SEATTLE

What can I say about Seattle?  I was actually there only on the nights before and after the cruise, so I didn't really have too much time to do a lot of sightseeing.  I did go to the principal attraction.

 

but there was a line to get tickets in order to stand in line to go up in the tower, so I passed.  After all, having been on the top of the Willis tower I figured that the Needle would be a bit anticlimactic.  I did go with my niece on the Ferris Wheel they have on the waterfront, and there was a nice view.

That's Coors Field with Mt. Rainier in the background.

The place is apparently named after an American Indian chief, and here's his statue to prove it. 

This is my landmark to a good little bar and café named the 5 Points.  Stop by if you get there.

Of course the other reason I didn't get much sightseeing is that I did a bit of partying on one of the nights.  I was at an active little bar called the Rendezvous, where I was literally the only person without either a tat or piercing.

I was also undoubtedly the oldest patron.  But it was fun to close a place; it's been a very long time.

But the lasting impression I have taken from Seattle is the sheer number of homeless people on the streets.  I have never seen as many in any other city, not Chicago, NYC, Phila, Oakland or even Camden.  And they're aggressive, and literally in every public space I visited.  Maybe they're just concentrated because Seattle isn't that large.  I don't have an answer.

And finally, for my lawyer friends, I offer this real advertisement from the Seattle train system.

You can write your own punch-line.