Observations

One of the interesting things about travel is how it gets you thinking about the world, and how it works.  Some other observations on this trip.

Financial Planning - We always knew that in the USA that your mortgage interest on your home is tax deductible, but we never really thought through the implications of this.  We have discovered that it is not uncommon to still have a mortgage in your retirement, with the goal of paying it off before death, or not.  Remember, the mortgage interest is tax deductible.

But the situation is different for investment properties, and of course there is capital gains tax in US (in fact pretty much everywhere except NZ on residential investment properties.)  Do we have this all the wrong way around?  It does provide for different starting points for personal financial planning.  IT explains why investors have far more share investments, as they build up their retirement funds while still having a mortgage.

Food - long discussions about corn syrup being put in just about everything.  We find things so sweet in America.  But more people are realising that this is sweetness is a major contributor to obesity and changing the palates of the population.  The great thing about Washington State, is that you can buy food that doesn't have corn syrup in it.  But again, our muesli and snack bars from home worked well for us instead of the much sweeter products here.

Portions are huge!  We forgot this today and ordered a sandwich each for $7.99.  Should have stopped and thought about it... Duh - we should have shared one.  Well it is 8.12pm and neither of us are hungry yet.

Tax and Tipping - I cannot work out how people budget when the price is without the tax.  In Washington the tax is just under 10%.  So if something says it is $1 as the price, it is actually $1 plus tax.  Really frustrating.

Tipping - such a bizarre tradition.  Since we first started travelling regularly to the US in the late 90's the  expected tip appears to have increased from around 10% for good service to 10% as a minimum and 20% for good service.  How on earth do people budget!!!????

Green spaces and recreational areas.  Even though I have spent a lot of time in the States, I continually forget how so many people live in suburbs or towns that are quite small, with their own town centre, with lots of parks, with large sections - with lots of green spaces between streets.  It surprises me every time!

In Seattle and Tacoma, we are so impressed with the long term planning (we assume in the face of a lot of opposition) that ended up with the wonderful waterfront and cycle paths.  Even the Mayor of Seattle is a cyclist.  Everyone we have talked to seems to be cyclist in Seattle. It is great.  And then we look at the NZ papers and hear how four cyclists are in Waikato hospital, one is critical condition, after a car overtook them out at Gordonton and pulled back in in the middle of the group of cyclists they were riding in.  Why can't we get it in NZ????

Television - Having been in a hotel room for three nights, we can't believe how terrible the US prime time tv is.  Still a lot of reality tv (but newspapers say that ratings are dropping dramatically, people are sick of it).  We do manage to get the best of the US TV in NZ (oh and The Good Wife is up to season five here... - think we only got up to season two in NZ - yay - more good TV to come - according to Twitter TV3 is bringing season three later in 2013) And The Newsroom is building up to season two release.

Thats all that comes to mind right now...

I will finish it up with this Quote about Travel:

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.

Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."  Mark Twain

Google isn't always right

We were planning on going for a nice long ride on Sunday afternoon.  We finally managed to get a hard copy of the Seattle bike trails, and discovered that in summer, a stretch of Lake Washington Boulevard is closed off to traffic, so that cyclists and other recreational users can use the road.  So we thought - great we will head out there.

But, we didn't count on the interruptions and distractions.

Distraction One - the Gay Pride Parade.  Started at 11am on 4th Avenue, which is right where our hotel is.  Peter was listening to the yelling and hooting as we got ready to head out and grab our bikes and suggested we leave the bikes where they were until after breakfast/lunch.  Great decision!  The street outside the hotel was jam packed.

The parade went until 2pm, we couldn't believe how many participants there were.  All the major and minor Washington State corporates appear to have been represented.  Amazon had special T-Shirts made talking about what is 'normal', Starbucks had many participants, Whole Foods had T-Shirts saying 'label food, not people'.  It was pretty impressive.  The group that got to me was 'Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbian and Gays' ( I got the name wrong on Facebook - but the gist was there.)  There was a huge group of them.

It was well worth spending time watching.  We found out afterwards that this is Gay Pride week and there were huge parades in most of the major cities, really celebrating the fact that the Supreme Court last week found that banning same sex marriage is unconstitutional.

