WA Travel Guide
6/13/2008 at 1:30 PM
Tags: Starbucks Alternatives, Coffee Shops, Coffee (all tags)
Remember that scene in "Pulp Fiction" where John Travolta is shocked by the $5 shake at Jack Rabbit Slims? Better add River Maiden Artisan Coffee to his list of places to miss: The cafe serves up a $15 cup of Panama Esmeralda.
The ultra-rare beans that River Maiden uses are also available by the half pound for $100. One customer interviewed by CNN swears by the stuff:
It is very complex. It's wonderful. This one has some tropical fruit things coming through, notes of pineapple and a little bit of mango.
But not everyone's a fan. Another customer says she'd need a good reason to spend 15 bucks on a coffee:
Maybe if it was in Turkey or some place, but not off the streets here.
Related Stories:
· River Maiden Artisan Coffee [Official Site]
· How Much Is That Coffee? [CNN]
· Starbucks Alternatives coverage [Jaunted]
by pbb
6/06/2008 at 12:30 PM
Tags: National Parks, Active Travel, Toilets, Bathrooms, Camping (all tags)
If going to the bathroom was the one thing holding you back from scaling a mountain, then worry no more. Mount Rainier National Park will celebrate the grand opening of its new $70,000 toilet on Monday. That's right, the park will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for a bathroom at the Cougar Rock Campground.
Surprisingly, this isn't an excessive government outlay. A Japanese environmental activism group donated the toilet, since Mount Fiji is Rainier's sister peak.
The facility uses cedar chips and natural composting to operate with very little water and apparently very little odor. Apparently.
There's only one issue with celebration. According to the park's official site, an unusually high amount of late season snow will keep the Cougar Rock Campground closed till June 13. What if they gave us a new toilet and nobody came?
Related Stories:
· Mount Rainier National Park [Official Site]
· Mount Rainier to Hold Ribbon-Cutting for Toilet [AP]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]
[Not a photo of the five-figure john: latca]
by kjb
3/05/2008 at 11:30 AM
Tags: Green Travel, Active Travel (all tags)
Commuter cyclists may brag about how far they ride each day, but few can lay claim to pedaling over open saltwater to get to work. Nat Hong is among those few. He makes daily jaunts across Washington state's Puget Sound, cutting an 80-mile round-trip drive into a 12-mile pedal-powered cruise.
According to The Seattle Times, Hong's commute is quite a process. Every morning he leaves his home on Bainbridge Island and hops aboard a HydroBike for a mile-long ride across the Sound, and then straddles another bicycle for the final few miles to his job in Bremerton.
The HydroBike has two polyethylene pontoons on the sides for stability and buoyancy--and they aren't that cheap, running just over $1,400. For something that reaches a max speed of about 6 mph, that might sound a little steep. But then again, these days it costs more than $30 just to gas up a Civic. Check out a photo of some HydroBike warriors post click.
MORE...
by benh
2/25/2008 at 4:45 PM
Tags: Music Travel, Festivals, Sasquatch Music Festival, Music Festivals (all tags)
The Sasquatch! Music Festival has just announced the lineup for this Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26. Among the acts headlining are The Cure, R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, M.I.A. and--wow, '90s flashback!--The Breeders.
Also making an appearance will be Flight of the Conchords, New Zealand tourism's favorite band.
The music fest happens at The Gorge Amphitheater in Central Washington state, not far from Wenatchee. You can score advance three-day tickets until March 9 for just $151.50.
Related Stories:
· Sasquatch! Music Festival [Official Site]
· Sasquatch! Festival Full Line Up [Official Site]
· The Gorge Amphitheater [Official Site]
· Radiohead *Won't* Be Playing This Year [Seattle P-I]
· Music Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: ydshu]
by pbb
1/24/2008 at 11:28 AM
Tags: Coffee Shops, Starbucks Alternatives, Free WiFi, WiFi (all tags)
Seattle is probably the most caffeinated city in the world, and baristas at independent coffee shops all over the city will sling you some of the finest joe you've ever had. So skip the birthplace of Starbucks, and head to Cafe Allegro in the University District.
