From Seattle to Grant’s Pass was an…ummm…interesting drive. I don’t mind driving in the rain. Or in the mountains. Or at night. But all three at the same time was a bit much. Especially in a car which has not yet gotten used to my driving habits and thus hasn’t devloped “automatic pilot”.

At Grant’s Pass, sleep had to happen. And what a great place. Old motels for miles. The one I chose featured arched doorways,and the room had the remnants of a kitchenette. My guess as to construction date would be about 1940. Great spot. And it had cable…

 

Driving down the California coast on US 101 was a good idea, despite the additional time required. Given the choice, I always take the old road, along the old strips through town. We hit the Redwoods, Eureka, Ukiah, and more. And boy, was I worn out as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. I was also strangely unexcited to be home, but that’s another story…

 

  

Up fairly early and off to the Denny’s on Mercer Street for a grand slam breakfast. It was a cool Denny’s, which had not yet been renovated into a pastel nightmare. Then off to Seattle Center, site of the 1962 World’s Fair. Site of the Pacific Science Center. Site of the monorail. Site of the Space Needle! I have a strange fascination with tis place and its early 1960’s version of modernism. Not a lot remains, but you can get a feel for what was there. It’s a very contradictory place, promoting high culture and a theme park at the asme time. It’s also strangely seedy, beacuse most of the fair buildings were designed to last six months and they haven’t been maintained particularly well. But I like it. How could I NOT like it?

 

Alas, this was the bulk of our Seattle tourism, given the limited stay. I really wanted to do the Undersground tour. I remeber it from last time, and I figured I’d be even more excited this time. Oh well…there my be plenty of time for me to experience Seattle in the future. But I’m being cryptic again…

  

  

Seattle has changed a bit since the last time I was there, in 1974. But the Space Needle and monorail remain constant. And as chance would have it, the first motel we stopped at happened to be the very same one I’d stayed in as a kid on the first visit.

God, I love Seattle. I haven’t been this excited by anyplace since the first time I visited San Francisco. My childhood memories were right; it’s incredible. A beutiful city in a beautiful setting, with a good mixture of old and new. It looks exactly like I want a city to look.

I could’ve spent days here. Even had a place to stay arranged, courtesy of Patrick and Tad. But when travelling with another person, one makes these certain compromises and sacrificies (translated: Christopher got whiny…) and the trip was limited to one night.

But it was a pretty damned eventful night. After checking into a suitably seedy motel on Aurora Avenue (old US 99), Christopher and I had dinner at an Indian place in the University district (okra massala…yumm…) and met Patrick and Tad for a beer at Cuff’s. Afterward, Christopher stayed home and pouted, so I ventured out on my own.

A few bars I had reactions to: The Cuff was pretty much a standard leather bar. Good bartender, good beer. Not my favorite spot in the city, but not bad either. I’d been warned against R Place, but I liked it. Great beer selection. Tasty bartender downstairs. Good jukebox and darts upsatirs. Not severely cruisy, but there was potential. Seemed friendly.

I loved the Seattle Eagle. Van Halen was playing as I entered. Two levels, dark and cruisy, and (again) a good beer selection. Thanks to the state of Washingtom for making liquor licenses damn near impossible to get and for promoting good beer bars in the process!

I also loved Sit & Spin, a laundromat-cafe-live music venue. I saw Orbit for a $1.00 cover, with a Pike Place beer at my side. Great crowd. There were queers here, actually watching the band. An integrated rock and roll club…imagine that…

Hmmm…I like the city, the bars are fun and serve real beer, rent’s cheaper than in SF,and the sky looks really cool when it rains at night. What could all this mean?

This was the day Christopher arrived from Minneapolis, but this fact didn’t impact my world much as he pretty much slept all day. Working graveyard, then getting on a plane and flying cross-country, and expecting to be alert and wake when you arrive is not realistic. Period.

I spent part of the afternoon with Laura and Pagan (the wonder dog), watching soap operas. It’s amazing how quickly everything comes back to you, even after fifteen years away from them. Laura and Pagan have noe relocated to Santa Cruz and owe me a visit. If you ever meet them, remember to say “Lassie” and see what happens. We were also visited by the neighbor, Baby Evan.

  

What visit to Portland would be complete without a tribute to Gus Van Sant? In honor of the director of “My Own Private Idaho” and “Drugstore Cowboy”, I felt compelled to visit a few of the locations contained therein:

I saw the first drug store robbed in “Drugstore Cowboy” and the bookstore from “My Own Private Idaho” where all the porn magazines came to life:

 

I also saw Matt Dillon’s (and William Burroughs’) hotel from “Drugstore” and Bob’s hotel from “Idaho”:

 

Drinking with Rae and Micheal finally happened, as did dinner with Rae and Brian, although not at Waddle’s. Leave it to my contacts to know where the best (and cheapest) beer is to be found. Christopher finaly woke up and the final night was topped off by a return to the dismal queer bar scene. He was even less impressed than I was.

  

All in all, though, I really liked Portland. It’s a very comfortable city, and a very manageable one. The weather was great during my time there; although it was “supposed” to rain, it never did. Of course, I wouldn’t have minded the rain anyway. Potential? Maybe…

Aaah Portland…biggest city in the land of no sales tax, no self service gas, and beautiful scruffy boys. A few mentionables:

  

Fred Meyer: A Portland tradition, combining Target, Safeway, and various other stores in one. It’s esay to trace Portland’s development through the location of these stores. Early innovations included rooftop parking and suburban shopping.

Plaid Pantry: Portland’s entry into the “strange names for conveience stores” sweepstakes. This one really seems to fit its market, however.

Waddle’s: Early 60’s coffee shop mecca. This place inspired me, and was every restaurant I used to eat at on the road with mom and dad. Do not try to have dinner there on Monday or Tuesday nights, however.