The Great Perhaps: Seattle & ferry boats

I'm a little down because someone I look up to has let me down.  And when I'm a little down, when I cannot make sense of strong women sinking into a level so low, I like writing about the places I love even when it's been years after I have been in them. I guess I do it to remind me of happier times, of where I can go, of what I can do and of how happy I can still be even on my own. 

I didn't realize I took so many photos aboard ferries, which neighboring residents use to shuttle to and from the city proper. From Bremerton, it takes roughly thirty minutes to get to the Seattle ferry port but those thirty minutes are glorious. It is a comfortable medley of the sea breeze, birds flying overhead, wonderful boats you wave to when you pass them by, and smiling people under the sun. Late in the afternoon, the deck is a good place for people lost in thought or for people like me, who fancy watching the last fire of the setting sun. I like to watch the sky and sea bathe in the golden orange blaze of the afternoon sun, I like watching as it turns  dark pink and then indigo, and then transition slowly into complete darkness as the ferry moves farther away from the city and the sun descends. At night, the ferry's deck becomes a place for lovers admiring the faint glow of the city lights and it just perfect. Perfectly lonely. 

This is a short photo set of that glorious thirty minutes of oneness, of mornings between the sea and self. A small reminder to ourselves of the vast oceans beyond us and the little that it takes to sail away. 

Seattle is a nice place. Personally, I think it is a cross between San Francisco and New York City, two of my favorite places in the world. It has the climate and the relaxed easiness of North California, and it's also surrounded by so much water much like that small but magnetic island on the Eastern Seaboard. I could live here, if neither New York nor San Francisco works out. It is a beautiful place, beautiful enough to be a part of my personal version of The Great Perhaps. It is so easy to develop a thing for ferry boats, Derek Shepherd style. Like the fictional McDreamy, I didn't plan on liking Seattle but I do now. It is a lovely place. 

Seattle: Day and Night

I'd like to think that certain things remain beautiful, whether in darkness or in light. Seattle, 2010.

Excuse the sudden nostalgia. I realized I have a treasure trove of pictures just sitting in my hard drive. It's been a while since I last went to somewhere scenic. I have to admit that there has been a notable lack of anything fantastic in my life (lately, at least) and it has been driving me nuts. Sweet Jesus Navas, I think I need an adventure again. Let's work on it, Universe. :)

Octopus Crossing

I've always been fascinated by marine animals ever since I can remember. I get more excitement out of visiting aquariums than theme parks (Although, SeaWorld totally blurs the line between the two and I really love SeaWorld!) because I just love the genteel tranquility I feel whenever I'm in them. Aquariums also remind me of my father, so my love for marine life must be for reasons more sentimental than they are scientific. I just feel so happy and so relaxed even if there are times when claustrophobia kicks in and I get slightly terrifying visions of flood and breaking glass.

My favorite marine animal is the octopus, hands down. I love that they are known for their intelligence, escapist tendencies, deceiving defense mechanism and sometimes, their ability to predict the future of gorgeous millionaires like Iker Casillas. Sadly, most octopods don't live very long. They stay in the earthly seas for ten months at most and then go on to live the remainder of their fabulosity in the spirit world. It is this lifespan and their ability to escape aquariums that make them elusive features in marine sanctuaries. I went to two sites in San Francisco but I wasn't able to see any, only coral reefs made after Philippine seas. :( The good news is that I was able to find a North Pacific Giant Octopus in Seattle, right after Spain won the World Cup. Talk about victory! Hehe. :D

This particular octopus lives in two aquariums connected by a tube. It squeezes itself out of one aquarium and crosses the tube to the other. Most visitors coax the octopus to move to the other side but since it behaves LIKE A BOSS, all they can really do is wait with hope. Hahaha. It didn't happen when I was there though.

This is the clearest picture I have because the octopus moved so fast and I didn't want to block anybody's view. Check out that stare (more like sneer)! Like. A. Boss.

While squid and cuttlefish have tentacles, an octopus has "arms". I keep on calling it tentacles though. Force of habit. :( Look at its underside! I've observed that the suction caps (the white round ones) rotate as the octopus moves. I really find their locomotion very elegant and almost fluid.

Eksena! I can only imagine rows and rows of takoyaki and calamari and a pool filled with adobo. Yes, my love affair with food can never be undermined by my love for creatures of the sea. Haha! Yummy!

I'm pretty sure these are sea urchins. I wanted to take pictures of the stud puffin (see what I did there? HAHA) but it moved out of the frame. Makulit kasi siya. Bummer.

A few months a year, Seattle becomes home to a lot of salmons. Whenever they are in season, schools swim upstream for people to see. I'm only interested in salmon when it's sliced fresh by a sashimi knife so I just settled for the view. It was a beautiful day. :)

Before I boarded the ferry, I sat by a dock and had fish and chips.

This was my view from the table...

It would've been amazing to pet them, if they weren't such a health hazard. Hahaha. Kidding!

Hehe. I just wanted to share. That is all! :D

O'ne Siamera Plus Jamais

For everyone who is still not over Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Inception, because only a few can be called via their initials. You have to be super awesome. And he is, even while talking gibberish.

Sleepless..

Through the course of my travels, I have developed a fondness for taking somebody else's "moment" and making them my own. In reality, I just want to live in their moment, because when you don't have a moment of your own, you try to live vicariously through the moments of people around you. It's sad, picking up the pieces of something that isn't even meant for you. And in between these moments, all the while being alone but not unhappy, I have learned to deal with fear. And to be totally, completely, truly satisfied to just be in my company. Always just me. :)

On a ferry, in Seattle. July 2010.