Amenity anxiety

I was surprised to see the phone light blinking when I got back to my room. Thinking I had a message, I pushed the button for the front desk and wondered who would’ve tried to reach me at the Hilton in San Jose instead of on my cell.

Finding the answer required what seemed like an inordinate amount of keyboard clicking on the other end of the line – like maybe employees have to type out the text of Hamlet before accessing guest information.

“Ah. You have an amenity. Would you like us to send it up to you?”

It was my turn for a long pause.

To me, “amenities” are offerings, like wifi or a fitness room. No one was sending me the fitness room. And the wifi was already there.

“I didn’t, um, order anything. What is it?”

“I’m not sure. It just says ‘amenity.’ We can send it up to your room if you’d like.” he reiterated.

Since I had no idea what would be showing up at my door, I decided it would be safer to stop by the front desk later on and sort it out there.

He politely said, “Of course,” but I got the feeling he was thinking, “you’re making this harder than it needs to be.”

When I stopped by the front desk later, the clerk still acted like the fact I hadn’t requested anything was irrelevant to the fact that something was waiting for me. He retyped Hamlet to find my information again.

Staring into the glowing monitor, he could see there was a DND on my room, which means I had unintentionally set something on my door to “Do Not Disturb.” He also could see that the DND was the reason the amenity wasn’t delivered to my room earlier. But he still couldn’t see what the mysterious amenity was. He wrote something down on a sheet of paper and sent a younger guy off to retrieve it, while I waited in suspense.

My amenity came in 2 perfect little red boxes. Each contained a neatly packed cupcake that said “Lentils” on top with a little maple leaf symbol. So someone sent me cupcakes? Possibly made out of lentils? And maple leaves? There was no note and not even an ingredient list. I mulled this over as I rode the elevator back up to my room.

I also contemplated the fact that if someone wanted me dead, they could probably just send me poisoned cupcakes, and it’d be all over.

Finally, I remembered that BlogHer Conference sponsors sometimes send swag to attendees’ rooms. I checked the sponsor list and found Canadian Lentils. Bingo.

No one poisons sponsored cupcakes. Especially not Canadian ones.

Back in my room, I enjoyed an Amenity Cupcake. I still don’t know what was in it. But it was delicious and definitely not poisoned.

I found the DND switch on my door and turned it off. If any other amenities were sent my way, I was ready.

September 23, 2014September 24, 2014

Short visit sightseeing: One day in Seattle

There’s a lot to see and do in Seattle. But if you don’t have much time, it’s actually a great place for a short trip too. Many of the main attractions are close together, so it’s easy to see the sights (and then move on if you want to see more local spots).

On a recent, all-too-short trip to Seattle, I set out to see some of the city’s highlights in one day.

Originally, we had planned to spend most of the day downtown. I won’t bore you with the details, but things came up, plans shifted, schedules changed, and that didn’t happen. But it was still a fabulous day in Seattle.

Tip one: Have a plan…and be ready for it to change.

If you want to see as much as you can in a short amount of time, you don’t want to leave it totally to chance. Having a plan as a starting point will also help when things inevitably change.

Morning: Fremont

Coffee is a great way to start a day in Seattle. Okay, coffee is a great way to start the day anywhere. Seattle does have an exceptional range of options, though, including dozens of independent shops and locally-based chains.

I met a friend at Milstead & Co., which shares outdoor seating with History House of Greater Seattle, a museum of Seattle’s neighborhoods and sculpture garden. It’s located in the Fremont neighborhood, which is known for its Sunday market, public art (including the eponymous Troll), and supposed position at the center of the universe.

Tip two: Think geographically. Group sightseeing by neighborhood. Remember to allow for transit time and traffic.

Midday: International District

Midday, we headed downtown. I needed to stop by the Visit Seattle office to pick up my press kit and CityPasses. That placed us conveniently near the International District (a.k.a. Seattle’s Chinatown) at lunch time.

The International District has tons of great food options. My brother and sister-in-law wanted to introduce me to dim sum, so we went to their favorite place, Jade Garden. As far as I can tell, the better the dim sum, the worse the parking. It works out, though. What goes down is that cart after cart filled with steaming hot, hard-to-turn-down dumplings and assorted goodies wheels up to your table, you try lots of delicious things that you may or may not be able to identify, pay the bill, and waddle out. At this point, you probably realize a longer walk to your parking spot is a good idea.

You can grab some boba tea before heading to your next stop. While you’re in the neighborhood, look for dragons climbing telephone poles, the Chinatown Gate, and a giant chessboard in Hing Hay Park.

Tip three: Make food and beverages part of your experience of a place, rather than an afterthought.

