New Photos, Old Story. Absolutely Nothing to do with Medicine.

I went ahead and posted some of the pictures from my trip out to the West Coast this past summer. Mostly, it was to see how the slideshow gadget worked - and I have to say I'd like it to be a little larger. However, it was also a nice way to introduce some of the traveling I have done with regards to my future as an N.D. My wife-to-be and I drove out to Seattle, WA the week before fall semester started with the goal of learning more about colleges and general life in the area. The trip took almost two full days due to some car troubles, but luckily we were able to get things relatively fixed up in Wyoming. If we had hit Montana and the car broke down, I have my doubts as to whether I would be telling this story now. Somehow, the temperature was often in the 90-100 degree range the entire trip out there, which in Montana largely consisted of 50 mile stretches of road with no sign of civilization. Granted, Idaho would have been an even worse place to break down. In Montana the road gradually ascends the Rocky Mountains, in Idaho the road might as well be an asphalt fireman's pole. On the bright side, it's very possible to coast a car down the Idaho side of  I-90 and get some great gas mileage. It's just slightly nerve-wracking.

Morale of the story: Take the train unless you absolutely can't.Upon our arrival in Seattle, we found a great public transit system and seldom needed our car, except for when we drove to Portland to visit schools there.

We ended up arriving in Seattle some time around midnight and then collapsing in a heap. The following morning, we went to Pike's Place Market, which was great fun. If you're ever in the area and don't have time to do anything else, go to the market. You can find everything there, except for any kind of large store. The only chain that is allowed there is Starbucks, and that's because their first shop was at the market. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from there yet. You'll just have to go see it yourselves. Or wait a few years until I move out there and explode your screens and minds with the awesome that is Pike's place.

The pictures I did post are from the Seattle Aquarium, which is also fantastic. My lovely fiance' demonstrated her loveliness by getting us there on a slower day, which was very, very nice. A slow day at that aquarium is a lot like the first day of school - there were a bunch of people (young and old) who had no clue what was going on and did well just to remember what day of the week it was. If you can't tell, I have a slight aversion to crowds. I do not, however, have an aversion to the beautiful ocean and freshwater animals that were on display. I took as many pictures as I could without getting trampled by the herds of toddlers and exhausted mothers. The surprisingly large percentage of photos that were presentable are what you get to see.
 So far, my favorite animals at the aquarium were the otters, mostly because I never thought I would be able use the word "wriggly" to describe a mammal until I saw my first otter. The only downside is that all other animals are ruined for me. My 17 year old cat, while delightfully crotchety and annoying, does not wiggle. She only lurches, and neither she nor my apartments plants can crack open crustaceans on their chest with a rock. Yet.


Anyways, I promise I'll actually post something about Naturopathy, Taiwan, or something that's actually pertinent last time. The otters just needed to be shared.