Stay in Seattle

Stay in Seattle

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We went to Kingston to have lunch and had lunch at the Kingston Inn (shown here) which is just above the parking lot where cars wait to board the ferry after they pay. Les had been looking forward to the steamers (steamed clams) as they have such large portions, reportedly about a pound and half of clams. However, they were out that day (and no wonder with such large portions, how can the fishermen keep up). So, we each had fish and chips. I substituted clam chowder for the typical cole slaw and it was really excellent. However, while I am sure that the fish and potatoes were certainly very fresh, I personally prefer Long John Silver's and Captain D's, neither of which I have seen in Washington. What to do?
Here is a picture of Les enjoying a glass of wine after our lunch.
Les had never used a digital camera so I invited him to take a picture of me (the first proof you have that I was actually in Seattle). It looks like he may have a new profession. He has retired from being a civilian working for the Navy and now drives commuter buses part time for the local transit system.
There are a lot of private boats which are docked at Kingston. Les used to have a 24 foot sailing boat that he kept docked here (as the ones on the other side of the sound were much more expensive and had like a seven year waiting list). However, when a heavy snow storm sunk the dock and his boat, he gave it up.
Most barbers in Lynnwood area charge $12 to $14 for a men's haircut, but this place only charged $10, so I got my haircut there. I had heard that there were places that only charged $7 to $9, but they have remained as elusive as the unicorn to me. This is also in the tiny strip mall opposite Bally's where I spent my first night in Washington....
After two weeks of working without a day off, I got a week with no work at all (when it rains it pours, or at least that seems to tbe case in the moving industry). I think the regular guys are more protected from this feast and famine sort of thing, but as I am just there for the summer there is little reason to protect me from the cycles of the industry. Anyway, this is Wayne, the dispatcher, at his desk as seen from the lunch room/driver waiting area.
This is Trip who runs operations at this branch of Bekins. When I first talked with Trip he seemed confident that I could drive for them, but for seem reason they seem to have reconsidered. I am not sure what the misunderstanding was, but now that I am confident that I could drive a truck for them (on simpler jobs), they have not been dispatching me as a driver. The main reason that I was staying on this job for longer than the usual four to six weeks was so that I could get my Class A CDL. Anyway, it seems that fate has recognized that I really don't need to get my Class A CDL.
Riding with and watching the drivers of semi-trailers, I have realized that with patience, time, and practice I would certainly be quite good at driving tractor trailers (as I have generally good mechanical skills). However, there is no particular reason for me to do so (just as I can see how to operate a back hoe and would relish the challenge of learning the skill, there is no particular reason for me to do that either). From talking with different OTR drivers I have gotten a pretty good idea what that job is like and it appeals to me a bit (lots of travelling), but not as much as what I am currently doing (meeting different people, doing different things). Anyway, rather than trying to resolve the misunderstanding, I am just moving on to Labor Works in Ballard, WA. Here is Marilyn. She normally answers the phone whenever I call the 'office' at Bekins.
Here is the side view of the library at Seattle Pacific University. They have excellent internet access and while a bit further away from Labor Works and Trident Seafoods (a couple of miles) than Edmond Community College was to Bekins, they have even better hours.
Here is the front view of Seattle Pacific University Library. They have a very nice campus, but it is right in the middle of an older working class neighborhood so it sort of surprising when you get there (quite a contrast). Their web page makes reference to them being a Christian University, but the only way that is apparent to me is that their library is closed on Sunday. So, on Sunday I have to go elsewhere for library/internet access.
The main campus of University of Washington is only a little further from Labor Works, but parking in the area is really terrible and on campus parking is only really available on Sunday (which happens to be the day I need alternative access). Isn't it neat the way that worked out. Anyway, here is what looks like a cathedral, but it is actually their main library, the old section which is currently under renovation.
Just across from the main library is the undergraduate library which is shown here. Oddly enough, they have two levels of internet access on campus and the undergraduate library attempts to block e-mail access to visitors (a la Rice University). I could get around it, but why bother when the main library has no such restrictions. Isn't that odd!
Behind the older section of the main library (shown two pictures above) is the new section which is where you actually enter the main library while they are renovating the older section. It really is a quite extensive library.

This page was last updated on January 1, 2004