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GALA Festival Trip, Day 1 of 10
Jul. 6th, 2024 11:59 pmSATURDAY
Woke up at 4:45 to finish packing and prepare for the trip. I called for a Lyft about 6:30 and we rode with a fellow named Moses in his Jesusmobile (actually a Nissan Rogue, but he had the radio set to a Christian music station). Still, he was pleasant and helpful so I gave him a $5 tip. We boarded the 512 at Everett Station, where the ORCA reader on the bus was out of service. Aboard the bus I showed Gary an article about bear rapper Chris Conde, who had a video clip (of himself performing in Austria wearing little more than a harness and jockstrap) go viral after a disgusted conservative lady posted it to Twitter. NFLer Antonio Brown retweeted it claiming the performer was Jason Kelce, who responded favorably. I was going to show Gary in the car, but the driver's choice of music indicated it would be inappropriate to discuss for him to overhear. We transferred to the train at Northgate Station, where security was escorting a lady from the train for not wearing shoes. At ID/Chinatown Station, a cute young dude in a snap-brim hat with a well-groomed beard managed to hang up his bicycle with one hand while balancing a coffee and pastry in the other. On arrival at Sea-Tac Station, it was clear and sunny and Mt. Rainier was visible from the platform. The dude in the snap-brim hat and his bike shared the elevator to the mezzanine with us.
Once we reached the airport proper, there was a horrible queue for the baggage drop, but it was moving quickly. Before we joined the queue, Gary noticed our flight was delayed by just over half an hour, so there was no need to rush. I got our bag tags printed, but as it turned out, they fell into the back of the machine instead of coming out of the slot as they were supposed to. The agent was able to retrieve them via the side panel door. We chatted with the family ahead of us dropping off bags, who were headed to Boston. The mother at first thought we were marine biologists because Gary told her we were going to a "coral festival" 😊. When he amended it to "chorus", she told us about a relative who got a solo performance at their Lutheran church in Phinney Ridge. We used the bathroom by checkpoint 5, but ended up bypassing the choke point behind checkpoint 4 and returned to the ticket counter corridor to reach checkpoint 3. We took advantage of the premium line for security and were through in a few minutes. After deciding on the Mocha Cafe over the upstairs bar for breakfast, Gary ordered a hot ham sandwich on an English muffin and grabbed an orange juice, while I grabbed a chicken avocado sandwich on a bagel and ordered an extra large latte with two shots of espresso. There was a bit of confusion when a rather cute dude also named Mike was served my latte instead of the iced latte he'd ordered, but we figured it out quickly. After breakfast we walked to our gate, but a previous flight to Cleveland was delayed boarding so we got settled into our seats a few gates away. A few minutes before we were to board, we walked over to our gate and stood by until we were called.
We left the gate on time according to the revised departure schedule and were airborne less than 15 minutes later. We took off into the north and fairly quickly made the right turn toward the mountains to the east. Our flight attendant, Simon, wore his (possibly prematurely) salt-and-pepper hair in a tight bun, and a tropical-print shirt with an open collar. In between drinks service, I got up to use the restroom and had a surprisingly long pee. Just after that, we were served our drinks (ginger ale), and the traditional ceremony surrounding the pilots' relief break (one flight attendant blocks the aisle while another takes the pilot's place in the cockpit to unlock the door when they're finished) ensued. The first pilot was a big young bear, the second about as tall but leaner. Shortly after that, we were served lunch: Gary had the usual fruit and cheese plate, while I opted for the Tillamook cheeseburger. After lunch I started to nod off until Gary got up to use the bathroom.
On landing, we waited a while for our checked bags, then navigated to the light rail station via a tram and purchased day passes. We just missed a train but the next one arrived slightly early. The automatic announcement system makes the same two-tone "Born Free" sound as Seattle's newer trains. We passed a sign for Minnesota route 5 which looked like an I-5 sign but for its shape (square) and the top stripe being closer to gold than red. As we approached downtown, our minister friend Dan contacted me on Facebook Messenger to save the date for Monday evening to meet up before Festival. When we arrived at Nicollet Mall station, my internal compass got turned around 180° and I mistakenly thought the section of Nicollet Mall that was closed for the Taste of Minnesota was in the direction we needed to go (south). Regardless, there were no buses traveling that direction, so we walked the eight (and a half) blocks south to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency.
We checked in quickly and stood in a line for the elevators with some interestingly dressed people who were here for the Convergence sci-fi and fantasy convention (which started on the Fourth and concludes tomorrow). We got into the room, unpacked, and made immediate plans to shop at Target for distilled water and snacks, then scare up dinner on the way back to the hotel. On the way down to the lobby, we shared an elevator with several people portraying costumed characters (cosplayers). Outside the hotel, we had to dodge more cosplayers on the sidewalk. After grocery shopping was done, we chose an Irish pub called The Local. I had corned beef and cabbage with a couple of pints of Strongbow cider; Gary had a berry, brie, and spinach salad with shrimp added, washed down with ginger ale.
After dinner, we investigated the GALA Festival banners along Nicollet Mall and 12th Street. Right beside the Westminster Presbyterian Church across the street from the hotel was the banner for Seattle Men's Chorus, while the banner for the Rochester Gay Men's Chorus was directly in front of the hotel. I got some pictures and we returned to the room, passing more cosplayers in the lobby. I couldn't wait to take off my support hose and soaking wet polo shirt. I posted the banner pictures to Facebook, first to my timeline and then to Toto's Basket, and finished up my journal while we watched news on TV. After the news was over, we did our evening rituals and got to bed around 11:30.
