Seattle Slew
Seattle is such a wonderful town. I was there as a kid back in the summer of 1990.
Twice, actually. The first time all I did was sleep in a hotel and fly away. I was traveling
with my Uncle Bob, his friend Gail, and her kids Peter, Michael, and Dan. We drove
cross country from Falls Church, VA on the way to Alaska. We flew out of Seattle to
Anchorage and back. The entire trip was an experience of a lifetime but the time I spent
in Seattle was the best. The very first day in Seattle was uneventful. My group stayed at
the Holiday Inn near the airport. The next day we flew out. About a week later I was
back. Oh how I wish every city had a mountain as a scenic backdrop. This time my
companions and I stayed at a different Holiday Inn. I was just a kid at the time so I was
thrilled that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was on TV. Me and the guys ate
pizza while watching that. The next day the whole lot of us went out on the town. The
dude at the fudge shop gave us free samples and I promised him I’d return one day.
Although I never went in the Space Needle, I was within a few blocks of it. Nearby
there’s a small amusement park of some sort. You know what Seinfeld said about how
there’s always a kid on the bumper cars who just can’t go? Well, I was that kid. Then
there was the gambling. They have this horse racing game, the kind where the robotic
horses slide across the board and you put your dollar on the little numbered square. I lost.
I think it was rigged. The winning horse was Seattle Slew. I’ll never put my money on
Man O’War again. After the races, we hit the links. My foursome consisted of myself,
Mike, Pete, and Dan. It was a normal mini-golf outing, but on the 9th hole something
amazing happened. I teed up on 9 and lined up my putt. I tapped the ball just a little too
hard. It jumped over the little barrier and rolled into the cup on 10. After much debate, it
was scored as a 1 on the 10 hole. I got to shoot 9 over while the rest of my group moved
on to 10. It also happened to rain that day. I didn’t like that too much. As young as I was,
I didn’t realize that there’s a rainy season in Seattle. It runs from about New Year’s to
New Year’s Eve and I was there right in the middle of it. For dinner we ate at the
Spaghetti Factory and the food was excellent. (My rating ****) It was a lovely meal. We
hit the waterfront district before returning to the hotel. As I left the next morning it rained
a little more. I was happy to be headed home, but how could I leave Seattle? Sleeping
through drive out of town took of some of the edge. I woke up somewhere in Oregon.
Leaving was hard to do but I’ll always have the memories.