Seattle Fun

At the beginning of September some friends and I did a writers retreat in Washington State. When the writers retreat part of the trip was over, me and my buddy Delilah Devlin spent a few days bumming around Seattle.

DD: Sasha gave me access to her blog to post some comments, so here I go!

When the retreat ended, Sasha and I stayed with my cousin and his partner in Seattle. Sasha took this pic in my cousin’s back yard. She said, “Pick up the baby gargoyle and let me take a shot!” Little did I know the joke was on me. Who knew the gargoyle and I would bear such a strong resemblance! I do love it though.

Sasha Here: I asked you to pick it up so I could get a picture because your story with a gargoyle hero had just released. I know that little guy didn’t resemble your hero, but I thought it was cute. 😉

My cousin and his partner took Sasha and I to Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle so that we could make a tour of the Underground. I know, all the lovely places we could have gone, but we wanted to see the nasty bits. That’s writers for you. Not quite sure what this shot’s supposed to convey, but you can see a bit of the architecture.

Sasha : It’s the shop right next to where the first part of our Underground tour started. That first part of the tour started through a door to the left o the Cafe, and we came back up in that alley to the right of the cafe. So we went around all underground and behind it. PLus, I thought it was cool cus the sign for the shop says “Seattles Oldest Restaurant” on it.

This shot is definitely in The Underground. If you don’t know, Seattle was originally built at sea level. When more people moved in and they built a sewage system, they had real problems every time the tide rolled in. They posted the tide timetable in the newspaper so folks knew when not to flush, otherwise they’d have geysers of nasty backwash. So when the town burned down in the late 1800’s, they rebuilt the streets higher than the ground. Businesses on either sides of the streets had to build up their foundations and put their entrances on the second floors. Everything beneath became The Underground. There was an intricate system of walkways beneath the ground with skylights in the sidewalks above to let in light. Some of those underground structures still exist, and we got to roam the parts that haven’t been closed to the public. 

Sasha: One of my few from the actual underground that turned out. I really need to learn more about my cameras lighting features.

Without artificial lighting, The Underground would be dark as a cave. She shot this of me with just her flash. Of course she didn’t tell me I was sweaty and bedraggled from the rain.

Sasha: I love this shot. I think it’s all moody and cool, especially considering some of the Dark Vampire stuff you write.

After a day of slogging around The Underground, we picked up takeout at a Chinese restaurant and headed home. Seattle is pretty hilly, almost as bad as San Francisco in parts. Sasha was on the uphill looking down at us.

Photos and information about the writers retreat part of the trip are coming up in a separate post at a later date.