Spokane trip, day 2
Feb. 5th, 2006 09:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseOn hotels that offer an actual decent breakfast rather than just two stale minimuffins and a piece of fruit: They are awesome.
On actual department stores with knowledgeable staff: These are awesome too. Brian had grabbed a couple of shirts the night before, more or less guessing at his size, since this is the usual modus operandi for shopping in Juneau (the one department store we have here seems to have a single employment qualification: Do you have a pulse?). When we brought them back the next day, the salesgirl (her nametag said "Casandra") not only exchanged them for us, she took Brian's measurements and had him try on the corresponding size; when that turned out to be too big, she got us the next size down, so we ended up with three dress shirts that fit him perfectly, plus a couple of nice polo shirts that will help him look better at work without being too fancy. Thank you so much, Casandra...
On randomly tooling around Spokane in a 2006 Cadillac DeVille: This is awesome, too. Although it has its parts that look just like any other city, Spokane also has some sections with really interesting architecture, including a stunning French Renaissance-style courthouse that's over a hundred years old, as well as a beautiful Episcopal cathedral. And a lot of the houses are those cute little tract-houses that the government built for returning soldiers in the late 40's; they look really cute and cozy.
On Wal-Mart: It's been some time since I've been in an actual Sprawl-Mart; I don't think I'd entered one since moving away from Anchorage in 2000. I'd forgotten exactly what it was like being bombarded by such variety; it seemed like every single product they sold (be it pens, tires, or electric shavers) came in about 50 different types (at least). While it was rather nice to have such a selection after being used to the stores here in Juneau, I couldn't help but think of Jibjab's "Big Box Mart": "When I'm walking through the aisles/It's like I'm hypnotized/With a wallet full of credit cards/I never leave deprived/Oh Big Box Mart/Thank you for serving me/'Cause my house is full of crap now and it used to be empty..."
On getting my hair done in an actual salon: I ended up making appointments for Brian and myself at 14th and Grand, both because they were close to the hotel, and because (in addition to having the coolest website) their address was 1337 Grand Blvd. This amused me to no end. Given the fact that they seemed to be trying for the whole "hip and edgy" decor, I halfway think that was intentional.
In any case, this was again the first time I'd had my hair done in a salon pretty much since leaving Anchorage - while I do have a girly streak, it's not wide enough to justify spending the money to get my hair cut regularly by a stylist. This being a special trip, however, I went all out - in addition to getting my split ends trimmed, I told her I wanted it done up fancy; she ended up doing this beautifully elaborate hairstyle that essentially amounted to a mass of curls piled on my head. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures, but it was really very lovely. I think she used something like 80 bobby pins (along with all the hairspray); it felt kind of funny when I went outside in the wind and not a hair on my head moved. :) Brian also had his hair done; as he's been growing it out lately, it's been rather uneven. The stylist thinned it out and layered it; it looks really chic and sexy now. But then I'm a bit biased.
Their prices were actually quite reasonable; it was just a bit over $100 for the both of us, which included some free makeup for me when my stylist had to take a few minutes to finish someone's hair. While I don't think I'm going to get my hair done up like that very often (lack of need aside, I felt like a pincushion for 45 minutes), if Brian and I do end up moving to Spokane like we've been talking about, I might well start going there on a regular basis (of course, for me, "regular" means something like once every six months for a trim :).
On dinner at Anthony's Home Port: Even though we took a couple of wrong turns and ended up being late for our reservations, they seated us and we proceeded to have a truly awesome meal of sourdough bread, pan-seared Ahi in a ginger sauce, Cesar salad and clam chowder, seafood fettucine (for me) and crab fettucine (for him), and Bailey's Irish Cream chocolate mousse. I know I'm a little hesitant about moving down to Washington in a few years, even though Brian really wants to, but after the first bite of that mousse I went, "Okay. We can move here."
Still have yet to find a place with better burgers than Doc Water's, though...
On Mr. Jerry Brown: Okay, so Mr. Jerry Brown wasn't part of our trip at all, but right now he's stretched out on the couch sleeping with his paws covering his face. He's so adorable when he does this...one of these days I'm going to have to try and snap a picture.
On 42nd Street: I really enjoyed this show. The first act, while fun, didn't impress me as much as the second did. Partially I'm guessing this is because it was more story-oriented, and 42nd Street doesn't have the strongest storyline. However, the second act had some really dynamite numbers, including the title piece, which had so many lights that I was surprised the bundles of cabling they had running along the sides of the wall weren't thicker than they were. The tap dancers were fantastic, the choreography and singing uniformly excellent; and the acting varied from passable to amazing. (The woman playing Dorothy Brock came off as rather over the top and not very genuine in her acting scenes, but had a fantastic voice; the man they had playing Julian Marsh, however, stole the whole second act. I especially loved the last scene; he really made it seem like Julian was looking over his life and the sacrifices he had made and the person he had become, all in a few lines of dialogue and lyric.)
On the trip back: It's amazing how much less stressful air travel is when everything goes right for once. Especially when you run into your former Acting II teacher at Sea-Tac Airport...
All in all, a really fun trip, though I wish we'd had the funds to stay longer. I'm still not sure if/when I want to move, but I'm beginning to think I might not mind living in Spokane for a few years...I guess we'll see.