Woke up at 4:45 to finish packing and prepare for the trip. I called for a Lyft about 6:30 and we rode with a fellow named Moses in his Jesusmobile (actually a Nissan Rogue, but he had the radio set to a Christian music station). Still, he was pleasant and helpful so I gave him a $5 tip. We boarded the 512 at Everett Station, where the ORCA reader on the bus was out of service. Aboard the bus I showed Gary an article about bear rapper Chris Conde, who had a video clip (of himself performing in Austria wearing little more than a harness and jockstrap) go viral after a disgusted conservative lady posted it to Twitter. NFLer Antonio Brown retweeted it claiming the performer was Jason Kelce, who responded favorably. I was going to show Gary in the car, but the driver's choice of music indicated it would be inappropriate to discuss for him to overhear. We transferred to the train at Northgate Station, where security was escorting a lady from the train for not wearing shoes. At ID/Chinatown Station, a cute young dude in a snap-brim hat with a well-groomed beard managed to hang up his bicycle with one hand while balancing a coffee and pastry in the other. On arrival at Sea-Tac Station, it was clear and sunny and Mt. Rainier was visible from the platform. The dude in the snap-brim hat and his bike shared the elevator to the mezzanine with us.
Once we reached the airport proper, there was a horrible queue for the baggage drop, but it was moving quickly. Before we joined the queue, Gary noticed our flight was delayed by just over half an hour, so there was no need to rush. I got our bag tags printed, but as it turned out, they fell into the back of the machine instead of coming out of the slot as they were supposed to. The agent was able to retrieve them via the side panel door. We chatted with the family ahead of us dropping off bags, who were headed to Boston. The mother at first thought we were marine biologists because Gary told her we were going to a "coral festival" 😊. When he amended it to "chorus", she told us about a relative who got a solo performance at their Lutheran church in Phinney Ridge. We used the bathroom by checkpoint 5, but ended up bypassing the choke point behind checkpoint 4 and returned to the ticket counter corridor to reach checkpoint 3. We took advantage of the premium line for security and were through in a few minutes. After deciding on the Mocha Cafe over the upstairs bar for breakfast, Gary ordered a hot ham sandwich on an English muffin and grabbed an orange juice, while I grabbed a chicken avocado sandwich on a bagel and ordered an extra large latte with two shots of espresso. There was a bit of confusion when a rather cute dude also named Mike was served my latte instead of the iced latte he'd ordered, but we figured it out quickly. After breakfast we walked to our gate, but a previous flight to Cleveland was delayed boarding so we got settled into our seats a few gates away. A few minutes before we were to board, we walked over to our gate and stood by until we were called.
We left the gate on time according to the revised departure schedule and were airborne less than 15 minutes later. We took off into the north and fairly quickly made the right turn toward the mountains to the east. Our flight attendant, Simon, wore his (possibly prematurely) salt-and-pepper hair in a tight bun, and a tropical-print shirt with an open collar. In between drinks service, I got up to use the restroom and had a surprisingly long pee. Just after that, we were served our drinks (ginger ale), and the traditional ceremony surrounding the pilots' relief break (one flight attendant blocks the aisle while another takes the pilot's place in the cockpit to unlock the door when they're finished) ensued. The first pilot was a big young bear, the second about as tall but leaner. Shortly after that, we were served lunch: Gary had the usual fruit and cheese plate, while I opted for the Tillamook cheeseburger. After lunch I started to nod off until Gary got up to use the bathroom.
On landing, we waited a while for our checked bags, then navigated to the light rail station via a tram and purchased day passes. We just missed a train but the next one arrived slightly early. The automatic announcement system makes the same two-tone "Born Free" sound as Seattle's newer trains. We passed a sign for Minnesota route 5 which looked like an I-5 sign but for its shape (square) and the top stripe being closer to gold than red. As we approached downtown, our minister friend Dan contacted me on Facebook Messenger to save the date for Monday evening to meet up before Festival. When we arrived at Nicollet Mall station, my internal compass got turned around 180° and I mistakenly thought the section of Nicollet Mall that was closed for the Taste of Minnesota was in the direction we needed to go (south). Regardless, there were no buses traveling that direction, so we walked the eight (and a half) blocks south to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency.
We checked in quickly and stood in a line for the elevators with some interestingly dressed people who were here for the Convergence sci-fi and fantasy convention (which started on the Fourth and concludes tomorrow). We got into the room, unpacked, and made immediate plans to shop at Target for distilled water and snacks, then scare up dinner on the way back to the hotel. On the way down to the lobby, we shared an elevator with several people portraying costumed characters (cosplayers). Outside the hotel, we had to dodge more cosplayers on the sidewalk. After grocery shopping was done, we chose an Irish pub called The Local. I had corned beef and cabbage with a couple of pints of Strongbow cider; Gary had a berry, brie, and spinach salad with shrimp added, washed down with ginger ale.
After dinner, we investigated the GALA Festival banners along Nicollet Mall and 12th Street. Right beside the Westminster Presbyterian Church across the street from the hotel was the banner for Seattle Men's Chorus, while the banner for the Rochester Gay Men's Chorus was directly in front of the hotel. I got some pictures and we returned to the room, passing more cosplayers in the lobby. I couldn't wait to take off my support hose and soaking wet polo shirt. I posted the banner pictures to Facebook, first to my timeline and then to Toto's Basket, and finished up my journal while we watched news on TV. After the news was over, we did our evening rituals and got to bed around 11:30.