Established in 1975, it's the oldest espresso bar in Seattle and is the perfect spot to huddle up with a book during the rainy months. The bare-brick walls and worn wooden storefront give Allegro a character that can't be replicated. All the coffee is fair trade and organic, and is roasted locally by a guy named Neal at Brown's Coffee. Espresso drinks are pulled and poured with finesse, and served without pretension.
With an upper level that hosts monthly poetry readings and an outdoor deck that faces the lush University of Washington campus, the cafe is also a great spot to unplug and make some new friends. (Allegro also has free WiFi if you're feeling antisocial.)
A little known fact about the cafe building is that it used to be a mortuary! Take notice of the drain in the center of the back room; they say that's where the blood pooled. But don't let that ruin your appetite 'cause the almond croissants are delicious.
Related Stories:
· Cafe Allegro [Official Site]
· Brown's Coffee [Official Site]
· Starbucks Alternatives coverage [Jaunted]
· Seattle Travel coverage [Jaunted]
by benh
1/23/2008 at 10:00 AM
Tags: Broadway Shows, Movie Set Travel, Shrek, Theater (all tags)
Theatergoers in New York can't seem to get enough of large-scale adaptations of children's movies like "Mary Poppins" and "The Lion King." Dreamworks' star franchise "Shrek" will get the Broadway treatment this year, with the director of saucy smash "Avenue Q" behind the wheel.
The plot of the musical will roughly follow the first (and best) "Shrek" movie. Casting hasn't begun yet, but the show will open first in Seattle (also the out-of-town launch pad for "Young Frankenstein" and "The Little Mermaid") in August, followed by an official Broadway bow in November.
We hear the Broadway Threatre, currently home to "The Color Purple," will be Shrek's new swampy lair... but that's just a rumor.
Related Stories:
· Musical "Shrek" to Debut in Seattle [Seattle Times]
· Broadway Shows coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: charleylhasa]
by egw
1/17/2008 at 12:00 PM
Tags: Music Travel, Live Music, Seattle-Music-Venues, Music Venues (all tags)
A reincarnation of the early-'90s Seattle music venue Moe's Mo' Rockin' Cafe, Neumo's returned to the city in fall 2003, picking up where it had left off the previous decade. Original Moe's founder Jerry Everard teamed up with another local venue owner to take back Moe's original space, which had been used as a disco, several clubs, and even a video arcade, since it closed its doors in 1997.
Today, Neumo's hosts bands like uber-hipsters The Teenagers and punk legends Neurosis and Converge. Despite a few unlikely appearances (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony) on its calendar, Neumo's has stayed true to its underground rock roots: Moe's did, after all, play host to the Flaming Lips and Radiohead in its early days.
The venue, located in Seattle's Capitol Hill area, has gotten nothing but glowing reviews from Seattle's local press. In addition to praise for its layout (one writer claims you can get an unobstructed view of the stage no matter where you stand), the venue also scored props for its gig selection.
Local writer Geoff Carter summed it up:
Its bookings are among Seattle's most righteous and run the gamut from old-school punk to new-school power-pop with stops nearly everywhere in-between.
Related Stories:
· Neumo's [Official site]
· Seattle Music Venues Map [Jaunted]
· Live Music coverage [Jaunted]
by laurenuta
1/15/2008 at 12:00 PM
Tags: Airport Security, Alcohol, Booze (all tags)
We didn't have much of an opinion on the vodka-loving German who pounded a liter of booze rather than surrender it to airport security officers last month. But it seems he started a quiet revolution in liquor-loving travel, spawning both TSA sympathy and solidarity among travelers.
On a recent trip, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford forgot about his 375 mL bottle of 1991 Krohn port before passing through security at Spokane International. Instead of dumping the (undoubtedly dangerous!) wine, a screener told Morford that he could quaff it before passing back through the checkpoint. Why not, right?
I took my first big swig, and proceeded to enjoy one of the stranger, warmer, fuzzier late-morning lunches I've had in awhile. It was pretty good port. At least, for 11 am on a Saturday in an airport baggage claim.
And rather than down the whole thing, he shared the rest of his bottle with another traveler. Smart, that.
Related Stories:
· How to Get Drunk at the Airport [SF Gate]
· Dreaming Vodka Dreams [Jaunted]
· Airport Security coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: desi.italy]
by pbb
