Seattle, WA

Today was meant to start in Pike Place Market, but it seems that only the fresh food stores are open on Sunday. So Matt and I walk up to Seattle’s Space Needle (their Centrepoint Tower), where I buy a City Pass Ticket, which gets me into Space Needle, The Aquarium, Science Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Flight Museum and the zoo. We go up the 180-metre tower, which gives a great view over the city and Puget Sound.

Me @ Seattle's Space Needle

When we come down we walk along the waterfront, past all the piers and their attractions. We had pizza for lunch – and tried to push all you can eat to new levels. After this Matt left, as he heads back home to San Francisco via Portland. I continue to hang around the waterfront, while waiting for some film to be developed from the wedding. It’s a beautiful afternoon, but too late to start anything, so I enjoy the sun before walking south along the water and then back up First Street to the hostel. Here I rang Amy and spoke for half an hour – I hate that it’s going to be 2 weeks before I see her again. The rest of the evening is spent catching up with my diary and sending emails and working out what to do tomorrow.

Port Townsend, WA to Seattle, WA

We left Port Townsend at 10am this morning and headed to Port Angeles, about 50 miles west of where we are. We arrive at midday and while Matt has his meeting, I’m left to my own devices. The first thing I did was call Amy. How is it after knowing her for less than a week, and leaving her only 2 days ago, I pine for her like nothing else? (Rhetorical – as I already know the answer). We spoke for an hour and would’ve kept going except there were other people wanting to use the phone. The other hour was spent floating around Port Angeles – up and down the main the main street and down by the harbor (a couple of photos for the memory).

I met up with Matt again at 2pm and we headed off to Seattle. To do so we drove back to Port Townsend to catch a ferry across to Keystone (half an hour). We then drove half an hour to Clinton, where another quick ferry got us to Mukilteo. From there it’s an hour’s drive south down the I-5 to Seattle. We got to the hostel at 6pm.

I got everything settled before having a quick bite to eat and deciding on what to do.

We decided to chance our luck and see if we could get tickets to the Violent Femmes at the Moore Theatre . We got tickets from the box office, for about a third of the price as what you would pay in Oz, general admission, walked in, and found seats in the row behind the dance floor – incredible. We got there half way through the support act, El Destroyo, and at 9pm the Femmes came on stage. They started off playing oldschool (“Promise”, “Black Girls” and “Blister In The Sun”, etc for which the crowd went apeshit) for about 40 minutes. Then they played some stuff I didn’t know – I assumed it is from their new album “Freak Magnet”. The band seemed a lot more enthused during the second half of the set, and when the band was joined by the singer’s brother and sister the band looked really ready to rock. Once they played “Old Mother Reagan” both crowd and band were fully pumped. The last part of the gig saw a mix of new and old stuff, which the crowd lapped up. “American Music”, “Add It Up”, “Gone Daddy Gone” and “Freak Magnet”. The band played for 2 hours before doing “Kiss Off” as their encore. I am so glad we went. All that from about five metres away from the band. Went back to the hostel buzzing.

The Crap Facts

This is my 184th concert.

Moore Theater is the 46th venue I've seen a concert in.

Seattle is the 34th city I've seen a concert in.

Washington is the 5th state I've seen a concert in.

The USA is the 3rd country I've seen a concert in.

El Destroyo are the 243rd band I've seen in.

This is my 4th Violent Femmes concert.

Portland, OR to Port Townsend, WA

Matt & I left the hostel at 10am this morning. It’s about a 4 hour drive to Seattle from Portland. We stopped at a Denny’s for lunch on the way. It was my small token of appreciation for the ride north.

We made another stop before heading into Seattle, then heading out to Port Townsend. Matt has a business meeting in nearby Port Angelus in the morning. After that he is coming back to Seattle, so I will tag along for a couple of days. To get to Port Townsend we have to catch a ferry to Bainbridge Island. This 35-minute ferry ride is beautiful. The mountains that surround the Puget Sound are snow capped and huge. Hope the photos turn out OK. Once we reach Bainbridge Island it’s another hours drive before we reach Port Townsend.

