When we think of Seattle, we think of coffee, Microsoft, Pike Place Market, maybe even Nordstrom.  But I also love Seattle for its great public library and book culture.  I think I have visited the Seattle Public Library more than any out-of-town library in the world!!

Seattle is a UNESCO City of Literature, the second U.S. city to be given the honor. The Central Library is an institution that everyone—reader and non-reader—should have on their itinerary. It’s an 11-level glass-and-steel building that has the capacity to house over 1.5 million books. But that’s not the only reason Seattle is on this list.

The city has a civic poet. The program appoints a poet who engages with the community and serves as an ambassador for two years. The culturally-rich city has many centers for writers, including Hugo House, which provides free classes and workshops. In addition, Seattle hosts book readings, literary festivals, and author events. If you’re looking for a place to read that’s not a library, you’ll find book cafes and even book-themed pubs—check out Ada’s Technical Books & Cafe and Mr. Darcy’s Wine Bar.

Now you know why, in an analysis by Lawn Love, Seattle earned the second spot on the list of Best Cities for Book Lovers 2022.

Two of my favorite book stores were are Elliott Bay books, and the Kinokuniya Bookstore inside of the huge Uwajimaya Market in the International District.  I also love the maps, and books at Metsker Maps on First Avenue, near Pike Market.  And Uwajimaya Market is a true adventure on its own.  I have found all kinds of unique food and gifts there over the years.

While I enjoy the obvious attractions MoPOP, Pike Place Market, and the coffee culture, I also enjoy a little shopping.  The flagship Nordstrom store is downtown, and one of my favorite stops.  Our friends Tanya and Michael have a great boutique for clothing, design and furniture not far from the Seattle Art Museum.

Oh, and I may go to a Mariners game, as the Red Sox are in town!

Much has changed in the past few years, covid notwithstanding.  Homeless issues, the impact of high tech on housing prices and cost of living, and tumultuous political rancor seem to never subside.  But through it all, we have visited Seattle on a regular basis since 1995, often three times a year until recently.  This is our first visit since 2019, pre-pandemic.

But one highlight we can always count on is the coconut cream pie from Tom Douglas.  It is probably our favorite pie in the entire world!!

Having been here so many times, we always look for something new and different.

Okay, maybe you don’t consider dinner to be an “experience,” but this one definitely felt like it. Flintcreek Cattle Co uses pastured and grass-fed meat, from sustainable small-scale farms, and masterfully creates truly magnificent dishes. This is the restaurant for trying new dishes, particularly proteins like elk, venison, and others. While the restaurant certainly is an upscale experience, it’s still approachable for the average person, and the dining experience is relaxed and luxurious.  Might be worth a try?

If you love crafting or taking creative classes, you definitely need to check out Mosstangle, a Snohomish wood-burning studio. “You learn a new, creative skill that seems impossible, but Crystal is a great teacher and encourages all the students to press into their inner artist,” says travel blogger Tabitha Bailar. “Burn PNW themed pictures into [the] wood and take home an ornament, wooden cutting board, or whatever else the classes offer.”  Never heard of this before.

We have all been to Pike Market dozens of times.  But a chef-guided food tour is a perfect way to learn about the market, the vendors, and of course, the food. You also get to skip the lines at famous foodie restaurants like Pike Place Chowder and learn about hidden gems like Indi Chocolate, a woman-owned bean-to-bar chocolate shop that makes the chocolate on-site. After the tour, stroll the market, and shop with a special 10% off coupon the chef will provide you.

For an active experience perfect for couples or groups of friends, axe throwing is both easily captivating, relatively affordable, and fairly simple to learn. Bring your snacks, closed-toed shoes, a charged phone (you definitely want to photograph this!), and a can-do attitude, because before it becomes fun, it can be a tad frustrating. Blade & Timber is the only axe-throwing establishment that is allowed to serve beer, cider, and spiked seltzer, but you are limited to two drinks. The coach will guide you through how to use and throw your axe safely, and after watching you practice, will leave you to enjoy your experience.  Maybe if it is raining and there is nothing else to do?

Grab five of your friends (or your lover) and book yourself a Hot Tub Boat. Floating in Lake Union, this year-round activity combines hot tubs, boats, and parties in one memorable package. All you need is your snacks, a bathing suit, and a waterproof pouch for your phone, and you’re ready for an unforgettable float, no matter the weather. Hot Tub Boats has a shack where you can change, and then you’re just a few feet away from the boat, so you can hop right in without freezing. The boat itself has no captain, as it can easily be “driven” using the joystick, with a maximum speed of 5 miles per hour.  Go ahead, after you!

Well, all of this is making me tired.  I think I will head over for some of the best pizza ever at Serious Pie in Belltown.

Seattle has been dominated by high tech, with google, Amazon, and Microsoft.  But they have a big drug and homeless problem, particularly downtown.  It is not pretty, though not quite as bad as San Francisco, San Diego, or Washington, DC.

But we like walking the downtown areas, Belltown, downtown, and on out to the International District.  Our favorite store is Uwajimaya, the huge Asian grocery store complex.  And our friends’ boutique, The Finerie on 1006 Western, resides not far from the Art Museum and Library.  Michael, Tanya and Theo have been friends for decades!!!

It will be very interesting to see how much of the city has come back to the new normal.  San Francisco, at least in the downtown area, was practically a ghost town last summer, while the neighborhoods thrived.  What might we expect here?

Why Not?  I think it is one of the great American cities.  It is much more manageable than NYC, and certainly less expansive than Los Angeles.  But the options for what to see and do seem limitless.

