Safeco Field Seattle

August 8th, 2006 - Tuesday

My drive from Redmond to Seattle was spectacular until I got to Olympia, Washington. I didn’t get to actually see the multi-car accident that happened miles ahead. But the result was an 8, I repeat, 8 mile back up that lasted 4 hours to clear up. It took us poor stranded and helpless drivers roughly 2 hours to travel about 5 miles. Needless to say, I hate seattle/Washington traffic already. It didn’t help that I was stuck in downtown seattle traffic today half and hour and basically didn’t move.
I got into seattle at around 4:30pm, which didn’t give me much time to settle in and get ready for the Mariners game at 7:00pm. But everything worked out well and I was able to go to the game with my friend who lives here. The center fielder for the Mariners left us two tickets at will call. That was very nice and impressive.
Safeco Field is an amazing stadium. All the new baseball stadiums I’ve seen all have a common area where fans can walk around, basically around the ball park and still watch the game. They’re all real fan friendly and each one have its unique distinct quality. Safeco has the observation deck on the top floor and a basement bullpen that’s fan accessible. The views from the observation deck overlooks Qwest field, seattle’s football stadium and downtown. People who aren’t into baseball can find tons of things to do here. Seattle won in extra innings with a walk off grand slam. We left before that happened. Oops!

Playlist:
Bon jovi – have a nice day (what can I say, I need help)
Queensryche – empire (in honor of being in seattle, seatlle greatest heavy metal band)
Rush – different stages (it’s a 2 and ½ hour double live album and I listened to all of it during the traffic jam delay)
Tom petty – highway companion
Angels and Airwaves – we don’t need to whisper
Fountains of Wayne – welcome interstate managers
Greenday – American idiot

total miles travled - 350

Nate, Katie, Benny, and Yoshi and top of Smith Rock hiking trail

August 7th, 2006 - Monday

Oregon is a different animal. When Nate and Katie asked me what kind of games I played, the last thing on my mind was board games. But I guess in Oregon, when all the shops closes by 7:30pm, board games might not be that bad an idea. The games can be surprisingly competitive and it’s not a half bad way to kill some time. I could see myself getting into them if that’s what the people around me liked to do.
Besides from board games, I went hiking and had a picnic with Nate and his boys at a waterfall. The hike was a bear. One mile of zig zagging dirt road up a very steep mountain. The waterfall was pleasant and perfect for a picnic. However, these are activities that I normally wouldn’t be caught dead doing if I was back home. The almighty tv would have occupied my time quite happily. Maybe I should move to Oregon. It would be good for morale.

August 6th, 2006 - Sunday

In my six disc changer in my car, I leave the first four cd slots unchanged because they represent either my most recent purchases or my mood of music at said time. Currently the big four are bon jovi – have a nice day (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it), pearl jam – pearl jam (very solid album), angels and airwaves – we don’t need to whisper (surprisingly good night time driving music), and def leppard – yeah (same as bon jovi). When I don’t feel like changing cds in slots 5 and 6, I usually just play one of these four to save time. Since I drove for 9 hours straight from SF to Redmond, Oregon to visit my buddy Nate and his family, music was crucial for my sanity and energy during the drive. I also got no sleep the night before because I just couldn’t get comfortable on my friend’s futon. I was kind of scared of not being able to make the drive in one shift.
Well, the drive was fine. It got a little unbearable near the end, especially since I missed a turn because I was searching through my ipod. But other than that, the views and good music really made the drive worthwhile. I always thought ocean views while driving is the most ideal. But driving through the farmlands, plains, and mountains on the 5 and 97 freeways was just as spectacular. I usually drive long distances at night so it was a treat to see view of open fields during the day. Plus, the views of mt. Shasta were amazing because all the trees are full of green foliage instead of dry, empty branches. Very different from the cliffs off highway 1 up the coast.
Left SF at around 8:30am and got to Redmond, Oregon at around 5:30pm. Drove straight through redding, Klamath falls, and even passed Redmond to look at crooked river.
Total miles traveled since san jose – 630
Total miles traveled – 1090

Playlist
Beatles – revolver (not as inspirational as I thought it would be)
Beatles – abby road (brilliant)
Fountains of wayne – utopia parkway
Our lady peace – naveed
Bon Jovi – have a nice day
MSG – save yourself
Fleetwood mac – the dance
Don henly – greatest hits

Ipod mix – I am a true metal head. I tried flipping through a variety of songs and genres but ultimately I ended up going through the metal section again because it was just better driving music. I needed energy to stay alert and awake. Nothing else worked as well. What can I say.

Boxcar racer – boxcar racer
Fountains of wayne – welcome interstate manageres

views from the road