Saturday 7Jan- day 1

So it's Saturday. What to do on a rainy Seattle Saturday? I consider going down to the famous Pike Fish Market, but Ann is driving down to the University district, and the main street called "the Ave", so I catch a ride. It's a long straight street, crammed full of eateries, coffee lounges, shops, anything a High School student might spend their parents' money on. I start at Bulldog news, a large newsagents/coffee shop/internet cafe. This gives me the chance to go online for a bit and catch up with the world I left behind. So I email a few folks to say I have made it over, I check the news, I check the footy scores. Liverpool won an amazing FA cup tie with Luton Town by 5 goals to 3 (after being 3-1 down!) It's the kind of scoreline which could have happened under the previous manager Gerard Houllier, but it does seem now that the team has more of a backbone, and has more faith in their own ability to come back. My thoughts return to that comeback and the glorious night in May when I ended up in the seafront off Mull, displaying my lucky pants to one and all (i.e. Rosy, two drunk blokes and a confused looking seagull). It might not match the stories of those who found their way over to Istanbul, but never mind.

After that, I trawl up and down, window shopping ("American Apparel", local record store, drugstore for cough medicine) and meeting crazies. Perhaps because of the student population, there seem to be a fair few people on the street, down on their luck, asking for change. The strangest thing is the response you get, whether you give or not- "you have a nice day now!" The area has a busy, friendly feel, with the crazies and the druggies rubbing shoulders with the students and the ordinary punters.

A couple of hours fly by and I make my home via the bus. I need to catch a 71, but the 72 turns up, so I ask the driver if he goes onto 65th Street.
"Uh huh."
Some people get off the bus past me.
"You gone wait till folks get off?!" he shouts.
"Sorry mate."
I get off and wait for them. This is local knowledge- they don't say in the Lonely Planet that the driver will bawl you out if you get on before people have got off. Ne'er mind. They also don't tell you that when you are going towards downtown, you pay when you get on, and when you are going the other way, you pay when you get off. And the ticket you get on disembarking is a "transfer" and lets you get back on another bus within the next couple of hours!! Anyhow, I take a seat and a big guy next to me starts mumbling at me. "Fifty sint, fifty sint... fifty sint, fifty sint" I work out he is asking me for 50 cents and politely decline. This distracts me somewhat, and the next thing, the driver is calling out "80th Street". I have missed my stop by quite some way, and the bus didn't turn on to 65th, it just went past it. I put 1 dollar and 25 cents (5 quarters!) into his machine, and get a transfer ticket. "I even called it fo you" says the driver as I slope off. I think he feels a bit sorry for me.

It's a fair old walk back to 6041, and after some food, I think about going back down to the Ave to watch a movie. I'd like to see "King Kong", and you get your moneysworth with 3 long hours of hot gorilla action. I also consider geting back on a bus and going over to a neighbouring area where the "George & Dragon" pub (allegedly the only English pub in Seattle), is showing the Liverpool match. But I am too darn tired and snotty, and I wouldn't make it over for the kickoff, so I treep up to my little bed.