On actual department stores with knowledgeable staff: These are awesome too. Brian had grabbed a couple of shirts the night before, more or less guessing at his size, since this is the usual modus operandi for shopping in Juneau (the one department store we have here seems to have a single employment qualification: Do you have a pulse?). When we brought them back the next day, the salesgirl (her nametag said "Casandra") not only exchanged them for us, she took Brian's measurements and had him try on the corresponding size; when that turned out to be too big, she got us the next size down, so we ended up with three dress shirts that fit him perfectly, plus a couple of nice polo shirts that will help him look better at work without being too fancy. Thank you so much, Casandra...
On randomly tooling around Spokane in a 2006 Cadillac DeVille: This is awesome, too. Although it has its parts that look just like any other city, Spokane also has some sections with really interesting architecture, including a stunning French Renaissance-style courthouse that's over a hundred years old, as well as a beautiful Episcopal cathedral. And a lot of the houses are those cute little tract-houses that the government built for returning soldiers in the late 40's; they look really cute and cozy.
On Wal-Mart: It's been some time since I've been in an actual Sprawl-Mart; I don't think I'd entered one since moving away from Anchorage in 2000. I'd forgotten exactly what it was like being bombarded by such variety; it seemed like every single product they sold (be it pens, tires, or electric shavers) came in about 50 different types (at least). While it was rather nice to have such a selection after being used to the stores here in Juneau, I couldn't help but think of Jibjab's "Big Box Mart": "When I'm walking through the aisles/It's like I'm hypnotized/With a wallet full of credit cards/I never leave deprived/Oh Big Box Mart/Thank you for serving me/'Cause my house is full of crap now and it used to be empty..."
On getting my hair done in an actual salon: I ended up making appointments for Brian and myself at 14th and Grand, both because they were close to the hotel, and because (in addition to having the coolest website) their address was 1337 Grand Blvd. This amused me to no end. Given the fact that they seemed to be trying for the whole "hip and edgy" decor, I halfway think that was intentional.
In any case, this was again the first time I'd had my hair done in a salon pretty much since leaving Anchorage - while I do have a girly streak, it's not wide enough to justify spending the money to get my hair cut regularly by a stylist. This being a special trip, however, I went all out - in addition to getting my split ends trimmed, I told her I wanted it done up fancy; she ended up doing this beautifully elaborate hairstyle that essentially amounted to a mass of curls piled on my head. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures, but it was really very lovely. I think she used something like 80 bobby pins (along with all the hairspray); it felt kind of funny when I went outside in the wind and not a hair on my head moved. :) Brian also had his hair done; as he's been growing it out lately, it's been rather uneven. The stylist thinned it out and layered it; it looks really chic and sexy now. But then I'm a bit biased.
Their prices were actually quite reasonable; it was just a bit over $100 for the both of us, which included some free makeup for me when my stylist had to take a few minutes to finish someone's hair. While I don't think I'm going to get my hair done up like that very often (lack of need aside, I felt like a pincushion for 45 minutes), if Brian and I do end up moving to Spokane like we've been talking about, I might well start going there on a regular basis (of course, for me, "regular" means something like once every six months for a trim :).
On dinner at Anthony's Home Port: Even though we took a couple of wrong turns and ended up being late for our reservations, they seated us and we proceeded to have a truly awesome meal of sourdough bread, pan-seared Ahi in a ginger sauce, Cesar salad and clam chowder, seafood fettucine (for me) and crab fettucine (for him), and Bailey's Irish Cream chocolate mousse. I know I'm a little hesitant about moving down to Washington in a few years, even though Brian really wants to, but after the first bite of that mousse I went, "Okay. We can move here."
Still have yet to find a place with better burgers than Doc Water's, though...
On Mr. Jerry Brown: Okay, so Mr. Jerry Brown wasn't part of our trip at all, but right now he's stretched out on the couch sleeping with his paws covering his face. He's so adorable when he does this...one of these days I'm going to have to try and snap a picture.
On 42nd Street: I really enjoyed this show. The first act, while fun, didn't impress me as much as the second did. Partially I'm guessing this is because it was more story-oriented, and 42nd Street doesn't have the strongest storyline. However, the second act had some really dynamite numbers, including the title piece, which had so many lights that I was surprised the bundles of cabling they had running along the sides of the wall weren't thicker than they were. The tap dancers were fantastic, the choreography and singing uniformly excellent; and the acting varied from passable to amazing. (The woman playing Dorothy Brock came off as rather over the top and not very genuine in her acting scenes, but had a fantastic voice; the man they had playing Julian Marsh, however, stole the whole second act. I especially loved the last scene; he really made it seem like Julian was looking over his life and the sacrifices he had made and the person he had become, all in a few lines of dialogue and lyric.)
On the trip back: It's amazing how much less stressful air travel is when everything goes right for once. Especially when you run into your former Acting II teacher at Sea-Tac Airport...
All in all, a really fun trip, though I wish we'd had the funds to stay longer. I'm still not sure if/when I want to move, but I'm beginning to think I might not mind living in Spokane for a few years...I guess we'll see.
