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Post-Birthday Festivities
Mar. 13th, 2022 01:35 pmFRIDAY, March 4
Took the train to Seattle for Seattle Men in Leather Social. CC's was hopping. Saw Rick Ruben and Clair briefly. Hung out with Gray, Robert, Thomas, Kenneth, Ido, and Sagi from the XL Bears. Met a long-bearded fellow I'd seen but not had a chance to chat with previously, Eric. Spotted Kelley across the bar. At first I thought it was Matthew but he has beefier arms than Kelley. A cute Hispanic cub named Anthony was playing with Thomas and Robert when I arrived. I had a nice chat with Griff from Quake Rugby; he actually designed the shirt I bought off his back at Spring Thaw. Unfortunately he hadn't kept one for a souvenir. I played with Kenneth and Eric for a while. Kenneth said Matthew is saving energy for a birthday party at Diesel on Saturday. Robert and Thomas were discussing the Wii (Nintendo game console) and the usual jokes about watersports ensued. Moved on to playing with Kenneth, Anthony, and Robert and met a cute blond cub named Adam.
As I walked up the hill to catch the train, I saw a cute bear in a chair parked on the patio of the restaurant on the corner, chatting with a woman (presumably his date) who was seated with her back to me. The station was a bit busy. When I boarded the train the car sounded like a party bus with all the loud conversation going on. Opposite me I saw a short dude with a nice 3/4 sleeve tattoo on his right arm: a Seattle skyline in green above the elbow and a tree branch with red leaves on his forearm. I made it back to the car and home without incident.
SATURDAY, March 5
Gary drove us to Ikea in Renton to pick up a bookshelf cum trophy case for the spare bedroom. While we were there I spotted some cushions for the dining room chairs in gray, cream, and green, and we picked the gray ones. The cafeteria was extra busy so we decided to forgo the Swedish meatballs and have lunch at Shari's a few blocks away. I was wanting to go out to Diesel to see if Matthew and Jimmy were there, but after watching the Kraken game and helping Gary assemble the bookcase I was too tired to consider it so I decided to make a day of it for Sunday Funday.
SUNDAY, March 6
I drove down to Northgate Station and parked in the garage. On the plaza outside the station a cute biker bear with light brown hair and wearing a form-fitting gray T-shirt was leaning his bike against the balcony rail. I boarded the train and walked to the rear of the car past a rather cute young dude in a hoodie with one sneaker off, picking at his foot. Eww. No one else was seated in our end of the car as we left Northgate. He seemed young to be wandering the rails, so when he left at U District station I guessed he was just a college student on a bit of a bender. As I left the train at Westlake I spotted a cute puppy in the seat opposite mine. The dog wasn't bad-looking either.
I walked west from the station down Pine Street, passing a number of cops in front of the boarded-up McDonald's on the corner of Pine and 3rd, and arrived at Pike Place Market. I stopped in to the Athenian seafood restaurant for lunch and was seated by the window, getting some sun. This is the restaurant made famous by Sleepless in Seattle, with discreet plaques at the locations where Rob Reiner and Tom Hanks sat during filming. A sign behind the bar in a faux-Hebrew font read "Try it, you'll like it". A dad and two kids were seated at the next booth; the little girl was playing with the empty menu/condiment holder while her brother waved a knife around. Dad looked none too happy. I had the clam chowder and smoked salmon with crostini and cream cheese.
From there I descended to the waterfront via the stairs at the market garage. I headed north along the waterfront to Pier 62 just past the Aquarium. A couple piers further north is a navigation beacon which looks to me like the Beacon of Hope we saw in Manchester, England which locals (OK, our friend Tim) call the Chimney of Despair. I made my way out to the end of the pier, took some pictures, and sat in a high chair along the rail to rest my back. To my right was a tall, long-legged black dude in shorts and a green T-shirt; to my left, a cubby dude with a hint of a chin beard in blue Seahawks gear and an Under Armour ball cap. On the pier toward the middle they have a miniature soccer field mat, oversized checkerboard and chessboard, cornhole, and connect 4. There's also a floating dock for boating in.
