Don’t
let the weather rule Spring Break
By Mike Parker
On-line Forty-Niner
Ah,
Spring Break. The road trips to Vegas, the
group getaways to Cancun, the long days
on the beach. Everyone seems to have a
pre-set location they routinely retreat
to when it comes to vacations, and it seems
to usually involve sunny weather, crazy
nightlife, and miles of beaches.
But if you are tired of spending hundreds
of dollars to pretend to have a good time
in a Mexico hotel room you’re sharing with
five friends that doesn’t have running water,
heed my words: Seattle, Washington is the
answer. Known to the vast majority of Southern
Californians as “the place up north that
rains a lot,” but remaining esoteric as
to how life really functions within it,
Seattle is a veritable haven from our smog-infested
reality.
I know what you’re thinking, “It rains too
much there. It’s too gloomy.” While it does
rain in the greater Seattle area quite a
bit, only 1.76 inches of rain fell throughout
February 2003. This is 2.45 inches less
than their average rainfall since 1945,
and considering Long Beach had roughly 4.2
inches of rain alone Saturday, Seattle’s
weather is more than tolerable. Granted,
it’s not exactly Cabo San Lucas, but travelling
there isn’t the miserably bleak experience
it might be made out to be.
So, once you take in the surroundings and
realize the cool weather and laid-back atmosphere
of the city are quite enjoyable, the big
question swiftly comes: what to do while
you’re there. Say you’re standing in the
middle of downtown, looking at the landscape
and taking it all in. You’d probably be
inclined to think, “I guess I’ll go check
out the Space Needle.”
Don’t do it.
Save your time and your money. The Space
Needle is attractive to look at, and provides
an interesting addition to the skyline,
but that’s really the extent of it. If you
have an affinity for heights and great views,
feel free to shoot up the Needle. (Pun intended.)
All it generally consists of is spinning
in a five-story circle at the speed of a
crippled snail while eating two-star food.
Trust me, you can do better.
I recommend going to University Avenue during
the day, better known as “The Ave.” Located
in the “U-District” for its close proximity
to the beautiful University of Washington,
the place is absolutely loaded with obscure
record stores, coffee shops, tattoo parlors
and nonstop interesting sights. Picture
Haight-Ashbury mixed with Berkeley’s Telegraph
Avenue and throw in more coffee and less
hippies, and you’ll get a vague idea of
how The Ave looks. Your best bet for great
shopping is Cellophane Square, the hands-down
best record store I’ve ever been to.
Once finished running around, and after
some rest, go back out. Fear not - Seattle
is anything but short on nightlife. The
Bad JuJu Lounge downtown offers a nice example
of this. Dark, intimate and never failing
to be wildly interesting on each visit,
the Lounge offers drinks at reasonable prices
and ambience that simply cannot be topped.
Also, be sure not to miss Pioneer Square,
comparable to our very own Second St. The
collection of bars alone is staggering,
(pun also intended) and is more than equipped
to handle a tirade of party-hungry college
students.
If you venture up to Seattle on any given
time of the year, you’re bound for an entertaining
experience. It’s as far a cry from Los Angeles
or Orange County weather as physically possible,
but the overall environment of the city
and bustling nightlife simply cannot be
topped.
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