Saturday: My father took me to the airport, where we got a significant runaround from the check-in personnel at American. (It was a busy travel day.) I did make my flight, though. After I got to Seattle, we went to OfficeMax. Then it got dark, and we drove around the various districts of the city for a while. We ate in a coffee shop which looked like a lot of coffee shops here in Urbana-land.

Sunday: We went out to Snoqualmie Falls, which was nice. It's not as impressive as Montmorency Falls, but that makes it a lot more personable. We then went further east on 90 to Roslyn, where the TV series Northern Exposure was filmed. Then we went back to West Seattle.

Monday: On Monday we went to Pike Place Market and wandered around a bit in the downtown area. We stopped in at Elliott Bay Book Company, the first of the three bookstores I visited in Seattle. There I bought 101 American English Idioms, 200% of Nothing, and a copy of Newsweek with a cover story on Ritalin, a medication used primarily in the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder. That day we also took the bus, because my aunt's car was getting a new battery at Swedish Automotive.

Tuesday: Tuesday we went up north. After missing the 9:50 ferry from Anacortes, we puttered around until the 12:00 ferry. We wandered about near Deception Pass, and went to a bagel store, where I got three bagels: salt (not as good as in Westmont), garlic (drier but a little more potent than in Westmont), and cranberry (not available in Westmont; this bagel was wonderful). We eventually boarded the ferry and went to Orcas, which was less than thrilling. I spent most of my 100 minutes on Orcas sitting at a table up above the ferry terminal looking at the sunlight and thinking. Then we went to Friday Harbor, which was more interesting. We went in a few shops, and I bought a cheese cookbook and a candle for my friend Angela. Then we took the ferry back through the darkness to Anacortes, and then drove home.

Wednesday: After writing a letter to my friends Mara and Angela, we went to the U-Dub, also known as The University of Washington. At their bookstore (I ought never go into bookstores) I bought The Elements Of Style and Answers To Distraction. We toured the UW Computer Fair, and I signed up for a catalog from one of the exhibitors who had a shirt I found extremely appropriate for a certain CS major I know. I also saw the Math Department HQ. Then we went home and I watched Illinois lose a basketball game on TV.

Thursday: I saw Mt. St. Helens on Thursday. We had to drive a long way south to get there, and the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center was about 3700 feet up. The elevation gave me quite a headache. I learned that the mountain used to be 1313 feet higher (before it blew up on 18 May 1980). I bought a postcard with the outline of the rest of the mountain drawn in, and a poster called "Fire Mountain", which is the (appropriate) Klickitat name for Mt. St. Helens. Then we went home and watched more basketball on TV; this time it was Princeton's upset of UCLA.

Friday: On Friday we went to Shorey's Bookstore (yes, another bookstore). Here I bought used books: Games People Play from the Psychology section, CRC Book of Mathematical Tables, 1959 from the Mathematics section, and Mastering Pac-Man from the Cheap Paperbacks section. Then we went downtown. There I had a very unsettling experience; I saw Frederick & Nelson's flagship store. This department store was owned by Marshall Field's of Chicago, and the front of it looks just like a Field's store, complete with green awnings and white script lettering. The "F" in Frederick looks exactly like the "F" in Field. The difference is that F&N went out of business, so the store I was looking at was closed and frosted over. It was for me a chance to see what my favorite Chicago department store, and a Chicago landmark both in building and in retail, would look like gone. It was extremely unsettling. Then we took the Seattle Center Monorail to Seattle Center, and we saw the Sonics-Maverics game at KeyArena. KeyArena is a good place to try a lot of different kinds of beer (although at $4.25 apiece, beer is expensive). The Sonics won, and I really enjoyed my first professional basketball game. At the Sonics Team Shop, I bought my roommate a shot glass and Andy a hat, as well as a mini basketball for me. Then we went back home.

Saturday: Saturday I went to two malls, Southcenter (in Seattle) and Bellevue Square (in Bellevue). I went into a Mervyn's store (owned by Dayton Hudson Corporation, the same folks who now own Marshall Field's). It looked like a Kohl's. I bought two ½ pound boxes of Frango chocolates at The Bon Marché, who acquired the Seattle-area distribution rights to them from Field's after F&N went away. At Bellevue Square I went to the Warner Brothers store and bought my mother a Dot doll and my father a Wakko doll. (I kept the Yakko doll for myself.) At William-Sonoma I tried a wonderful garlic-flavored vinegar, but didn't buy any. Then we went back home. At 7:00, flipping channels, I landed on Channel 9. As if to taunt me, KCTS was airing a marathon of Red Dwarf. They aired eight more on Monday night, after I was gone. I may send them a pledge; I really would like some of those premiums they offered. Then I went to Sea-Tac for my flight home, leaving at 23:45 Pacific Time.

Sunday: At 05:22 Central Time I returned to the land of flatness. It was good to be back. I went to Best Buy and finally bought The Wall, then I went to Oak Brook. Satisfied that Marshall Field's still exists, I went to William-Sonoma where my mother and I each bought a bottle of that wonderful garlic vinegar. (I got my love of garlic from her, I think.) Then we ate food, watched The Hudsucker Proxy, and then my father drove me back to Urbana, getting in here around 22:30.