I returned to the garage to take the elevator back up (I counted eight stories of steps on the way down, plus a slight downslope in between the two staircases), and walked up Pike Place to Pike Street to catch the 49 bus up Capitol Hill. I exited the bus and went to Doghouse Leathers to shop for some leather wear. I was going to buy suspenders but at $200 I decided I'd rather buy a bar vest with more material for the same price. The vest has green piping on the sides; I chose the color because of the Silvertips and several other sports teams in the area with green uniforms, while other choices were blue and yellow. From the Doghouse I considered a stop at Steamworks for a shower, but instead stopped for ice cream at Salt & Straw. I had the honey lavender and cold brew coffee cashew praline. When the fellow behind the counter asked if I had a preference for top or bottom, I remembered my previous visit and said "No, I'm versatile." He didn't get the joke which I suppose is just as well. I ate my ice cream outside, and donned my new vest for warmth and to avoid having to carry the bag.
From Salt & Straw I walked up Boylston to CC's. When I arrived there were people working on laptops in the "balcony" area where we usually meet, so I bought a drink and sat on the "patio" by the front windows. Rob arrived shortly after, followed by Marc Abaya, then by Snooper from Brisbane and his pup Kal, and Joshua and his pup Dion (short for Dionysus) who are new in town from New Orleans. We eventually reclaimed the "balcony" and more people showed up: Josh, Blair, Anthony who I met Friday, and Daniel the cubby bartender from Diesel. We all had a very good time playing around. I was a bit surprised to find Kal, who was to celebrate his birthday later in the week, is less than half my age. I returned to Capitol Hill Station about ten to ten and was on the train by ten. At UW Station a college dude, brunet, boarded the train with two women, one blonde, one Asian. He was sitting sideways on the bench in front of them with his feet dangling over the edge of the seat. They all left at Roosevelt. I made it back to the car and home without incident.
Took the train to Seattle for Seattle Men in Leather Social. CC's was hopping. Saw Rick Ruben and Clair briefly. Hung out with Gray, Robert, Thomas, Kenneth, Ido, and Sagi from the XL Bears. Met a long-bearded fellow I'd seen but not had a chance to chat with previously, Eric. Spotted Kelley across the bar. At first I thought it was Matthew but he has beefier arms than Kelley. A cute Hispanic cub named Anthony was playing with Thomas and Robert when I arrived. I had a nice chat with Griff from Quake Rugby; he actually designed the shirt I bought off his back at Spring Thaw. Unfortunately he hadn't kept one for a souvenir. I played with Kenneth and Eric for a while. Kenneth said Matthew is saving energy for a birthday party at Diesel on Saturday. Robert and Thomas were discussing the Wii (Nintendo game console) and the usual jokes about watersports ensued. Moved on to playing with Kenneth, Anthony, and Robert and met a cute blond cub named Adam.
As I walked up the hill to catch the train, I saw a cute bear in a chair parked on the patio of the restaurant on the corner, chatting with a woman (presumably his date) who was seated with her back to me. The station was a bit busy. When I boarded the train the car sounded like a party bus with all the loud conversation going on. Opposite me I saw a short dude with a nice 3/4 sleeve tattoo on his right arm: a Seattle skyline in green above the elbow and a tree branch with red leaves on his forearm. I made it back to the car and home without incident.
SATURDAY, March 5
Gary drove us to Ikea in Renton to pick up a bookshelf cum trophy case for the spare bedroom. While we were there I spotted some cushions for the dining room chairs in gray, cream, and green, and we picked the gray ones. The cafeteria was extra busy so we decided to forgo the Swedish meatballs and have lunch at Shari's a few blocks away. I was wanting to go out to Diesel to see if Matthew and Jimmy were there, but after watching the Kraken game and helping Gary assemble the bookcase I was too tired to consider it so I decided to make a day of it for Sunday Funday.
