seattle

Seattle’s gummy situation

December 21, 2015

Have you ever heard of the Seattle gum wall?

Basically, it’s a wall near Pike’s Market in Seattle that is covered in gum. OK, more like an alley with all walls covered in gum.

So much old and chewed gum!

Yes, gum.

Some spots on the walls are probably a couple of inches thick. And it goes high and low. And when down there, it sure does smell like gum.

Apparently, this started in the early 1990s. The gum was scraped away a few times originally, but then it started becoming more and more. By the late 1990s, it was a tourist attraction.

Several spots around the wall or in the market sell gum so people can chew it and add to the wall (double bubble is what we got).

Covered

In November, the wall was fully cleaned. I saw it in August in all its glory and there was also a geocache there.

According to several reports, it took nearly 130 hours to clean the wall fully and more than 2,350 pounds (yes, POUNDS) of gum were removed.

Following the cleaning, gum is starting to re-appear.

It was an interesting spectacle to see and if you’re ever in Seattle and near this spot, definitely check it out!

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Looking out at Seattle

November 27, 2015

Remember that post the other day about being organized?

I didn’t get as far ahead as I hope.

A couple of personal projects, mixed with work, have really gotten me. But that’s ok, I have things planned and such. I just was focused elsewhere.

So, there are times when you just have to look at something else and go with it.

I am still way behind, for the record, on Seattle stuff. So this post is one of my favorite photos I took on my trip to Seattle — a skyline shot with Mount Rainier in the distance. Pretty cool.

Looking at Seattle.

I’ll have some Seattle posts coming up soon, like others.

And keep in mind — the 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge is coming up! Stay tuned!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Seattle: Up in the Needle

November 20, 2015

Turns out I didn’t get around to Seattle posts as fast as I should have … but they will come.

Starting with the Space Needle.

One stop that had to be made during the summer trip to Seattle was the famed Space Needle.

The Needle is an iconic observation tower in downtown Seattle. Built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the 605-foot tall structure sees many visitors per day. The observation deck gives you amazing views of the city.

The elevator ride up is quick (less than a minute) and gives you the initial views of the city. It’s very cool.

At the top, there is also a restaurant, though we didn’t eat there.

The thing with going up the Needle is you take the structure out of your photos. A skyline photo of Seattle doesn’t seem complete without the Space Needle being a part of it.

We opted to go at night, which was really cool as it’s nice to see a city lit up after dark. They don’t rush you up there, which is a bonus. You can grab a snack or a cocktail and stroll around the outside, which is cool.

Make sure you hold onto your phone or camera, though, as it’s open outside if you lean out a little to take a photo!

We made sure to get our tickets ahead of time (earlier in the afternoon) and got a time we wanted. However, some were walking up around the time we were going in and couldn’t get tickets, so it’s probably worth buying ahead of time. The tickets, for one trip, cost $22. You can also get some package deals and such.

We didn’t have any issues with parking as we went on a Sunday night and found some free street parking not too far away. There are paid parking areas, though, if you are going to drive in.

The views from the top are excellent, so it’s well worth the trip to the top.

If you are in Seattle, it’s definitely a spot to check out, if not because of the iconic nature of the Needle. I was shocked that I didn’t feel too cramped with it all, so it was a nice spot. Wear a sweatshirt up top, though, as it can get chilly. On a bright side of that, though, there’s an indoor part so you can still see everything and be behind windows.

In the end, it was a fun stop during the trip. I’d definitely recommend it.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Seattle: A fun trip to see a different part of the country

September 18, 2015

It’s time to start talking about Seattle.

In August, I had the chance to take a trip to Seattle, mainly for geocaching. It was also a chance to see other parts of the area, take a road trip to Portland, and catch a baseball game.

All in all, a pretty solid trip.

The Seattle Great Wheel was pretty cool to ride in.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to sprinkle some posts about the trip on the blog. There will definitely be some geocaching posts, but there will also be some posts about other things I had the chance to do.

If you remember, I already did one about Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland. I also had a post about visiting Geocaching.com HQ as it was part of my Day Zero project.

There was so much more on the trip though. From seeing a different part of the country for the first time to walking through a 2.5-mile tunnel to good food to going up the space needle, it was a really cool visit. I’d like to visit there again one day if the opportunity came about.

Before getting into a few of the individual posts about specific things, allow me to give some of the overall “statistics:”

Three new states grabbing a geocache (Colorado, Oregon, Washington)
73 geocaches found (includes five events)
Found the original caches stash plaque, visited geocaching HQ
Went to Voodoo Doughnuts
Went up in the Space Needle
Found the perfect spot for photos of the skyline of Seattle
Saw a minor league baseball game
Took the tour at Safeco Field (home of the Mariners)

The trip was interesting. It was my first time out to the western part of the United States. The flights were somewhat long and all the planes were full, which kind of stinks because it’s nice to be able to stretch out a little bit.

The weather was good, too. The one day it really rained in Seattle (historic, from what people were saying), it was the day of heading down to Portland, where it sprinkled a little bit at worst.

I got some pretty good photos, too. I used the phone, obviously, and had the main camera as well, which was nice. It was good to be able to take in some of the scenery.

The one regret was not going after one of the historic caches in the Portland area (weather worries, time etc.) as it will be hard to get that “placed month” in other spots. I’ll either get back out to Portland to do it or find one elsewhere.

Outside of that, it was a pretty fun time. I had the chance to meet some cool people, run into somebody I know who lives out there and find a lot of geocaches. I also really upped the step count for the weekend and found some great places to eat.

I’ll cover a bunch of these topics in future posts. It’s a trip I’m glad I made, though, as it’s a pretty cool area of the country.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Day Zero Project: Completed No. 35

September 10, 2015

A Day Zero Project goal of P.J.’s has been completed!

Goal completed: Visit Groundspeak (Geocaching.com)

Date completed: August 17, 2015

Number: 35

Description: Groundspeak is the former name of Geocaching.com, and its headquarters are in Seattle. It’s a “mecca” of sorts for geocachers, who affectionately call it “HQ.” While there, one can get a hosted visit, which is bringing you inside the building and to an area that shows the history of the company and geocaching and is interactive with a couple of lackeys (the name for those who work there). Basically, it’s a bucket list spot for many geocachers.

At HQ!

Why I wanted to do it: I’ve geocached for several years, so having the chance to get there, see the headquarters and get to see some of the people who work there seemed like a cool thing. Plus, you get an icon for visiting, which makes it cooler.

How I did it: The company announced earlier this year that its popular Block Party event would be ending this year, after five years of holding it. It also coincided with the 15th year of geocaching, so it worked out well. With all of that in mind, I knew I’d like to go to the Block Party at some point, so now was the time. Three of us ventured out for this event and to cache in the area. I set us up for a hosted visit on that Monday (the event was Saturday) and we had the chance to spend a couple of hours there, learning the history and having the chance to meet other like-minded people. It was a fun event to be at and it was a cool “tour” of the place. Definitely worth doing if you are a geocacher.

About P.J.’s Day Zero Project: Day Zero is a project where people come up with 101 things to do over 1001 days. I started the project on August 1, 2014 with an anticipated finish date of April 28, 2017. Goals will not be revealed until they are completed. A private list is at the Day Zero website and the list will be made public upon completion of the project. It’s my thoughts that if things are kept private, should I not do them, change or find a way around it, I’d only be cheating myself.