1. It's simply true that when I'm in a city, I walk more than I do in Kellogg. Today I racked up over 7000 steps, more than I've walked in a single day for way too long.
I started this day of walking by strolling over to Trader Joe's, a hop, skip, and a jump from the room I booked.
I wanted to have sparkling water in my room and some snacks. I picked up a bag of salt and pepper potato chips, dried cranberry and roasted nut blend trail mix, a bag of lightly salted roasted peanuts, and a container of chocolate chip cookie dunkers.
2. I brought these items back to my room and, a little later, I headed down Alaska Street to California Avenue and a part of West Seattle called Junction.
I began my tour of this neighborhood at Pegasus Books. Pegasus carries new and used books with a generous supply of mysteries. I wanted to purchase a book and go to a coffee shop and read for a while. I thought it would be fun to read one of the novels that was turned into one of the film noir movies I've watched recently.
I hit the jackpot. I found a sturdy hardback containing three novels of James M. Cain. The book was in great shape and so now I have Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and The Postman Always Rings Twice all in one book.
I carried my purchase up to Lula Coffee Company, ordered an everything bagel toasted with cream cheese and an Americano with whole milk. I don't remember the last time I sat in a coffee shop, relaxed, and read a book -- and didn't move an inch for nearly an hour. In fact, I don't remember the last time I bought a book at a bookstore.
It might see odd that I would drive all the way to West Seattle just to walk up California Avenue and buy a book and take to a coffee shop and read while eating a bagel and drinking Americano, but it's this very sort of thing I love to do when visiting a city.
After reading the first chapter of Mildred Pierce, I gathered myself and headed down California a short distance to a small eatery called Dumplings of Fury and ordered a plate of three large steamed Kimchi dumplings with pork, tofu, cilantro, and crispy onion bits.
I love dumplings.
I loved sitting on a stool at a narrow counter looking out a window onto California Avenue savoring moderately spicy crunchy pickled cabbage, cilantro, and crispy onion bits spread over dumplings stuffed with pork and tofu. Having this very kind of experience is why I love to travel.
3. I walked back to my room and took a blissful nap.
I decided I'd walked enough today and so I drove to C & P Coffee Company.
Bill Davie was performing tonight, his first solo gig in front of a live audience since March 5, 2020.
Bill has had times over the last several months when he wondered if he'd ever play his guitar again.
His hands have not been obedient, have not done what his mind tells them to do, making guitar playing sometimes difficult, sometimes frustrating, sometimes impossible.
But, Bill has persisted. He's discovered ice packs on his forearms are an effective aid. He discovered he can play better if he sits after playing standing up for the last 50+ years. He discovered a kind of guitar strap that works better than what he's used his entire life.
Bill never knows when his hands might rebel. He never knows for sure how long he can play.
So, for me, at least, his playing tonight was both a source of joy and pleasure and of some low grade anxiety. I didn't want to see Bill's hands quit on him.
And they didn't.
Maybe it was adrenaline. Maybe it was the joy of playing for a supportive audience. Maybe it was a triumph of Bill's persistence.
Whatever it was, Bill played beautifully tonight, performing a wide range of his compositions, reaching back into the 1980s, playing songs he's more recently written, and songs that fall in between the deep back then and more recent years.
I was elated when 9:00 rolled around and Bill played his last song. No, I wasn't elated that C & P had to close and Bill had to wrap things up.
I was elated that Bill prevailed over his physical maladies and whatever doubt he might have carried into this evening. Bill gave an exquisite performance.
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