Of course by now you've all heard about the snowstorm hitting the pacific northwest right after MLK day. Despite my skepticism regarding Seattlites and their issues with snow, this storm was one for the record books. Seattle ended up with about 6 inches of snow, followed by an inch or two of ice, and south of Seattle they measured the snowfall in feet. Olympia, which is about 45 minutes south, had something like 2 feet of snow. It was truly an unusual event for this area.
The hills in Seattle are incredibly steep - think San Francisco. The city is full of them. I have about a 6 mile commute to work and I can think of three major hills I have to traverse, and I avoid the seriously steep hills for fear I'll get stopped in my standard shift car and roll into the car behind me. These hills are somewhat treacherous in the rain, so adding a little snow to them creates nothing short of madness. As if that weren't enough to contend with, the city is really not cut out for dealing with this weather. They do not treat the roads with very much in the way of salt or the chemicals used in the Midwest for fear that it will kill the salmon population. Seattle also does not have a lot of snow plows to help clear the roads. This is why, on the second day of the storm, I had a pretty good commute in until I hit downtown - nothing had been done downtown. The city allocated its resources to the bridges and freeways. It was...an experience.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the snowstorm was the cliche-like run on milk and bread. We live pretty urban here - we are walking distance from several grocery stores, not to mention the little markets that are sprinkled in here and there. In some ways, you can't really blame the masses for overreacting - the local newscasters described the storm as certain death for anyone who went outside. It's far worse than the White Death newscasters in Columbus.
We decided to walk around in the snow, since there was virtually no traffic and not a lot to do (though of course, I was working remotely). I love how green the plants still are in the winter. When the snow melted, just a couple of days later, it was so pretty to see the green grass underneath the snow. I can definitely appreciate how green it is here year-round.
They close the side roads during the bad storms because of the hills. In West Seattle, where we live, it's hills all around. You cannot go anywhere without heading up or down a very steep road, so these signs are everywhere. The hills provided a lot of fun though; Lorelei went sledding with some kids from her school, and we saw lots of people skiing down the hills and getting around that way.
Of course, the beach is still fabulous, even with snow.
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It's winter, so no matter where you are, if you are in colder weather, it's cabin fever time. All of us here in Seattle are getting a little stir-crazy. The snow has melted and the weather is a little warmer now, more normal for Seattle, but the rain is back and it's still just plain dark. 8 hours of light a day is not enough. Gretel and my walks are consistently in the dark and the rain, morning and night. It's depressing. So yesterday, Ed, Amy, Lorelei and I took a day trip to Portland, OR, where it was 50 and sunny (sadly, Shawn could not join us because he had to study). Despite the torrential snow they received in Portland from the storm, and flooding that followed after, the city looked great.
The city itself is gorgeous. The Columbia River flows right through the city so there are lots of bridges and of course, natural beauty. You may have heard that Portland is a very environmentally conscious city. The picture below is of windmills on top of a skyscraper.
I think Amy put it best when she said, "Portland makes Seattle look like a bunch of uptight republicans." However, like Seattle, Portland has all this cool, funky art out and about, and there is a real culture and beat to the city that you can't ignore. It's a fun city. There is a booming microbrew industry there as well. You can't walk 3 feet without passing a microbrewery. The beers were amazing, too. I'd like to spend more time checking out the rest of the city.
There is this really cool bike sculpture outside of one of the stores in the Pearl District, which is where we spent the day. Lorelei thought it was awesome.
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That's my self-portrait from Portland.
Of course, no visit to Portland is complete without two things: a trip to Powell's books, which is the size of a city block (not including the technical annex which is on a separate block) and VooDoo Donuts. Wow. Donuts, beer and books. Heaven.
Otherwise, we are hanging in there. Shawn and Lorelei continue to do well in school and I'm busy at work as ever. Shawn started working at allrecipes.com, and it seems to be going well so far. It's a good start as he continues studying web development. I have Gretel in training classes and despite how crazed she is on the leash (the reason for the training), the trainer loves her and sees real potential for her. We'll see. I know she needs this kind of stimulation and I need to be trained on how to care for a big dog that needs exercise. I guess we are both in training.
In the meantime, we are keeping our eyes toward Spring and the weather clearing (hopefully) a bit so we can get out and about, exploring the mountains. And of course, we await the much-anticipated arrival of Unicornia Rosabelle Castaneda!! Amy is 35 weeks and counting. It won't be long now!
Our best wishes to all back in the Midwest, and Go Bucks!
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