Seattle From The Bainbridge Island Ferry

The Port Townsend Hostel is set on an old army base camp and is fairly remote. Once we get our stuff in, we drive into town to have a look around. The main street was as good as closed (it was 6.30pm, so it was to be expected), but we did a lot of window gazing before heading to a pub, Sirens, for a drink.

It’s fairly quiet in town all around, so after a beer we head off in search of dinner. We stop at a Chinese restaurant, Zhang’s Garden, just at the edge of town. Here we manage to eat our way through the world’s worst Chinese food. God it was awful. But food all the same.

We head back to the hostel after dinner for a quiet one. But a peaceful night’s sleep is impossible as there is a snorer in the room.

Portland, OR

Started off today by walking down West Burnside Avenue this morning and through the 2 big record stores there. What I wouldn’t do for more money and room in my backpack. But I controlled myself well and didn’t but anything.

Amy picked me up at the bookstore again today and I went with her to one of her jobs before we went up to Washington Park again to have lunch.

After lunch she dropped me off at the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), where she leaves me jaded / down / hammered / in despair, as we are not certain at the moment whether we’ll see each other again. All going well, I’ll come back to visit her once I’ve been to the Bahamas. She is talking of traveling in the near future, so maybe we can do some together. We'll be in touch, that's for sure. The OMSI is not dissimilar to the Powerhouse Museum at home – but aimed more at kids. I wish I’d known that before I went in – but it was still fairly interesting – with exhibits about geology (earthquakes, natural disasters, etc), the body and technology. From here I walked back over the Hawthorne Bridge, through, downtown, and past the hostel and up to the northwest between 21st and 24th Streets. This part of town is full of small, trendy shops, cafes and galleries, not to mention great for people watching (kind of like the Newtown of Portland).

I was back at the hostel by 8pm and spent the evening meeting people (i.e., Jim from Wollongong, Paul from Minnesota and Esau from Vancouver) and catching up on my diary. Dinner was last night’s barbeque leftovers.

Portland, OR

Amy called this morning to say she was working from home and wanted to know if I wanted to hang out. She lives only 5 blocks from the hostel, so I walked over there for the morning. She drove me up to Washington Park where we had lunch surrounded by the beautiful rose gardens. We then drove around the north east of the city, as Amy had do some work in this area.

Amy & I @ Washington Park, Portland, OR

She dropped me downtown so I could do some more sightseeing, which I did until 4pm. I headed back to the hostel as to tidy up as Amy and I are off to the movies tonight.

Two blocks from the hostel is the Mission Theatre that is showing Being John Malkovich for $2. The theatre is an old time classic, and a sight in itself – with its own bar, balcony area, where you could be waited on, and piano (I felt like we should have been watching an old silent movie). The movie was bizarre but hilarious, who could’ve ever come up with a concept like that – it has been a long time since I’ve seen a movie this original. All of this and great company as well.

Because Amy is a Southerner (North Carolina) she insisted that I had to have barbeque. We drove all around northeast Portland until we found Yam Yams – a barbeque diner, where we ate ribs, fried ochre, red beans and sweet potato pie. I ate enough to do me a lifetime and there was still plenty left over. Over the last 2 days I have enjoyed the real American eating experience (mac and cheese yesterday, barbeque tonight). We drove around and talked till late, when Amy dropped me off at the hostel.

Portland, OR

I woke up early this morning to see Kern and Luvo off. They had an 8am flight back to Dublin.

I left the hostel at 9am to start another day of wandering around Portland – no real agenda, just wandering around this cool city.

I met Amy at Powell’s Bookstore at 12pm and we went over to the Hawthorne area to have lunch in a park on the east side of town. The park is on a hill that overlooks Mt Rainier – it’s really weird for me to be in the middle of a city, yet surrounded by snow-capped mountains. We finished lunch at 2pm and drove back downtown.