SUNDAY, March 6
I drove down to Northgate Station and parked in the garage. On the plaza outside the station a cute biker bear with light brown hair and wearing a form-fitting gray T-shirt was leaning his bike against the balcony rail. I boarded the train and walked to the rear of the car past a rather cute young dude in a hoodie with one sneaker off, picking at his foot. Eww. No one else was seated in our end of the car as we left Northgate. He seemed young to be wandering the rails, so when he left at U District station I guessed he was just a college student on a bit of a bender. As I left the train at Westlake I spotted a cute puppy in the seat opposite mine. The dog wasn't bad-looking either.
I walked west from the station down Pine Street, passing a number of cops in front of the boarded-up McDonald's on the corner of Pine and 3rd, and arrived at Pike Place Market. I stopped in to the Athenian seafood restaurant for lunch and was seated by the window, getting some sun. This is the restaurant made famous by Sleepless in Seattle, with discreet plaques at the locations where Rob Reiner and Tom Hanks sat during filming. A sign behind the bar in a faux-Hebrew font read "Try it, you'll like it". A dad and two kids were seated at the next booth; the little girl was playing with the empty menu/condiment holder while her brother waved a knife around. Dad looked none too happy. I had the clam chowder and smoked salmon with crostini and cream cheese.
From there I descended to the waterfront via the stairs at the market garage. I headed north along the waterfront to Pier 62 just past the Aquarium. A couple piers further north is a navigation beacon which looks to me like the Beacon of Hope we saw in Manchester, England which locals (OK, our friend Tim) call the Chimney of Despair. I made my way out to the end of the pier, took some pictures, and sat in a high chair along the rail to rest my back. To my right was a tall, long-legged black dude in shorts and a green T-shirt; to my left, a cubby dude with a hint of a chin beard in blue Seahawks gear and an Under Armour ball cap. On the pier toward the middle they have a miniature soccer field mat, oversized checkerboard and chessboard, cornhole, and connect 4. There's also a floating dock for boating in.
I returned to the garage to take the elevator back up (I counted eight stories of steps on the way down, plus a slight downslope in between the two staircases), and walked up Pike Place to Pike Street to catch the 49 bus up Capitol Hill. I exited the bus and went to Doghouse Leathers to shop for some leather wear. I was going to buy suspenders but at $200 I decided I'd rather buy a bar vest with more material for the same price. The vest has green piping on the sides; I chose the color because of the Silvertips and several other sports teams in the area with green uniforms, while other choices were blue and yellow. From the Doghouse I considered a stop at Steamworks for a shower, but instead stopped for ice cream at Salt & Straw. I had the honey lavender and cold brew coffee cashew praline. When the fellow behind the counter asked if I had a preference for top or bottom, I remembered my previous visit and said "No, I'm versatile." He didn't get the joke which I suppose is just as well. I ate my ice cream outside, and donned my new vest for warmth and to avoid having to carry the bag.
From Salt & Straw I walked up Boylston to CC's. When I arrived there were people working on laptops in the "balcony" area where we usually meet, so I bought a drink and sat on the "patio" by the front windows. Rob arrived shortly after, followed by Marc Abaya, then by Snooper from Brisbane and his pup Kal, and Joshua and his pup Dion (short for Dionysus) who are new in town from New Orleans. We eventually reclaimed the "balcony" and more people showed up: Josh, Blair, Anthony who I met Friday, and Daniel the cubby bartender from Diesel. We all had a very good time playing around. I was a bit surprised to find Kal, who was to celebrate his birthday later in the week, is less than half my age. I returned to Capitol Hill Station about ten to ten and was on the train by ten. At UW Station a college dude, brunet, boarded the train with two women, one blonde, one Asian. He was sitting sideways on the bench in front of them with his feet dangling over the edge of the seat. They all left at Roosevelt. I made it back to the car and home without incident.