It's been an interesting summer - life-changing, if not exactly game-changing. At least not yet. After successfully selling our beloved, beachside Alameda condo, we finally made the
Big Move North right on the Summer Solstice, driving directly to Seattle from the Bay Area overnight, with our two cats Googie and Tiki snugly ensconced in a carrier cage taking up the entire back of our Mini Cooper, Monica and me switching turns at the wheel, literally driven by adrenalin and anticipation, in one long rush, like Kowalski in
Vanishing Point. Fortunately our movie had a happier ending. Or beginning.
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| An original Space Needle lighter from the 1962 World's Fair |
There is a thriving indie/rep movie theater scene in Seattle, not to mention a plethora of ultra-cool cafes and incredible indie bookstores and bountiful bars. But I already knew that. That's why I'm here. In some ways, Seattle is like a condensed combination of San Francisco, the East Bay, and Lake Tahoe, where Monica and I were married back in 2001. But it's smaller, and prettier, and the pace is slower, exactly what I need at this stage of my life. I crave peace of mind as well as body and spirit. I'm still desperately seeking professional if not creative fulfillment as a writer, but that's a lifelong quest. I've finally found my new headquarters, and that in itself is very satisfying. It's just in the air, everywhere I go, from the University District to Downtown to Capitol Hill to Queen Anne and beyond. It's home, sweet home.
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| Welcome to beautiful Lake Washington - basically my backyard! |
Unfortunately, July was the second hottest on record in Seattle - a bitter irony, since we moved from Northern California mainly to escape the incessant dry heat - but there were also some welcome thunderstorms mixed in for good measure, keeping the Emerald City green, if steamy, like a giant hothouse. We are very happy here. There is also a great deal of midcentury modern architecture - appropriate, given the fact the Space Needle is the city's international iconic symbol - which was a surprising bonus.
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| Professor Tiki Goddess in training |
Monica begins her PhD program at the
University of Washington School of Drama this fall, and she is very excited. We are both looking forward to autumn. It's my favorite season, and this will be my first true autumn in decades, since the Bay Area suffers from Indian Summer in September and October, typically ruining my Halloween spirit. I was raised in New Jersey. I miss my season. I can stand the heat - but only in the summer. Bring on the clouds and rain and inspiration and famous Seattle gloom. I'm more than ready.
Below is a photographic summary of our summer in Seattle so far:
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| Our "sailor statue stalker" Ivar finally comes home - to Ivar's! |
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| At a favorite local spot, The Ram in University Village |
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| At one of my many great local bars, Canon |
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| At one of local celebrity chef Tom Douglas's many fine establishments, Palace Kitchen |
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| At SIFF's headquarters near the Space Needle |
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| The highlight of our Seattle adventures so far - meeting wonderful artist Lisa Petrucci in the amazing home she shared with the late great Mike Vraney, founder of Something Weird Video |
Another personal milestone: I also visited my father,
Robert Viharo, in his new home of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Actually not that new. He's been living there a few years now. He doesn't like me writing about him in public, but suffice to say he's happily retired from his long acting career, focused on his own creative projects. Our reunion was very cathartic, with a pastoral setting. Though I appreciate the adobe ambience and artful mix of Native American/Latino cultures, I could never live in Santa Fe. The Southwest is just not my style. But I was there mainly as a son on a voyage of self discovery, not just as a tourist - though of course I took lots of pretty pictures.
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| Pop and me, New York City, 1963 |
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Pop and me, Los Angeles, 1978
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| Pop and me, Parkway Theater, Oakland, 2005 |
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| Pop and me, Santa Fe, 2014 |
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Santa Fe Plaza
Downtown Santa Fe:
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With Robby the Robot for a special anniversary screening of Forbidden Planet,
Jacques Cocteau Cinema
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| Tiny Cerrillos, NM, where they shot Young Guns |
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Tikis - in Madrid, NM!
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| Salud from Madrid, NM |
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| Santa Fe at sunset |
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Pop romps in bed with bombshells Gina Lollobrigida (top) and Marisa Mell in the 1968 Italian film Stuntman.
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| Pop in the '70s grindhouse classic Bare Knuckles |
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We also recently returned to Portland, one of my favorite towns. Though it isn't as cosmopolitan as Seattle, I dig the bohemian nature of this smaller burg.We revisited some of our favorite haunts, while discovering some new ones. We stayed at the absolutely incredible
McMenamin's Kennedy School, a renovated elementary school with its own hotel, restaurant, several bars, pool, and movie theater, part of Portland's amazingly conceived chain of restaurant/theater resorts, which provided inspiration for Speakeasy Theaters.
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| In the Boiler Room bar |
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| The Detention Bar |
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| Monica enjoys a cigar in the Detention Bar |
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| Monica discovers some of the best donuts in the world at Blue Star |
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| Hawthorne Street Fair |
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One of our favorite spots anywhere, the Driftwood Room in the Hotel deLuxe, Portland
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| Doing our bit... |
So...not sure what comes next. Monica and I will keep following that dream, wherever that dream may lead...
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| Monica and me, circa 1998 |
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| In our new Seattle digs. |
Meantime, I need to find a job...
any job...
Maybe a superhero? I already have a "beautiful Indian companion"...
Naw...I'll just keep writing. Cheers.
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| Daring to dream... |
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Teaser artwork by Scooter Harris for the sixth Vic Valentine novel "Hard-Boiled Heart,"
now in progress |
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The "Vic Valentine" cocktail is my liquid legacy in the Bay Area, served exclusively at
Forbidden Island in Alameda
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