Notes from the Road - Day 13

2/11/04 9:05pm Vancouver, WA

Early this morning, I knew it was time to leave the hostel when the guy sleeping on the bunk below me urinated in the room. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was hearing. I thought maybe it was raining, until the sound abruptly stopped. I looked up and saw the guy facing another bunk, then he got back in the bed below mine. I went to the front desk and reported it, and they moved me to another room. When I went back to get my stuff, the guy said “hi” to me. That was easily the worst thing I’ve experienced yet in a hostel, but I’m sure that won’t stop me from using them again in the future, just because I’m stubborn and they’re so cheap.

I headed out around 10:30am to catch a tour of Seattle’s Underground that I had missed previously. It was very cool, and our guide was funny. It seems Seattle’s founders were largely corrupt, greedy, stupid, or all three. They used sawdust from the mills to fill in the tidal plain instead of dirt from the surrounding hills, so sewage washing back into town and water saturating the streets was a problem. Kids would fashion small boats to cross huge holes in the middle of the road, and one time a young boy drowned in one. Then the downtown area burned down, and they did the same thing all over again while waiting for the dirt to be brought down and do the job right, which was going to take 7-10 years. So eventually the roads were all raised at least 12 feet, but the buildings’ first floors were then below ground, along with the sidewalks, for 10 years. Then they raised the sidewalks, sealed the gaps, and installed doors on the second floors of all the buildings in the 33 blocks affected. Only eight blocks still have these underground sections, and the tour only covered parts of three of these blocks, as the majority of the businesses who own the remaining buildings have converted them.

I rolled out of Seattle around 1:00pm on the way to my cousin Mary’s place, and it was an easy, smooth drive along gently rolling hills, with a couple volcanoes on the eastern horizon, including Mount St. Helens. I stopped at the visitor’s center for that one, but they closed just a few minutes before I got there. Still, I got a sweet picture. If I hadn’t had to go to the bathroom, I would have walked the 1-mile path through the wetlands.

I finally got a hold of Mary, who I’d been playing phone tag with for days, to get directions to the house. Her son Joe’s fiancé had supper going when I got there. It was a great pork roast, with potatoes, creamed corn, and green beans. There are five young children in the house, and five adults, including Mary, so it is very crowded, but I’m thankful for the mattress she offered, and the hospitality. I’m sure sleeping on the floor tonight will be better than another night in the hostel.

Mary has mismatched eyes, which I’d never noticed before, and is very talkative and gregarious. She and I had a good talk about some family history and filled each other in on how everyone’s doing. Joe’s grown up, but I still recognized him. His head’s shaved, and he’s got a goatee, but I’m sure he’s no more different from how he was the last time we saw each other, ten or more years ago, than I am, with my thinning hair and full beard. I’m glad I got to see him.