I may have told you that my parents lived here during the end of World War 2.  They were allowed to leave the Relocation Center in Gila, Arizona if they went east and worked in factories that supported the war effort.  Most of my family worked for Curtiss Candy Company.  My Dad worked in an auto shop (Wood Brothers), getting his start on his future vocation.  The lived on Addison Street, also home to famous Wrigley Field.

I first started visiting Chicago in the 70s, mostly on business.  I learned the downtown area quickly.  Then I had a client in South Chicago, which is/was a rather sketchy part of the city.  I have also enjoyed the famous Brookfield Zoo, Wicker Park, and the Loop area.  And I have done most of the tourist things, like the Hancock Center (96 stories), Wrigley Field, Rush Street, the Navy Pier, the Loop, the El, Second City, Garrett’s Popcorn, deep dish pizza, and Portillos.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my visit is feeding some of the old homeless men in the Loop.  I make it a point to find a hungry soul and take him to breakfast.  I also keep all of my leftovers, and give them away on Michigan Avenue.  Don’t ask me how they survive the Mideast winters.

Don’t get me wrong, I also know how to live it up.  I can dine at both famous and not so famous places.  And Chicago is a great shopping city.  The Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue) is perhaps unrivaled for shopping of all kinds.

Though my business travel days are over, I still love Chicago, even without an expense account.  I have fond memories of dance parties, cocktail parties, and some things that are best left in the proverbial “vault”, if you know what I mean.
Playing tennis is Chicago was always fun, same for golf.  Jogging in the heat and humidity is just terrible.  Maybe I will try some cycling since the temps are in the 80s.

In the 80s, it was great fun to visit famous Marshall Field’s Department Store to buy dress shirts.  They had every color and style imaginable.  After a visit to Chicago, I was the envy of all the other guys I worked with.  My favorite was a blue dress shirt with a tab rounded collar.  I was the envy of the department!

I particularly remember meeting a nice young lady from Pennsylvania.  In fact we called her Miss Pennsylvania.  Why?  We went shopping at the famous Water Tower Place for a bathing suit for her!!  And we got to see her model them for us!!!

But the best story revolves around a dinner at some Italian place not far from Rush Street.  After the dinner ended, a group of about 50 followed us to a bar on Rush, where we danced the night away.

Then there is the story of taking some nuns to Rush Street.  My buddy and I were on a site visit with a large, Catholic hospital chain here in California.  The nuns asked us to take them out to Rush Street, and told us to get lost!  When we went to retrieve them around 2am, they had about 5 guys gathered around them.  In my infinite wisdom, I asked Sister Michaela if she was ready to head back to the hotel.  The guys said, astonishingly, “Sister!!!!.”  These ladies told the guys that they are hospital administrators!  Yes, I said, they are, but they also are nuns!!!!!

But the focus of this trip is art, in the name of Frida Kahlo, Vincent van Gogh, and Banksy.  And maybe a short train ride out to Ravinia for some music.

I am also headed to the oldest outdoor music festival in the US, the Ravinia Festival out in Highland Park.  I think my Aunt and Uncle lived there post war, until the late Fifties.  Over the years, performers have included:  Aretha, Gladys, Santana, Smokey, Mary J., Dolly, Lady Gaga, Tony, Carrie, Diana, and Maroon 5.  I am attending Jimmy Fallon’s favorite band, The Roots.  The band was formed back in 1987 by Questlove and Black Thought.  They are known as a jazzy and eclectic approach to hiphop.  I love keyboarder, James Poyser when he plays to Jimmy’s thank you notes.

Big sidebar:  My Uber driver was the nicest senior man of Iraqi decent.  We had many nice topical conversations.  But the best was talking about how our country was built by immigrants, people like him, and my Grandfather.  They came here before the overthrow of Sadam, back in 1978.  He about lost control when I told him my grandfather came from Japan in 1896, at the age of 6!!!!  He spent most of his career at Motorola, got laid off, and now loves being an Uber driver.  He and his wife raised two boys who have good jobs.  It is the great American story.

Another small sidebar:  the Hispanic busboy at breakfast on Friday was a man I recognized from a previous trip.  He has been there for 12 hears, works two other jobs, including cleaning a bank on weekends.  Another great American story about immigrants!!!!

Small sidebar #2:  My cab driver this morning was a Paki guy, so we hit it off after I told him about my Paki friends here in California.  I was just about to text Uber, and here he was outside of my hotel.  He offered me a good price, so off we went to O’Hare.

My quick dinner on Saturday night before the Ravinia (Roots) concert was at Joe’s Stone Crabs, Chicago branch, of course.  I am sitting at the bar with their “regulars” and strike up a great conversation with a really interesting African American couple, and a few of the bartenders.  Besides making me miss my train to Ravinia, we had the best discussion of politics, medicine, and race relations.  BTW, I had some great oysters, spicy fresh corn, and calamari, along with two glasses of rose’ champagne.

I have managed to feed a family of four and a lone panhandler, and a deaf panhandler so far.  

Saturday, I went out to the Cubs game at Wrigley, always a treat.  My usher moved me to a great view seat on the top deck, just “because”, I guess.  Wrigley is always a treat, with a video version of the great Ernie Banks leading the 6th inning tradition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

So, on to Ravinia, I ended up having to take Uber out there, almost an hour north of the city.  The Roots concert was mostly entertaining, a little too much rap for me, but the rest was outstanding.  The topper was taking the Metra train back into the City, along with several thousand music fans.  The ride back started around midnight (late for me) and must have stopped twenty times between Ravinia and the downtown Ogilvie Transportation Center.  What a crazy experience!

So, it was big culture for a few days, but I am so happy to be home!!!