Amy & I @ Lunch

Amy dropped me off at the Portland Art Museum where I saw the Stroganoff Exhibition. The Stroganoff Family were prolific Russian art collectors around the time of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. This exhibit is 230 pieces of art, which is normally housed in the Hermitage in St Petersburg, or Russian Museum (and originally from the Stroganoff Palace). It was a bit of a flashback to when I was in Russia. Some of the art looked familiar, while definitely the portraits were of people as I remembered seeing them.

Later that night, in the hostel, I met a guy from King Island, Australia, Matt (who now lives in San Francisco), who will be giving me a lift to Seattle in a couple of days. He sells scuba gear and is heading up to Washington for work. We spent the night hanging out at the hostel.

Portland, OR

Troy and I started wandering around Portland at 10am. The Lonely Planet suggests the east side of the river as an interesting part of town. So we crossed the Hawthorne Bridge to see what we could find. After 15 blocks we gave up and headed north to cross Burnside Bridge back to the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. We hung out here for a while before going to the visitor center to check things out before continuing to roam the streets.

Portland is a real beautiful city. Heaps of trees, not a lot of people – those that are around are quite friendly and helpful.

Got back to the hostel at 4pm to find Luvo had arrived from Jacksonville and Amy had dropped by to see what we were up to for the evening. I rang her and found out that she was holding a tequila party as part of her work and she asked whether we were interested in going. Free tequila – if we must. The promo lasted until we couldn’t take any more margaritas and tequila sunrises. We then kicked on for a small pub crawl around town. Starting at Huber’s, we moved on to Kells and another bar before stumbling back to the hostel at 2am. Not before I walked Amy home.

I think Portland is a city I could live in – if it was a bit warmer.

Too Much To Drink

Amy, Me, TK and Luvvo @ Hubers, Portland, OR

Amy & I @ Hubers

Jacksonville, OR to Portland, OR

A let me drive her car back to Larry’s this morning so I could get my stuff together. She is going to drive Kern and I to Portland this afternoon.

We made our way to Uncle John’s, where Larry had some heavy Bloody Marys ready for everyone. We snacked on breakfast before heading up to the Britt to help clean up. That didn’t take to long, and straight after it was back to Uncle John’s for lunch and then goodbyes.

A, Troy and I left at 3pm, headed for Portland. The drive up is beautiful, with magnificent views of Mt Hood and Mt St Helens. All up it takes only 5 hours to get to Portland, where we check into the Portland Hostel not far from A's place. Later, A takes us up to a lookout that gives a panoramic view of Portland and its four surrounding mountains. We all had dinner at a Thai restaurant in the northwest section of the city, to be followed by a quiet, alcohol-free night (the first in a while) back at the hostel.

Jacksonville, OR

Someone woke up a little nervous this morning. All things considered, though, Naags is holding up extremely well. I can’t wait for this afternoon – should be awesome. Another spa last night must be holding back the hangovers – whatever it is I wish I could have it all the time.

I went into town and met up with Lewy, Jane, Beno, Darv, Darren and Emily to have lunch.

Preparations at the wedding were done at Larry’s before going to the Britt via Beno and Jane’s cottage. It is here that I first meet A. I was awestruck, and unable to speak. But she snobbed me. Not a god sign, but things can only get better from here.

The weather today is perfect, not a cloud to be seen. It’s not hot by any means, but no sign of the cool, wet weather we have been having – a great day to be married outside. The ceremony was held on the grass in front of the stage. As the groomsmen (Cisco, Josh, Kern and Luvo) waited with the minister, Mr and Mrs Nagle were the first to appear, followed by Fabrizio and Mrs Neuman (who hasn’t stopped smiling for the last week). The bridesmaids walked down the isle, one by one, and through the crowd. Lastly was Casi –who looked radiant - and her Dad. The ceremony felt peaceful and very loving – with teary bride and bridesmaids included. When the bride and groom kissed a loud cheer was to be heard – not an unhappy person to be found anywhere. As the wedding party went off to have photos taken, guests milled around the seated area to start on drinks and nibblies. There were around 130 people at the wedding and I’m pretty sure I met all of them. Everyone got on well, beginning what was to be an awesome night (especially for me). I’m on a table with John G, Sadie, Mira, Jonathan, Matt, Darren and A (which was a set up by Casi, as I later found out). Just before dinner, when the Nagles returned, the large doors on the stage were drawn back to reveal the semi-outdoor dining area. Dinner was a buffet, with salmon and steak, with wine provided from John G’s vineyard (very handy having him at your table. Glug, glug). Once the band started the tables were cleared and everyone was dancing – including a Britt-long conga. The night ended with A and I slow dancing as Chris and Casi left in a vintage car.