Diversion Two - The Cheesecake Factory and finally some of the cheesecake.  Nice, but huge and sweet (of course)

Talking to the 'server' - they have over 250 items on the menu and the servers are required to memorise the orders, and understand each item on the menu.  They attend a week long class upstairs (it is a huge restaurant) from 8am to 3pm before they are allowed loose in the restaurant.  Pretty impressive.

Diversion Three Banana Republic - a little impromptu shopping for me.  Then 

Diversion Four - darn google and trying to find Florsheim Shoes in Seattle for Peter.  Every time we travel to the US, we try to purchase some work/dress shoes for Peter.  Generally we have purchased Florsheim shoes as they are good fit and good quality.

So, that was the plan this time.  Usually there is a Florsheim shop that is easy to find in the central city. So, we googled it - as you do.  15 of the first 20 entries on Google told us that Florsheim had a shop at 409 Pike Street.  So we spent a long long time trying to find the address.  We found 405 1/2 Pike Street, but for the life of us we couldn't find this Florsheim shop. So back to the hotel to check the information.  On the way we stopped at a Mephisto shop (nice but expensive mens shoes out of our price range $300 - $400 a pair) and asked about Florsheim.  He had never heard of a shop here and mentioned that people still came into his shop looking for Continental Airlines that had not been there for 10 years.

So next stop - find a retailer that sells Florsheim shoes.  Wrote down the address, walked blocks and blocks in the heat to find the next one was a cobbler, not a retailer.  In the end, after going to the other end of town to look in the department stores, we ended up buying a nice pair of Rockport shoes.

So, lots of walking and no ride - probably good for my stiff and sore legs though!

Today,  the last bike ride.  only  22km, but very enjoyable around Seattle.

First stop the Chilhuly (as in the glass artist) gardens under the Seattle Space Needle.  What a stunning  tourist attraction. This guy (who has lost an eye) is such a talent. Here are some photos:

Today the bike ride went through Fremont.  Weird place!  Here are two photos that are quite representative of the place

A statue of Lenin from Slovakia (in the late 1980''s) that was toppled, then purchased by an American who brought it back.  It is so heavy that the first installation sunk.  It has a long history and inflames opinions (which appears to be exactly what they want to do in Fremantle), and is now part of their tourist attraction circuit.

The Aurora Bridge Troll.  The story is that while he was munching on a Fahrvergnugen.... (which is an advertising slogan for VW in german which means 'driving enjoyment').  It is another tourist attraction for this quirky city, and there were lots of tourists there, but also homeless people up the hill under the dry bridge.

I have been reading a book about psychiatrist that worked in the emergency unit at Bellevue Hospital in New York for 9 years.  It explains about schizophrenia, bipolar and other mental illnesses.  It talks about the treatment, but the thing that has got me thinking is the constant discussion about how all these people are homeless, how some come to fake their symptoms to get warmth and shelter in the winter and bad weather.  It talks about how it is often too exhausting and too difficult for families to continue to look after their family members, and that they often give up.  That many people with these extreme mental illnesses choose not to take their medication when they are feeling good, that they turn to drugs and alcohol to 'escape'.  It has made me think a little more about the many homeless people here on the streets panhandling..  I know there are homeless people in NZ, but it doesn't seem as widespread as here.

This ties in with reading about the health system and health insurance changes coming in the US.  There was a big article in the New York Times today about how in the last 5 years in particular, the cost for having a baby has gone through the roof.  It costs between $4,000 and $45,000 to have your baby delivered.  If your health insurance doesn't cover it, the parents can end up with a huge debt, before the child even arrives.  The article pointed out that just about every other country provides funding for the arrival of a baby, but in the US it is such a profit driven business that mothers to be often end up with a lot of tests that may not be totally necessary.  

Well, all packed, Bikes all wrapped up.  Heading home tomorrow...

Fantastic Bike Trails, Sun and Great Company

Finally, the sun was here - and at 30 degrees celsius it was here with a vengenace.

