Eric's Beijing Diary

I had not planned to come to Seattle this summer, but it turned out that Mom and Dad were going to come up here, so I rode up with them on the train. I was through Seattle quite a bit during my days on the road, but I have not been here since then, except when I stopped through on my way back from Alaska in the fall of '97.

We had a nice dinner with friends and relatives who live in the Seattle area. I guess the reason I know so many more people in the Seattle area than other places is because it is right by the coast. My last experience on Amtrak back in 2005 was quite unpleasant. But the trip up here Monday was actually pretty nice. I guess it is because the train we took originated from Portland, so it was not late. And the trip is only a few hours--not really long enough to be a problem.

Yesterday, we went to a Goodwill outlet store. Used clothes for $1.49 a pound. I had never seen anything like this before. I don't mean thrift stores. I shopped at thrift stores all the time when I lived in Arizona. But I mean the way they have a bunch of clothes piled in huge heaps, and you just dig in, grab something, and put it in your basket if you like it. No changing rooms, which, to me, kinda eliminated buying pants. Jackets and shirts you can just try on right where you are, but I am a little too modest to do that with trousers. I did find a nice leather jacket, though, and Mark found a cotton sweater my size that he thought might be useful for me.