My blogging abilities have been somewhat stifled by the lack of pc computers and the proliferation of macs. Not that they are bad, but simply are foreign territory. So, moving on.. I'm in the Green Tortoise Hostel in Seattle, and the letters are appearing on the screen about three seconds after I type them. This is infuriating.
I'm in Seattle, soon heading off to Bumbershoot festival, where I'll be seeing the Shins, Steve Earle, Kings of Leon.. Check out bumbershoot.org. I liked this place as soon as I got off the train. I don't know if that's because it reminds me of Auckland or I was just thrilled to get away from that stinkin train. A 25hr ride it was! Seeing Oregon was nice though. A lot of Pine trees, a lot of hay fields.

On Wednesday I cycled Golden Gate Bridge, and I'm not even going to try post photos from this computer for fear of getting an ulcer. It was pretty amazing. Two guys in All Blacks shirts were hiring bikes the same time as me. I didn't say anything but I think they spotted my Kathmandu wallet. It was an unspoken bond, an understanding that was all-encompassed in the silent nods we shared as I flew past them going up the hill towards the Bridge. Silly buggers, they were wearing jeans.

On the bridge were a lot of blue signs saying "Crisis Phone" and "There is hope, make the call" - to stop people jumping off I assume. Sad as it was, I found it darkly comical that in the subtext it says "the consequences of jumping off this bridge are fatal and tragic".

Next day I went into San Fran again and did the Palace of Fine Arts (a huge Pantheon-like sculpture) and the Exploratorium. It's like MOTAT x 1000.

The night before, Barbara & Brent took me to Chevy's, a gloriously tacky Mexican restaurant chain. I ordered a Marguerita (?) but didn't have my ID so had to settle for lemonade. Expecting Schweppes, I got cordial. Lemonade has an entirely different meaning here.

Other than that, I've just been walking around looking at stuff, eavesdropping on people, chewing loads of Doublemint Stick Gum.. I better go now or I'll miss Crowded House.