Casi & Her Dad Walk Down The Isle

Naags & His Groomsmen Wait

Mr & Mrs Nagle

Coasty Boys

Reception Dinner @ The Britt Jacksonville, OR

Lewy, Me Naags, Luvvo & Kern With Our Host Larry

A, Benno, Jane, Darv, Me & Belinda Between The Wedding & The Pub

A & I On The Night We Met

From the Britt we headed back to the Bella Union to kick on. I think Chris and Casi were the only people from the wedding who were not there.

Once the pub closed we headed to a house party a few blocks away.

In the early hours of the morning I walked A back to the cottage where she was staying. What a night – and I wonder what will come of A and I?

Jacksonville, OR

Unsurprisingly there is a late start for us today.

I slept through breakfast and was woken up in time to be told we were headed for Uncle John’s. When we got there Naags and the boys tried on their suits. Once all adjustments were sorted, Naags took us (Jane, Beno, Josh, Belinda, Darv, Luvo, Kern, Fabrizio and I) for a hike up through the Britt Amphitheatre, where the wedding will be tomorrow, and the surrounding hills of Jacksonville.

Jane, Beno, Darv and I got lunch from the local supermarket while the wedding party went to Medford to get the final touches on their suits.

On their return we went up to the Britt to help set up everything for the reception for tomorrow. On our way back we, fortunately for him, ran into the very lost Lewy, and guided him in the right direction.

Our night out tonight was at a local bar, the Bella Union. While the rehearsal dinner was held upstairs, other guests kicked the night off downstairs, only to be joined by the others later in the evening. Thanks to the wedding guests the bar was packed. A local band, Leadfoot, played all the crowd favorites and made for an awesome night. Catching up with everyone, Chris and Casi’s wedding, mixed with San Francisco’s own version of the Coasties is making this weekend one to remember.

San Francisco, CA to Jacksonville, OR

Today is a driving day. We are heading to Jacksonville, Oregon – the venue for the Nagle wedding on Saturday. We pick up some people at the Nagle hotel, and headed over to Andy’s place, where everyone was distributed to cars. I am with Andy, Peter and Michelle. The drive takes 8 hours and we have a ball. Naags’ friends have been nothing but friendly and gracious to me since I’ve been here, and this trip is no exception.

After a lunch stop and a missed turn off on the highway we arrived in Jacksonville around 6pm-ish and went to Casi’s Uncle John’s place, where the party seemed to be starting to brew.

After a quick meet and greet, and a reunion with Jane and Beno (who I haven’t seen for 2 years) we went out to Larry’s place. Larry is a Neuman family friend who is kindly putting up the Aussie boys for the weekend. And to call Larry a character is an understatement. An ex-Arizona State Trooper, Larry greeted us in full cowboy regalia – boots, flanno, chaps and ten-gallon hat – with a big “Howdy!” We were shown to our sleeping quarters – Fabrizio (Naag’s best man) and I have scored the outstanding John Wayne Suite.

But now – time to party and celebrate.

An open fire BBQ in the backyard, complete with bails of hay, cowboy hats for all and a bucket of tequila. (Can you say hangover?) We were in for a huge night. The highlight as definitely the Chris Nagle Matrimonious Trio (Naag’s, Andy and Ali), who entertained the crowd with everything from Johnny Cash, the Rolling Stones and Men At Work, and kept us singing in good voice. The party didn’t finish once the masses left, as Larry put the spa on and we had a impromptu Aussie bucks night, which basically involved a bunch of drunken blokes having a good old laugh. At 5am I was happy to get to bed.

Jane, Darv, Kern, Benno @ Luvo @ Larry's

Chris Nagle Matrimonious Trio

The Boys, Together Again

Party @ Larry's in Jacksonville, OR

San Francisco, CA

This morning started with a drive around San Francisco with Naags, Josh and Belinda. We did the Full House / Mrs Doubtfire / Ocean Beach tour again before driving aimlessly around the city.

Naags had to do some immigration stuff so dropped us off around 12pm. I took this time to relax and get some laundry done.

When he came back we went for a quick beer and feed, before he went to the airport to pick up Kern and Luvo. I waited at the flat as both Lewy and Darv arrived. By the time Naags got the others back from the airport, we were ready for a big reunion night out. We picked up Josh, Belinda, Darren (a mate of Naags’ from home) and Emily (Darren’s partner) and headed for Shanghai Kelly’s, with a quick food stop on the way. At Kelly’s we were joined by Paul and Cisco and drank into the early hours of the morning.

Sunset From Naag's Roof Looking @ Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, CA

Up the hill, behind the hostel, is Coit Tower. This tower is kind of shaped like a hose nozzle. San Francisco local eccentric, Lillie Hancock Coit, financed the 70-meter tall building in order to express her obsession with fire, and as a memorial to firefighters who worked endlessly during San Francisco’s earthquake in 1906.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

From here I walked across town to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Highlights include; a collection of modernist paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Miro and Tanguay: black and white photographs by an Austrian woman by the name of Germaine Krell – whose main focus was people and steel structures (interesting combination); and a retrospective of a local artist, Sol le Witt, whose work involved mainly squares and squiggles. (I know my description sounds basic, but it was fascinating work). For me though the best part of the museum was the two Dali paintings side by side. “Oedipus Complex” and “Unsatisfied Desires” are paintings that I have read about, so was overjoyed to actually see them.

After the museum I walked back to the hostel to transfer all my stuff to Naags’ place. We spent the afternoon with Andy and Ali, who had come around to play guitar, which they will be doing at a pre-wedding party this weekend.

Later in the night the four of us picked up Josh and Belinda and went to play basketball (I am so useless at that sport). Better still we went for a couple of beers at a local pub to celebrate Anzac Day.

Reno, NV to San Francisco, CA

I woke up stiff and sore, as a Daewoo Lanos is not much bigger than my old 121, so although I slept well, it has been a long time since I was that uncomfortable.

I restarted my trip early in the morning on another pleasant day. Mind you, with no radio, this is a long trip. The drive was relatively uneventful except that I got pulled over for speeding on the south side of Lake Tahoe. I was doing 50 mph unknowingly in a 35 zone. The cop was nice enough to let me off with a warning.

Came into San Francisco via the Bay Bridge and checked back into the Green Tortoise before taking the car back to the airport. Once again I was on the bus back into town. This time when I got off I immediately started with the tourist thing and wandered the streets. I went looking for the Cartoon Museum, but could not find it.

That evening I caught up with Naags and his family (Mr & Mrs Naags, Josh and Belinda, and Chris' Uncle Graham and Aunty Wendy) at an Italian restaurant right near the hostel.  Had an early night tonight, which is a blessing after the last week.

Las Vegas, NV to Reno, NV

I went and had lunch with Dave & Melissa and 2 of their friends from New Jersey, Jennifer and Eddy, at the Hard Rock Café (surprise, surprise). The 4 of them collect Hard Rock pins and met a couple of months ago at a convention in Stockholm. The afternoon was spent trading pins and catching up before Dave left for work and I went to pick up my ride back to San Francisco. I left Vegas at 6pm and made my way via Reno. Just after 1am I stopped the car in a rest area just outside of Reno, and crashed for the night.