A few years ago, I was lucky enough to vaguely see the Aurora Borealis from some random out-of-the-way parking lot in Bremerton, WA. It was really fascinating, although as far south as we are, it wasn't the captivating desktop-wallpaper-worthy photos you can find on the internet. However, hearing about our most recent Sun Storm and semi-sciencey projections of a massive Aurora excited me enough to try it again. And so with a loose plan and a backpack of back-up "just in case we decide to crash somewhere for the night" items, commence what strictly speaking is a failed mission... but was honestly one of the most fun days I think I've ever had.
The Italian had an appointment in Seattle in the late afternoon, and I suggested we take the ferry over to Bremerton, since that's where I'd had luck seeing the Aurora before. But... we'd need dinner at some point, and honestly, there's not much to do on that side of the Peninsula, so we decided to kill time in Seattle instead. Looking for a dinner place, I had an epiphany--Uwajimaya!! Situated in the International District, it's a combination grocery-store-slash-deli-slash-food-court-slash-book-store-slash-gift-shop. Seriously, it's like an Asian SuperWallyWorld, plus food court and deli. Super awesome if you're into that kind of thing. The first time I ever went, I did not appreciate where I was or what I was eating. Now, I did... and finally, I had someone with me who would actually appreciate it! We grabbed a basked and picked up some Soju, coffee, and some snacks. We also wandered through the gift/book store and found an Oatmeal calendar and Attack on Titan shirt. I had Thai red curry and he had some giant Udon stuff. After dinner we grabbed some Boba Tea and tried to make the next Ferry. Unfortunately, they were full, so we parked for the next one and wandered about the Pier area, stopping into the Curiosity Shop and a few other stores. Back on the Ferry, we wandered around a bit and caught some cool ocean air. I'd read that the Aurora would be best after midnight, so we still had about two or three hours to kill. We found a theatre [hooray for smart phones!] and settled in for a movie.
Here's where I'm going to go off track for a second. We watched The Giver. I'm not going to go too deep so I don't spoil it for anyone who does want to watch it. It wasn't our first choice, but honestly I'm glad we saw this one. The visual work was amazing, really intriguing. The kind of thing that--if I were still in college--I'd write an in-depth, analytical, 'deeper meaning' type paper on. As we walked out, he joked that it was 'a total chick flick,' because there was, of course, a love story involved. But I had to correct him: 'Actually, that movie was about depression.' He thought for a second, and somewhat agreed. [I will say, it wasn't completely original, it threw back or borrowed heavily from City of Ember and Pleasantville... but if you can get past that, it was pretty good.] If you have struggled with depression and have trouble explaining it to people, or if someone you know has struggled with depression and you never understood what they meant, I advise you to watch this. Wait til it's on Netflix or Redbox or whatever if you want, but 'as your attorney' I highly advise it.
So back to date night. Actually, that's kind of where it pattered out. I took a wrong turn getting on the highway, so instead of trying to find a quiet spot to watch the sky, we ended up going home instead. True, it was around midnight. We may not have seen anything neat in the sky, but really, overall, it was a great day anyways. Seriously, best afternoon and night I've spent with another person in a very very long time. Possibly if ever! I mean that seems kind of anti-climactic, but... well I guess if you saw The Giver, then it would make a bit more sense.
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| Lies! Lies, I tell you!! |
The Italian had an appointment in Seattle in the late afternoon, and I suggested we take the ferry over to Bremerton, since that's where I'd had luck seeing the Aurora before. But... we'd need dinner at some point, and honestly, there's not much to do on that side of the Peninsula, so we decided to kill time in Seattle instead. Looking for a dinner place, I had an epiphany--Uwajimaya!! Situated in the International District, it's a combination grocery-store-slash-deli-slash-food-court-slash-book-store-slash-gift-shop. Seriously, it's like an Asian SuperWallyWorld, plus food court and deli. Super awesome if you're into that kind of thing. The first time I ever went, I did not appreciate where I was or what I was eating. Now, I did... and finally, I had someone with me who would actually appreciate it! We grabbed a basked and picked up some Soju, coffee, and some snacks. We also wandered through the gift/book store and found an Oatmeal calendar and Attack on Titan shirt. I had Thai red curry and he had some giant Udon stuff. After dinner we grabbed some Boba Tea and tried to make the next Ferry. Unfortunately, they were full, so we parked for the next one and wandered about the Pier area, stopping into the Curiosity Shop and a few other stores. Back on the Ferry, we wandered around a bit and caught some cool ocean air. I'd read that the Aurora would be best after midnight, so we still had about two or three hours to kill. We found a theatre [hooray for smart phones!] and settled in for a movie.
Here's where I'm going to go off track for a second. We watched The Giver. I'm not going to go too deep so I don't spoil it for anyone who does want to watch it. It wasn't our first choice, but honestly I'm glad we saw this one. The visual work was amazing, really intriguing. The kind of thing that--if I were still in college--I'd write an in-depth, analytical, 'deeper meaning' type paper on. As we walked out, he joked that it was 'a total chick flick,' because there was, of course, a love story involved. But I had to correct him: 'Actually, that movie was about depression.' He thought for a second, and somewhat agreed. [I will say, it wasn't completely original, it threw back or borrowed heavily from City of Ember and Pleasantville... but if you can get past that, it was pretty good.] If you have struggled with depression and have trouble explaining it to people, or if someone you know has struggled with depression and you never understood what they meant, I advise you to watch this. Wait til it's on Netflix or Redbox or whatever if you want, but 'as your attorney' I highly advise it.
So back to date night. Actually, that's kind of where it pattered out. I took a wrong turn getting on the highway, so instead of trying to find a quiet spot to watch the sky, we ended up going home instead. True, it was around midnight. We may not have seen anything neat in the sky, but really, overall, it was a great day anyways. Seriously, best afternoon and night I've spent with another person in a very very long time. Possibly if ever! I mean that seems kind of anti-climactic, but... well I guess if you saw The Giver, then it would make a bit more sense.
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