Mike. After requesting and searching for hosts, Mike of Seattle’s Capitol Hill district offered me a spot on his couch while I killed time in the city. (and look at what a sweet couch it is!)
Considering I make such sporadic travel plans and don’t like imposing on other people, Couchsurfing doesn’t necessarily seem like an obvious activity for me. As a surfer you may end up a little restricted to your host’s schedule – or maybe you’ll be given a spare key. Your host might have oodles of free time and be bursting to play tour guide, or maybe they’re just willing to offer a couch to someone. I’m no expert, but in some ways it seems like Couchsurfing can limit the traveler to the knowledge and time of his or her host.*I had a fine time while in Seattle! I’m just speculating on what could be limitations of the concept.*
Since Mike plays in 2 different bands and was busy trying to finish planning a multi-month world tour, he was a little busy. However, I was able to come and go as I pleased, and he was more than happy to give me suggestions on inexpensive things to do and places to explore. We also were joined by one of his housemates on some evening forays to sample some local beers. Seattle sure has a couple of those!
So that I don’t go off on a lot of tangents about my visit that happened months ago, I’ve decided to just include some pictures with brief captions that highlight my stay.
In my wandering I discovered how expansive and unique the Seattle Public Library is, the tastiness of Ivar’s Fish Bar (a Seattle classic icon, I hear), and the fantastic world of Metzker Maps. In the library I found myself in a section with presidential speeches going back to Jefferson’s day! One evening there I listened to Camille Paglia give a presentation on her book Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art from Egypt to Star Wars. It wasn’t my usual cup of tea, but I figured a little “culture” is good every now and then.
I enjoyed some tasty chowder at Ivar’s, but Metzker Maps was my true gem of a find in Seattle. I happened to stumble upon it right in the Pike Place area, and I’m so glad I did. It’s a traveler’s treasure trove of maps, atlases, globes, travel guides, travel essays, stories, etc. Of course I naturally gravitated toward anything remotely NZ-related. I couldn’t help it!!
The store reminded me of my question: Why settle down and stop the adventuring? Why should entire stores be devoted to maps and travel if we’re supposed to find a house, start a potentially boring job, and never leave because we don’t have the vacation days?! Needless to say, I had a hard time moving on from Metzker, and I’ll definitely be stopping in there again when I’m back in town. It’s even a store my dad wouldn’t mind spending time in, which is really saying something!
Matt, a friend from the Riverboat, recently moved to Seattle to train for curling, so I took a nighttime stroll to his neck of the woods one night. That was a small adventure – as my long walks usually tend to be. It reminded me why Fairbanks is such a great “city”. You can walk or bike from one side to another or find someone to give you a ride rather easily! Even without the wheels for easy transportation, it was nice to see a familiar face after spending a few weeks on the road, wondering what exactly would happen next or when I’d see a friend.
Overall I enjoyed having a couch to call my own, some friendly folks to visit with on a regular basis, and the chance to finally explore Seattle. Oh, and I saw my host’s other side. I mentioned Mike is in 2 bands; what I didn’t mention is that he’s a metal artist. (Remember that picture of him and me up near the top of the post? Now look at the picture down below. It’s the same guy! Mellow Mike becomes Metal Mike when he performs. If you were to meet him on the street, you’d never expect it!)
Part of Couchsurfing is getting to know your host… so on pre-Halloween weekend I went to a metal concert at a local bar to hear him play. Talk about not being my typical scene! Since I’ve never really given metal a fair chance, though, I decided I should give it a listen and see my host’s passion. Most of the groups played music I would never listen to – and I couldn’t understand why people would choose to strain their vocal chords like that. Mike’s groups get props for including somewhat understandable vocalizations and decent music, but let’s just say I won’t become a metalhead any time soon. 🙂 My ears thank me now.
When my week was up, I packed up to move south to Eatonville for training. It’s amazing how much life can change when you drive just 65 miles away from a city!