Building Castles in Seattle

I figured out where I’d like to spend
All of the days that I don’t want to spend
In Ohio: Seattle.
Things we were promised when we first arrived:
Burritos as big as babies, a cupcake place that would
Make our wildest cupcake dreams come true, organic
Ice cream with all of the flavors we could ever imagine,
A troll beneath a bridge, home-cooked meals, and lots of music.
After a relaxing first night we went out into the city
To visit Pike’s Place and Pioneer Square.
Pike’s Place is a dangerous…place. It’s got tons of
Artisans selling local crafts and produce. Seattle
Is all about organic food – all about a mindful lifestyle.
Big lady at one of the pasta stands speaking to us
As we walked up to check out the free pasta giveaway;
“You guys are pretty!” Us:
“Thanks…” Big lady:
“I’m the resident lesbian so I can say that.” Us:
Totally unsure how to react.
The craziness of the fish-market guys cannot
Accurately be explained in words, so check out the video
Once it goes up. You’ll understand.
We drove by the troll under the bridge. It literally is
A big huge troll underneath a bridge. Not much else
To it, really. Just a gigantic troll who stares at you
As you drive by. We had to be careful, but it realized
That we came in peace and therefore did not steal our
Shoes. Phew. Close one.
The first Starbucks ever is in Seattle. It pretty
Much looks like any other Starbucks. Not much to
Report there, except for the band that was playing outside:
The Cast Iron Maidens.
Solid name. Crazy bunch. Check ‘em.
We met the Brossman family. All 32 of them. Let’s take a
Second to introduce them:
Abby: The youngest of the family, Abs is nothing short of
A soccer star, even though she lost the one game she
Had while we were there by about 6 goals. She’s
Ironic, sardonic, sarcastic, and a total sweetheart.
Oli: Being the only male child in a family with
31 sisters has its advantages. Oli didn’t go to
school once the entire time we were there. When
we asked him about it he said: “Hahahahahaha.”
Solid response. Oli loves soccer so he’s alright by me,
Though he supports the wrong club. We’ll
Let it slide for now.
Karina: This theater-major has got it all. One
Of the members of Annabelle Lee, she writes,
Sings, and plays guitar. Aside from that
She has an infectious laugh and the looks to match
Her stunning voice. And she’s a sweetheart as well.
Yeah, we kind of like her. How’d you know?
Stephanie: The manager in the family, Steph
Doesn’t mess around. She knows what she wants
And she knows how to get it. She’s no exception to the
Beauty that runs in the Brossman family, and she makes
Solid breakfast toast with eggs and cream cheese. A+.
Beverly: Bev is an accomplished flute player
And she just completed her masters in that field. Absolutely
Nasty. And by nasty I mean super sick at the flute. And by
Super sick I mean really, really good. I think
You get the picture, let’s move on.
Mrs. Brossman: Plain and simple: She’s a saint. Enough said.
Mr. Brossman: A man who reminds me of home. Originally
From Germany, Mr. Brossman’s love for Soccer
Is equaled by his love for U.S. History. He caught Dev off guard
By knowing everything there is to know about the history
Of New York. Good times.
Mr. Brossman: 1
Dev: 0
And now on to the Corcoran family:
Matt: What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man.
Matty helped us out in every way he could and
Was nice enough to open for us at the show we played.
He almost joined us for the rest of our trip,
And he plays ping pong. Not as well as Dev and I, but
Still.
Caroline: Another member of Annabelle Lee,
She writes, sings, and plays guitar and piano. Oh, and she’s
A composition major at Cornish. Oh, and she’s gorgeous.
Oh, and she thinks of everyone else before herself.
Oh, and she has a great outlook on life.
Oh, and she’s got an infectious laugh as well.
Oh, and her and Dev go way back.
Oh, and…yeah, she’s that cool.
Not a member of the Corcoran family, or the Brossman family,
But she might as well be:
Lena: Lena is the heart and soul of Annabelle Lee, even if
She was skeptical about the name. She sings,
Writes, plays guitar and percussion. She’s
Also a composition major, and it shows.
Oh, did I mention she looks like Pocahontas
Except better? She paints with all the colors
Of the wind. No joke. She told us.
We practiced and recorded some songs, so check those out once
They go up.
Thursday night we went to an Afro-Reggae-Funk club.
Wildly skeptical, Dev and I followed the girls
Like two dogs on a leash. Or two leashes I guess, but you
Understand. The bartender was nice enough to give us
Some of his “make you feel like you know how to dance”
Potion, and we suddenly felt much better about the
Idea of being there. Our feet were doing magical things.
Things we never dreamed of. Things that
Would make Michael Flatley look like a mere
Peasant of the Dance. Eat it, Mike – there are new
Lords in town.
As stunning and complex as our dance moves were,
There was one guy there that put us to shame.
He had a new girl with every song and he was
Doing things that looked like they were not only
Impossible, but also ridiculously unnecessary.
Words can’t describe. But he did make contact
With Dev’s ass on more than one occasion.
Accident? I guess we’ll never know…
But no, I don’t think so.
Definitely not.
Good thing we had our Montana beer with us:
Moose Drool, Drowning Trout, and Pig’s Ass.
Solid beers.
I did my best to stay in shape with all the heavy beer
Drinking, so I played a pick up soccer game with
Mr. Brossman and went on a run with Caroline
And Karina.
What did Dev do? No comment.
And by no comment I mean he spent
Upwards of 4 hours every day
Doing sit ups, push ups, and pull ups.
On Friday we set up for the show and practiced
Some more material.
Then we invited the girls to our camper
For an equally delicious and romantic
5 star lunch, courtesy of chef Martin
and chef Devin. It was the best meal ever.
You’re jealous.
People started showing up and we were happy to meet them.
Everyone was more than friendly and really supported
What we were doing. Yuki was back,
Even though the car she had just purchased
Had broken down that day.
Matty started us off with some songs,
Including a haunting cover of a Strokes song.
Then Annabelle Lee played a few (incredible)
Songs before introducing us.
Before you read on, please check out Annabelle Lee,
Formerly the Golden Slumbers.
These girls are full of talent and ambition,
And they will blow your mind. Seriously. And
By blow your mind I mean their music will
Make you want to smile, laugh, cry, hug, kiss,
Jump, nap, yell, hum, sing along, love, joke,
And wander all at the same time. And by
Seriously I mean go listen to their music
RIGHT NOW. I’ll wait.
Oh you’re back? Good. How’d you like the music?
Incredible, right? I know. I told you.
We went back and forth with the girls from Annabelle Lee,
Us playing a few songs and then them doing the same.
We mixed some collaborations into the sets
And had a lot of fun with the whole night.
After a while it turned into a gigantic jam session
And we began to play whatever people
Wanted us to play.
One girl in the audience (Amaris?) wanted us to play,
And I quote: “That Coldplay song!”
Me: “Which one?”
Her: “The one about life!”
Me: “Which one?”
Her: “You know, that one!”
Me: “No, I don’t know which one you’re speaking of…
Maybe if you give me a name…”
Her: “Ummm, you know, the one….umm…”
Me: “Okay, anyone else have any requests?”
Her: “Play Tom Petty!”
Me: “Anyone else have any requests?”
We turned the shindig into a dance party at times
And no one was more into it than Mrs. Brossman
Herself. She was doing things with a shaker
That have never been done. Musically.
# of times that she was on beat: 0
Total amount of fun she had: ∞
We played late into the night and tried to
Acquiesce to as many requests as we could.
We handed out a bunch of CDs and made sure
To make an attempt to talk to everyone
Who was there. Made some new contacts and had
An absolute blast doing it.
At around 3 AM it was time to tear down the
Equipment and clean up. The girls were
Nice enough to set up our beds because we had
Moved the camper to a different spot than the one it
Had been in. Guess why? I’ll give you one guess.
No. Wrong.
It was because a neighbor came over, walking
Like she was really late for some sort of hate-rally,
complaining that the place where Esperanza
Was parked was causing “lots of erosion to come into
Her yard.” Can’t make this stuff up.
We were parked on the road. But anyway,
We moved the camper, so we were allowed to sleep in
The house that night. Remember the dog analogy?
Everything comes full circle…
By the way, can erosion come into a yard?
Isn’t it more that the yard would be eroding?
Or the hill in a yard erodes? I think our briskly-walking
Friend was grammatically incorrect. I should
Write to her. Maybe I will.
I definitely will.
Anyway, we went to bed, Dev sleeping on the couch
And I sleeping on a fold up mattress. The blanket I had
Was clearly a beach blanket.
How do I know this? Well, let me tell you.
Because it had sand all over it.
Yes. Sand. Everywhere. So much sand.
But no worries, I just embraced it and fell asleep
In my beach bed. No harm done.
The next day we sadly had to say our farewells
And begin our trip towards Portland.
We relaxed for a little while to try to
Push back the inevitable, but everything
Good must come to an end.
We never got to eat a baby burrito, didn’t get
Cupcakes, didn’t get organic ice cream, but
We definitely loved every moment spent
In Seattle.

Here are the stats:

Miles Driven: 3,681.68
$ Spent on Gas: Too many
$ Spent on Tolls: 85.65
CDs given away: 49
Songs Recorded: Several CDs worth
Cities Visited: 2
Odds that we will ever return home
after 5 days in Seattle: Slim
Text message of the Day: “CENSORED”
Congratulations to Danny Edwards.

Take care of yourselves.