Afternoon: Seattle Center

Seattle Center is home to a number of attractions, fountains, gardens — and free wifi!

Space Needle

The iconic Space Needle is obviously a super popular destination. Fortunately, whoever’s in charge there is pretty efficient. There are separate lines for people purchasing tickets, with general admission, with a scheduled a time to go up, and for CityPass holders.

The CityPass really does save a lot of time, so, even if your trip is too short to see all the sights, it may be worth it for the quicker access.

Even the elevator ride is maximized, with the operator spouting facts about the Space Needle on the ride up. I was concerned it might be a bit nerve wracking to watch out the windows as we ascended, but it wasn’t. It takes about 45 seconds to get to the top, and it feels a bit like you’re just slowly floating up there.

You step out of the elevator into a room that wraps around the building. There is a huge interactive display that a crowd of people could check out at once (the “Skypad”), souvenirs for sale, and a restaurant with wine specials. I’m thinking the next time I’ll plan to just go up, find a table next to the window, and sip on merlot. We even noticed a few outlets in case you drain your phone taking photos.

Outside is the observation deck with viewing telescopes and a few benches. You can walk around the whole building and see for miles – Puget Sound, the downtown skyscrapers, the roofs of museums, a swimming pool or two, and far off residential neighborhoods. There was a nice breeze at the top. Despite the fact that it was a busy day, it wasn’t hard to find spots next to the rail to look off in the distance, and it actually felt peaceful up there.

At the bottom of the Space Needle is a large gift shop inside and the Chihuly Garden outside.

Pacific Science Center

We, unfortunately, ran out of time for the espionage exhibit at Pacific Science Center, but we did have a look around. There were animatronic dinosaurs and models of the solar system and even small animals in aquariums (including axolotls, the salamander-like object of the narrator’s obsession in Julio Cortázar’s short story. I’d wanted to see one since reading it in a Spanish lit class.) We visited the Tropical Butterfly House and smiled that this large butterfly had attached itself to one man’s pant leg and was apparently never leaving. My two-year-old niece and 10-month-old nephew enjoyed playing in the water at the stream table. Everyone with the museum was super nice and helpful.

Also near Seattle Center/Waterfront

Evening: West Seattle

We walked through the lovely Seacrest Park at sunset and took in the view of downtown and with a minature Space Needle across the water. For a longer walk, Alki Beach is nearby.

We went to the fusion restaurant Marination Ma Kai, which got its start as a food truck and now boasts several locations around Seattle. The day we were there it was packed with uniformed high school band kids for some reason. There must have been an event or competition that day. Anyway, they provided some free entertainment while we waited in line.

Tip four: Savor the moment. Whether you’re ascending a tower or simply watching ripples across the water, do your best to enjoy the view.

Alternate plans:

Pike Place Market is near Seattle Center, and you could start there instead of Fremont. Go early for fresh produce and fish or later for retailers, bars, and buskers.
Some people with a tight schedule skip the top of the Space Needle for more time in museums or seeing other sights.
If you’re not interested in the big attractions, you could also spend less of your day downtown and more at local hangouts.
Check out Visit Seattle’s one-day itinerary and day trip list for other alternatives.

Bringing a Bit of Seattle to You

If you can’t head to Seattle just yet (or if you want to keep your trip fresh in your mind), here are a few ideas to make the Emerald City feel a little closer:

Fresh From Seattle: Recipes from the City’s Best Chefs – A taste of Seattle in your own home. (Ebook. Free.)
Space Needle live feed – The view from the top. (Webcam city view. Hint: If the picture is blurry, it’s probably raining.)
Four Windows: Seattle – A brand new project that features 4 Seattle-inspired novels delivered in fun-sized portions. (Ebook. Free first issue.)

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A big thank you to Visit Seattle for providing information and CityPasses and to Ian Smith and Christine Smith of Four Windows, who acted as my city guides and assisted with this series of Seattle posts! Congrats on the launch of Four Windows Books!

August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

Wandering Pike Place Market

There’s nothing wrong with seeing the highlights of a place, the well-known “must-see” spots. But it’s always great when you can go beyond that, get off the beaten path, take the side streets.

Pike Place Market isn’t just a tourist attraction. Locals also frequent the farmers’ market, shops, cafes, and bars. It’s brimming with quirky Seattle flavor. The Market rewards those who are willing to explore, to keep their eyes open.

Of course, it’s fun to watch the guys throwing fish, and then stroll down the main arcade checking out the fruit and flowers. But you don’t have to stop there. Try chocolate pasta. Peruse the busker bulletin board.

If you don’t want to wait in line at the original Starbucks, you can try a new kind of crumpet.

