The return to civilization...

After a couple of hours drive from our hotel in Waterville, Washington, we made it to Leavenworth. The town is a small faux bavarian town located in the middle of the mountains in nortern Washington. The city looked nice, but wasn't very big. While the town has a german look to it, it wasn't above allowing merchants from other countries such as Australia set up shop. We didn't see much in Leavenworth, but we did get a chance to go into an authentic german clothing store, where we saw some sexy duds like liederhosen!

After we left Leavenworth, we drove an hour down the road to Rosyln. This was one of my favorite stops on our long journey. This small mining town of probably less than two thousand people was special for one reason... it was the setting for the tv show "Northern Exposure!" We had lunch at "The Brick," a local bar. The place was great because it was probably over a hundred years old. They had what looked like a stream flowing beneath the bar. When we asked what it was for, we were informed it was a spitoon! Where else are you going to find crazy spitoons like that but in Roslyn, WA?

After we left Rosyln, we were on our way back to civilization. First stop, Tacoma! Most people who are reading this are probably asking why anybody would voluntarily go to Tacoma. The reason is simple... Heath Ledger! Specifically, Heath Ledger as some lame character in the movie "10 Things I Hate About You," which was filmed at Stadium High School in Tacoma. We wanted to visit another famous set, so we drove to the high school and it really was impressive. I would have enjoyed going to school there. Ater seeing the school, we drove downtown and found it was nothing special, but we were glad to have seen it nonetheless.

After leaving Tacoma, we were on a mission to get to Seattle. We got there pretty late in the evening and we needed to find a cheap place to stay, so Ryan used our navigation system to find us a spot. We ended up at the "Hillside Motel." We knew something was up when they made us sign a waiver that said we wouldn't engage in gambling, prostitution, or graffiti. The door to our room had a gun shot hole that had been boarded up, so we knew were were in for a treat. We went to bed not knowing whether or not we'd encounter any prostitutes, but awoke to the sound of the motel owner pacing back and forth in the parking lot speaking Korean. Sadly, that was as exciting as it got.

The next day we did all we could to see the city. We ate fresh donuts at the Pike Place Market, and then walked down to Pioneer Square to buy cookies from "Cow Chip Cookies." We then took the underground tour which left from Pioneer Square. The underground tour was basically an informative tour/history lesson which delved into the city's early history. Ryan and I both thoroughly enjoyed it. After taking the tour, we went to the Seattle Center to check out the Space Needle, Science Fiction Museum, and the Experience Music Project. The Space Needle was nothing special (just a high observation tower), but we felt that we needed to go since its a Seattle landmark. The Science Fiction Museum was great. We saw probably the least fearsome security guards ever (they were standing around talking "Star Trek" for an hour). The Experience Music Project was pretty decent though. The musuem had an exhibit which detailed the history of the guitar. Another cool thing about the EMP was the area upstairs which allowed people to learn to play instruments like the bass, guitar, keyboard, and drums. Overall, Seattle was a decent city.

The last thing I want to note about Seattle is "Dick's" Burgers, which is basically the Seattle version of California's "In-N-Out" Burger. Dick's is nothing more than an overpriced burger joint that doesn't allow substitutions or modifications of what's on the menu AND they have the nerve to not give free refills. This is America! Unless the pop comes from the can, every place should give free refills. But I guess I was just pissed about having to buy a seperate pop for Ryan (normally we just share).

-The Guys