We rode the Burke Gilman Trail, which is a masterpiece.  From Fremont (the centre of the  known Universe - where the welcome signs tell you to turn your watches 5 minutes forward), through the magnificent University of Washington Campus which seemed to stretch for miles and miles, past Kenmore - where the Beaver float planes used in Alaska are refitted from their Army status (that they were originally built for), through Redmond, around Lake Washington and ending in Bellevue, we had a a wonderful ride.

Very few hills, wide bike paths, many users, Lots of enormous properties on the lakes, not far from Seattle.  Friendly cyclists often asking where we were from, where we were heading, a lovely days riding (after the 'carrying' of bikes up and down hills at the start.)

Then... we got to 34th Street.  We were heading to stay with Jennifer and Jim Yearous (daughter and son-in-law of Dave and Kay Smith) in Bellevue.  Carefully following Jim's instructions for the trail and then our GPS to their place.....  34th Street felt like a total uphill stretch.  But again, the calves and arms came in handy pushing the bikes up.  Then, we were warned....  the long hill up to the Yearous' house - 800 feet up.  We found out later that this the local hill training road for cyclists and that many cyclists come out from Seattle (12 miles) to ride this hill.  I can understand why.  But at the end of the long day, with 50 pounds of luggage each - I needed to push the bike most of the way.  

Peter managed to ride most of it - what a star - but I'm not that strong!  

It was a relief to get there - and to have friendly faces, a shower and washing machine and dryer available!  Had a fantastic night, sitting outside, wonderful food, lots of red wine and great conversation.

Jennifer and Jim Yearous

Jen is a para planner and just changing from working at MetLife to a much smaller planner, and with the exciting prospect of growing the business ahead of her.  Lots of interesting work conversations (as well as many other topics)

Yesterday, the trip back into Seattle.  Only 21km (sprinkle of rain to start the day, but otherwise another 30 degrees stunner.)  But was my body tired. And Jim - you forgot to tell us about the hills!!!  I was walking quite a few of the uphills (but I felt better when I saw other cyclists without luggage doing the same!)  Very tired when we got to our hotel - the Fairmont.

Very impressed with the reception at the Fairmont.  It is a pretty flash hotel - but the reception was great.  They sponsor a Seattle to Vancouver ride and have a number of cycle tourists ending their trips here.  It is a really cycle friendly town.  Auckland could achieve a lot from studying what Seattle has done.

Then to ''The Cheesecake Factory' for lunch/dinner at 6pm.  Penny (from Big Bang) wasn't there, but the meals were so huge we have to go back to have the cheesecake, maybe today!

Other interesting discoveries:

A dual purpose water fountain, the one at the bottom is for dogs to drink from...

Harcourt Bicycle Polo - invented in Seattle in 1998.  It looks like a killer to me.  3 bikes (single gear, more spokes than a normal bike so that the are stronger), goal is to score goals by hitting the puck with the end of the mallet without putting your foot on the ground. Lots of acrobatics on the bikes.

The goalies bike is as big as the goal, so you can understand why the scores are as low as in soccer.  NZ does have a team. Madness!!  The Canadian team we talked to had fresh war wounds from their games.

One well worn helmet.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but there is a 4 inch strip of sellotape holding the top of the helmet onto the actual helmet protective bit.'  THe rain has got to it and it has fallen to bits. Oh well, only one more ride today and then it can go in the rubbish.

Off to enjoy Seattles sun, bike baths and cheesecake!  Break the bikes down tomorrow then head home!!

Darn maps!

AI now have an A+ and expert designation in pushing a fully loaded bicycle both UP AND DOWN hlills.

The last three days has seen some fantastic bike ridiing, but also some extreme frustrations with maps that show that things are nice and flat!!  Starting in Tacoma, we decided to visit the famous Dale Chilhuly Bridge of Glass.  There are a lot of Glass Artists in Tacoma, with Chilhuly being the most famous.  He has provided a terrific public monument which is open from 8am to 11pm.  You walk across the bridge from the Museum of Glass to the Courthouse across this bridge of glass.  The first display that you encounter is a long wall of quirky glass scupltures.  The photo below is only about 1/10th of the display.

The next spectacular exhibit is a ceiling with wonderful glass flowers and ornaments.  See my attempt at photographic art below, with Peter walking out of the covered bridge area.