Go down a level or two and you’ll find a magic shop, a record store, a place that sells squirrel underwear.

Around the corner from the famous Gum Wall, there’s an alley covered with posters, stickers, and street art. (I’m always on the lookout for art in unexpected places – including alleys.)

A paste-up of a man wearing a business suit and a space helmet caught my eye. He’s the Clastronaut and is inspired by the feeling of never being at home.

That makes sense to me. We’re all travelers.

So you might as well wander around, get lost, and see what’s around the corner.

Pike Place Market is one fantastic place to do that.

August 14, 2014

Handcrafted postcards

My favorite souvenirs aren’t mass produced. They’re things like a scarf from a street fair or wildflowers from the Rockies.

I didn’t do much shopping on my SeaSFBlog trip, but I did get a chance to stop by the Fremont Sunday Market. The market is held rain or shine, which is good, because, you know, Seattle does have 58 days a year of sunshine.

One vendor was called Fun Junk: Piles of Old Stuff. True to their word, the tables held mounds of skeleton keys, patches, watch faces, and stacks of what looked like miniature paintings. It turned out they basically were. The owner finds vintage paintings in thrift stores, cuts them into sections, and stamps “POST CARD” across the back. The result is these beautiful, one-of-a-kind, mailable works of art.

It made me think about what else I could pick up along the way (when I’m not in Seattle) to make impromptu postcards. Travel brochures? Booklet covers? Maps? Gift boxes or packaging? It might be a good idea to pack some labels to stick over items without a blank space to write on.

You could mail pages of an on-the-go travel journal back to yourself and bind them together when you get back. Or mail a note to a friend.

As long as you meet the post office mailing guidelines for the country you’re in and make sure your postcard/letter/package is sturdy enough to handle shipping, you can really get creative with what you mail!

Resources

Fun Junk: locations | online shop (awesome typewriter key jewelry but no postcards at the moment)

USPS mailing guidelines: domestic | international

Creative mail inspriation: “Happy mail” by Giver’s Log

August 5, 2014December 4, 2021

Breaking: San Francisco has TWO bridges!

The Golden Gate Bridge is kind of like the Bay Bridge’s diva younger sister. Constantly in the spotlight, she’s been called the “most photographed bridge in the world” and is super high maintenance – with a staff of 34 devoted just to touch-ups.

Even though they both span across the San Francisco Bay, one of them gets all “I’m golden” about it and the other just tells it like it is. In fact, the often-overlooked Bay Bridge stretches 8.4 miles and helps 45 million people get to work every year without making a fuss.

I don’t mean to sound like their mother or anything, but, as iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge is, they’re both beautiful in their own way. And I have pictures of both of them ~~in my wallet.~~ in this post. Here are a few spots where I’ve caught a great view and what you need to know to travel across.

How to Cross that Bridge When You Come to It:

Golden Gate Bridge

In Your Own Car
The good news: You no longer need to stop at a toll booth.

The bad news: You still have to pay a toll for crossing southbound to San Francisco. You just don’t have to stop. It will be charged to you via your license plate with the new Pay-by-Plate program. (Convenient or creepy? You decide!) Currently, the toll is $7 for most cars, but check goldengatebridge.org for rates.

In a Rental Car
Since tolls are now collected via license plate and not on-site, make arrangements with your car rental company before you go.

Without a Car
You can walk the mile-and-a-half(ish) distance or take a (non-electric) bike or scooter during certain hours, as long as you stay on the sidewalk. Animals aren’t allowed, except, of course, for service animals. This is not the place to walk your chihuahua. His tiny little legs probably couldn’t make it that far anyway.

A few places I’ve enjoyed the view…

Baker Beach
Coit Tower (it’s in the distance of the photo above)
Marin County (a.k.a. the other side of the bridge)

Bay Bridge

The Bay Bridge now only accepts cash or FasTrak – no credit cards! The toll varies by time of day, currently $4-6. You don’t have to have exact change (although that’s quicker), but you do need to request a receipt if you want one.

Art
In addition to sculptures along the nearby Embarcadero, the bridge itself has become part of a giant art installation. 25,000 LED lights covering Bay Bridge cables twinkle in constantly-changing patterns. You can see The Bay Lights through 2015, although there’s an effort underway to keep them lit for another decade. If you can’t make it to San Francisco, there’s also a livestream every night.

A few places I’ve enjoyed the view…

The Embarcadero
Coit Tower
Oakland

What bridge(s) do you love? Where do you go for a good view?

A big thank you to local experts Julie, Matt, Isaiah, and Allie (whose new project is the San Francisco magazine Friendly Strangers)!