Sleepless in Seattle

Hands trapped under wheel

Without planning to we ended up staying in Seattle for a whole week! Our host Elisa has been so warm and welcoming that at times her 1930s flat in the leafy neighboorhood of Wallingford has felt like our own personal base. Her incredible openess has also led to some great experiences...

Bigfoot sighting

After a honeymoon period following in the wake of the dark financial cloud that was hanging over us, we got down to business and set about putting our plan to action. Part two of our financial bailout solution was to purchase a vehicle that could fulfill the twin roles of accommodation and transportation. Having already identified said vehicle online, we embarked on the hellish journey across the city by bus, which strengthened our resolve to rejoin the car-driving public as soon as possible. 

any ideas?

We arrived at the garage with a clear game plan to start negotiations at $1600, a comfortable $400 under the asking price. Mike strode confidently up to the salesman, delivered a perfectly rehearsed monologue detailing the van's weak points, then in the heat of the moment blurted "will you do it for $1850?" As Tom's head hit his hands in disbelief, Jeff had already shaken on the price and presented us with the paperwork.

Meet Spot!

In our hurried excitement to make Spot (the van) our own, we had overlooked the problems inherent with getting insurance as an international driver, especially on a Saturday afternoon. Three major insurance companies had outright refused to cover us and we were beginning to wonder if it was even possible. Clearly nervous about an imminent sale slipping away, Jeff assured us that a guy in the deserted shack-like building next door would definitely be able to sort our insurance on Monday. Still clutching the van keys, we convinced ourselves that Jeff was a trustworthy chap, handed over the credit card, and braced ourselves for a weekend of tortured waiting. 

To take our minds off the potentially huge mistake we had made we accepted an invitation to spend the evening with Elisa's friends and parents. Friendly Seattlites flooded into the neat suburban house in Ballard, a few miles from Elisa's home, carrying swathes of home cooked delicacies to contribute to the meal. We brought a crate of PBR. We had a great night, savouring our most wholesome meal so far, mixing with people of all different backgrounds and ages, and learning a lot about Seattle from its natives. We left feeling honoured to have been involved in this family of close friends that meet up for such get-togethers at least once a week - a truly admirable and for us unusual thing. As the crowd of friends (and our PBR's) dissipated, and keen not to outstay our welcome, we decided to walk home and struck out into the drizzle. As the rain intesified we had no choice but to dive into the nearest drinking establishment; Hazelwood, on Ballard High Street.

Seattle friends!

We perched ourselves at the bar and explained our American beer label quest to Jessica, the barmaid, who tentatively revealed there were no bottles (ie no labels) on sale. Visibly heartbroken, we sulkily resigned ourselves to the bar's cheapest brew...in label-less can form. A mischievous look lit up Jessica's eyes as she turned to fetch our beverages. As we filled the suspiciously long wait for our drinks, we were arrested by the conspicuous tones of a South London accent drifting through the bar. The instant banter with our newfound compatriot was briefly interrupted by a beaming bar maid proudly presenting our cans - complete with custom drawn post-it note labels! 

ltd edition labels

Tom was disqualified for his sneaky unicorn entry

We discovered that Jessica is a comic artist, soon to release her first book of comic strips (raincloudwithabartab.wordpress.com) confirming our new labels' status as the most valuable in our collection. The night descended into a blurry kaleidoscope of memories including a pony-drawing competition and an invitation to stay in a wooden cabin on Mt Ranier. The night came to a memorable end with the wind whistling through our steadily thickening road beards as we thundered through the streets of Seattle in the back of Elisa's pick-up truck. 

crossing the border

So much happened in Seattle that to do it justice we'd have to (and will at some point) cut together a film montage with some cheesy music, maybe something from the Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack. The written blog equivalent won't be quite as impactful but just try to imagine it: Drinking red wine and discussing language and politics with our host's parents, meeting a local radio D.J in a bar, then hearing her on her show the next day, meeting the Mercury Prize winning band The XX and discussing life on the road (their tour bus was only slightly more impressive than Spot), watching the Seattle Sounders soccer team in the Champion's League, shooting pool with the gentle giant Darwin, eating the best pizza of our lives for next to nothing in one of the ubiquitous Seattle happy hours, playing football in the back-streets with homeless Mexicans, late night drunken parkour run with some local kids, meeting a car full of Portsmouth fans as we did keep-ups at the base of the Space Needle...the list goes on. Seattle was a rollercoaster of experieces, all made possible by our amazing host Elisa.

On Monday morning we returned to the insurance shack, and after some worryingly simple paperwork, we were legitimate owners of a '92 Chevy Astrovan: Spot. 

We cut Seattle loose and headed East to join Elisa and friends in the Cascade Mountains for Oktoberfest: an annual German-themed beer festival at the permanently Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth.