The Sounders.....of Silence.

....or the lack thereof. I've heard that Qwest Field (home of the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders) was specifically designed to enhance the acoustics of the sporting events held there. And let's just say, mission accomplished. It claims to be the loudest stadium in the country!


...and let's just say, that Seattle Sounders fans sure make the most of the acoustic design. I've never seen so many soccer fans at a game in the US before. I used to attend New England Revolution games a lot when I was in high school....and needless to say, there was ample seating. At the most recent game, the Sounders had 64,000 people in attendance! I guess soccer's making a comeback....even though technically, in the US....it's never really been popular.


But I went to the Seattle/Colorado game, and it was a lot of fun. The tickets can be a bit pricey (considering it's soccer), but I think they're worth it. Definitely an awesome crowd and some pretty decent players.

I don't know where Fragrance Lake got it's name...

Colin is out of town this weekend (in Derry, NH at a basketball training/recruiting camp), so I decided to get out of the city and take a hike. There's tons of outdoor stuff to do around Seattle, so this hike was my first attempt at scratching the surface.


The trail was called Fragrance Lake, and it's a steady uphill trail that leads to a beautiful view of Puget Sound and then ends at what THEY call Fragrance Lake (but as you will see, it wasn't really a lake, it was more like a small pond).


Here's a bunch of pictures I stitched together of Puget Sound from the trail. If you click on the image, it should enlarge so you can see it full size.


You can sort of see the coastline in this picture, it was really beautiful. The coastlines in Washington are super rocky, and the sunlight didn't hurt for picture-taking.


As you can see Fragrance "Lake" wasn't all it's cracked up to be, and I blame the park service for misrepresenting. But the hike was still lots of fun, and it was really nice to get outside and get some fresh air. PLUS, the great thing about hiking this time of year in Washington was that there were no mosquitoes...it was a little slice of heaven.


Since I was on the hike solo, I took a couple pictures of me looking like a ham with the self-timer on my camera (stop judging). And it should be known that my tshirt was a hit! (Thanks Jenna!!).

Matisyahu and Hamey! Win-win.

I don't think there's anything more random than an American Hasidic Jewish reggae musician...and with that said, I was lucky enough to score tickets to see him perform this week in Seattle at The Moore Theatre. I know what you're thinking...ok, you're probably not really thinking, you're probably just judging. But don't be so quick to judge...his music is actually really awesome: it's a mix of reggae, rock, and hip hop (haha...ok, now you can laugh).


Mr. Bryan Hamey was in town for the occasion, from you guessed it, Alaska. So we walked down to the venue...grabbed our tickets, and rocked out.


Our friend Jeanette came and hung out, too...which was awesome! We all had a great time at the concert...and even though I was super tired the next day at work...it was totally worth it.


As you can see, Matisyahu wasn't the only attraction....the theatre was pretty cool too. It was an older theatre (by West Coast American standards -- where old means like 30-40 years old), so it fit the whole old-world Hasidic Jew theme....kinda.


I suggest you look him up and support the only Hasidic Jew rapper...because he's awesome.

The day of the Dads

One of the downsides of living so far away from home, is not being able to celebrate smaller holidays with your family...like Father's Day. Although, to some extent, I'm sure my Dad enjoys peace and quiet on his day...rather than four kids + 2 grandkids + the plethora of noise and whining that comes with it.


Happy Father's Day Dadda!! ...so since I couldn't spend it with my own Dad, I spent it with Colin's dad, Mark and the Matteson family.


We had a really nice dinner outside on their deck, and hung out...it was nice and relaxing. I certainly missed my own Dad, but it was nice to be around a family.

My favorite South African...

Like I had mentioned in previous posts, one of the great parts about living in Seattle is the traffic that SeaTac Airport brings. This time, it brought me a South African import...aged to perfection. (Otherwise known as Walter).


Although he technically came from Fairbanks...he was over from South Africa to do some stuff with his PhD thesis. So since it had been a long time since he'd been in a large booming metropolis...I took him out to celebrate finishing his comp-exams!


We had a blast together...just like old times....only at this bar, there weren't stinky hippies, strange locals, or Iditarod mushers....but we had fun anyway.


The next day, we walked around the city...grabbed some amazing seafood...and saw the sights....perhaps one too many, if you ask me.

A zoo in the city...like a diamond in the rough.

After Dan left Seattle, I went through a 5-hour bout of depression, so in an attempt to cheer me up, Colin took me to the zoo. Needless to say, it worked. Nothing makes me happier than random glimpses of wildlife...


My first glimpse was of a zebra....don't be fooled by the dandelions....their environment was almost as legit as the real thing.


The zoo was actually rather large for being in the middle of all that development...so we got to see lots of animals, which made me a happy panda.


But clearly not as happy as this guy. I think he was trying to take a nap, but the sunlight and constant screaming of young children were spoiling his attempts. Poor fella.


The zoo had a bird house, where small birds were flying around...otherwise known as, my worst nightmare. I've never really liked birds...they freak me out...mostly because I feel as if they have little/to no control over where they're flying (kinda like me, when I walk). But you could buy a seed-stick and feed the birds for a dollar, so Colin made me.


I don't really know how to explain the picture above...I just posted it because it makes me laugh. Oh Colin.


There were a lot of families around the zoo (obviously), but Colin and I snagged a picnic table with a salt-and-pepper-shaker-Seattle to take a nice break....cool, huh?


Sleepy in Seattle. It was a long day, but a great one...and I can't wait to come back...maybe next time, with Tristan and Cooper :)

The Danimal does Seattle

Dan was down from Fairbanks and en route to Hanover, NH to visit CRREL (a nerd lab) and had about a 12 hour layover in the Seattle airport....which, to me, is the best part of living in this city. A lot of my friends have already come through going to and from Alaska....so I'm living vicariously through the 12 hours I get with them...


So I picked him up from SeaTac....took him to get burgers at this amazing burger joint nearby...and took him back to my apartment for a marathon of Wii MarioKart and Mountain Dew. He was absolutely pooped from the red-eye he took into Seattle....so I let him sleep for a couple hours while I dropped Colin off at basketball practice (which makes me sound like a soccer mom....dammit).


When I got back, we walked down by the water and went to Pike Place Market. It was really nice to see him, even for a short amount of time. And I took him by the original Starbucks....who's logo has a naked lady on it.... so in essence, I got a picture of Dan taking nudie pictures.



All-in-all it was a great day, and I wish he could come back more often. Although, I'm sure he doesn't wish that, because he was super tired...haha...sorry Dan! See ya soon!!