kathleen and Lou?"
Mom: "They're meeting us at the restaurant."
Me: "I had kind of a late lunch, can we just stop at McDonald's for a snack instead of dinner?"
Me: "How long do you think this dinner will take, I still want to try to meet up with some friends?"

And so on...

We arrive at the restaurant and I see my friends' cars scattered throughout the parking lot. So now it is the moment of truth. Do I act surprised? No, that would be disingenuous, plus I'm not that good of an actor. I had thought about so many entrances, including going the route of RT's dad, Buz, who actually had a shirt made up that said "Surprise!!", which he wore under a sweater and unveiled upon entering his surprise 60th birthday party just as everyone was screaming same. I instead walked into the room with my phone held up and snapped a picture of the crowd as they cheered and snapped their own photos. I wish I had a better shot of this, but my photography skills were sorely lacking at the moment so I didn't capture the surprised looks on their faces.

A great time was had by all, and I feel bad for testing my mom and not being surprised. I really did appreciate that she and Lisa went through the effort to put together a great evening. And I can't wrap this up without a shout to Battle-sis, who actually fought for hours with fondant to make a great cake. I'm really hoping in ten years, we can just plan it together. It was really too much work on my end.

"Wait...did you say WEST of Seattle?"

Sometimes when telling someone from the other coast about the area here, I'll start with the phrase, "Well, to the west of Seattle is..." At this point I almost always get a strange look and I know exactly what's going through the listener's head:

"Hmmm, he must have misspoken. Seattle is a Pacific port city so it must be as far west as you can go without being waist deep in Pacific Ocean. Yes, he must have misspoken. I'll correct him."

"Are you sure you meant 'west' of Seattle?"

Well, for those of you that know the area or have already looked at a map, you can ignore the next paragraph. Now everyone has seen the waterfront skyline of Seattle on Grey's Anatomy, but this is actually the Puget Sound, more specifically Elliot Bay, that fronts the city. In reality, to the west of Seattle, prior to hitting the Pacific Ocean, there exists, in no particular order: a bay, a sound, a mountain range, a national park, an 8,000-foot peak, an Indian reservation, a rainforest, and the setting for the Twilight movies. What's most amazing to me is that all of this sits within an area of only about 3,000 square miles, roughly the combined size of Rhode Island and Delaware. It's the Olympic Peninsula.

The reason I write about this is because we've been out there, but have so much more to explore that we figured an introduction was necessary for those that are uninitiated. I recently read an article about how two buddies crossed the Olympic Peninsula, 110 miles east to west, on foot and inflatable raft in five days, through Hayden Pass, which is about 5,400 feet. Kudos. We have no inclination to do this. However, between all of the aforementioned things the area has to offer, plus over 100 hikes, we can keep ourselves busy there for a while.

Our first jaunt to the peninsula was last September for a relatively short hike to the top of Mt. Zion. We had to find a hike that was somewhat close, relatively low impact per Lisa's request, and allows dogs. We packed a lunch and headed out. Although the day was sunny when we left Seattle, there was intermittent cloud cover in the mountains, but we forged ahead. The clouds hung around, so the payoff at the top was not what we had hoped, but Fozzie had a blast. He would sprint ahead a hundred yards or so up the trail and then back to us, repeating this all the way to the summit. His payoff at the summit came in the payoff two other dogs that came with the three hikers we met at the top. The dogs spent their time chasing each other around the clearing and into and out of the surrounding trees. After lunch, we made our way back down and headed home. All told, we drove for about three hours and hiked for about three hours.

So now we have a great list of things to do on the peninsula, from hiking, to visiting the rainforest, and even visiting the Pacific Ocean, which amazingly enough, we've not done yet. More on the Olympic Peninsula to come.

The Yearlong Sabbatical Has Done Us Good?

Hi loyal blog viewers. And I know that there are several of you out there that have not given up on "Emerald City Styling" and still check every couple of weeks, clinging to the fleeting hope that this blog had not become extinct. It is you loyal few that will get the greatest charge now that you're here and no longer have to see that photo of the Canada/US international boundary marker at the top of the blog. This is our gift to you since after a year long hibernation, we're back, baby!!

I really have no idea how long I'll keep it up, and as loyal readers know, Lisa is not to be counted on for more than a post per decade. I make no promises, but frankly, we keep this blog more for ourselves than for the masses, so please enjoy while it lasts. On the bright side, we do have a lot to write about since this blog dropped off the face of the earth, so watch this space.