 (and yes, it was still raining).  From here we went in to the court house.  This as the old central train station, which served 48 trains at its peak, but with the rise of the automobile, diminished to 6 in 1984 when it was closed.  The building was then beautifully restored (and it appears had some additions for the courthouses) and now has a wonderful display of art by Chilhuly.

Then on either side there was more beautiful art glass (but the photos didn't come out too well!!)

We then returned to our ride to the Ferry to go to Vashon Island.  We cycled along the wonderully restored waterfront in Tacoma.  They have done a terrific job (and obviously made a serious investment).  13km from our hotel by the Tacoma Dome (entertainment centre) to the ferry. Full of restaurants, museums, boardwalks, gardens, a lot of tasteful condiminiums and for the  most part a great bike path.

At the end of the route though (we didn't realise it was so far), we heard the ferry tooting.   We rode like mad (very fast, and up a darn hill - they always have hills to get to ferrys!!!) and made it to the ferry at 10.50 with about 5 minutes to spare - pretty tired  Thank goodness, the next ferry didn't go until 12.30.

After a 15 minute ferry ride, we 'enjoyed' another approx 3km hill climb.  Surely the map said this was a nice straight road... well straight yes, but no indications of the hills!  An enjoyable days riding in the rain (yes, it was supposed to be sunny), but I did a mini-bonk.  Not as bad as Daves the week before, but 2 pieces of wholemeal toast (not Vogels) and three teaspoons of raisin bran was not enough to sustain hard out riding and hills.  Fortunately we still had plenty of trail mix and a trail bar and after replenishment, I was good to go until lunch.

Rapt that at our lunch stop, we discovered we had already done 11 miles and only had 4 miles 'mostly downhill' to the next ferry.  Again, after lunch, we ended up rushing to make the ferry, fortunately this time, we had 10 mins to spare (next ferry wasnt due for another 2 hours.)

Wet but happy punters  ( I sensibly changed my wet clothes for lunch so I didn't freeze and then put on the wet clothes after)

We then started on the terrific bike trails of Seattle.  This day it was around Alki Beach.  A few little hills (the climb from the ferry), but the rest took us through some very mouldy houses on the side of the hill in West Seattle - to some flasher houses.  Quite a jumble of quality of houses.  West Seattle and Alki Beach were some of the first settlements of Seattle.  You can see why.  It is quite attractive and quite close to Seattle.

To get to Seattle we had to go throught the Port Area below.  We were so impressed with the bike trails, so well signposted, separate to the roads and  over major freeway intersections AND heavily used by cyclists.

That night we had a fantastic meal at a restaurant just down the road from our hotel 'Crow.'

It was packed and we were seated at the 'bar' in front of the kitchen. It was a small menu, with huge portions and we watched them all being cooked and served.  Very enjoyable evening.

From this photo, you can get a sense of the hill behind 'crow.'  This is the devil that got us the next morning.  After visiting the excellent Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Visitors Center, designed for children with a lot of educational interactive exhibits to teach them about the issues and philanthropy, we headed off to tackle the Burke Gilman trail and loop (50 miles around Washington.)

However, first we had to get onto the trail.  This was no minor exercise.  Using the MAP!!!  we worked out that we could go to another bike trail along Lake Union, but no, Aurora Street was a freeway, no way across it..  So, we followed the nice straight streets on the map.  Huh!  Up and Up and Up and Up  Nobs Hill we went.  The cycling ended pretty quickly.

The calves and shoes and arms got quite a work out, pushing the bikes up 30 degree hills.  Not so bad without luggage, but the extra weight of the luggage (on a hot day - yay sun had turned up) was hard hard work.  Then we got to the top and could see the Fremont Bridge that we were to cross - Hallelujah. 

Not so quick - we had to get down.  The map said 'take 4th st'.  So we started too.  I got to a crest and said to Peter 'Im not riding down that'.  It was virtually vertical. He rode some, I was too chicken, so I started studying in wheeling a fully laden bike DOWNHILL.  Eventually it got too steep for him too, so we pushed our bikes down this 60 degree hill.  Quite an education.

Then, later, we discovered that if we had ridden back to the city a bit before starting, we could have got to the Lake Union trail easily under Aurora Street.  c'est la vie!