Seattle

I just got back from a wonderful trip to Seattle.

What a beautiful city! It is so green, both literally (lush roof gardens are everywhere) and figuratively (every place we went had trash, recycling and composting. every. single. place.) And as a wonderful bonus the weather was perfect: sunny with light breezes from the ocean.

Mike and I traveled to the beautiful city in the north to attend PAX.

(Alert: Things are about to get really nerdy. If you consider yourself the slightest bit cool, or if you think of 'nerd' in a negative light, you probably shouldn't read on.)

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Any cool people left?

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No?

Good.

For those of you who don't know, PAX is a gaming convention. Video and table-top games with a hint of artistic web-comic sub-culture thrown in for good mesure. Basically it is a collection of nerds with space to play all kinds of games, see new games shown off, and listen to panels of experts talk about games. It. Is. Awesome.

Here is a quick pan of the room for PC gaming. To give you a hint to the size of this thing.

I had such a great time playing games, catching up on "A Song of Fire and Ice" reading while in line and seeing some very funny people up on stage. (My abs are soar from laughing so much) But my greatest joy of the weekend was basking in the success of the people who run PAX. Though it may sound silly (even to them), I genuinely admire these men who pursued their passions. The creators of PAX drew web-comics, not because they thought it would make them a ton of money, (seriously, who could see that coming?) but because it was something they wanted and needed to do. They worked hard and consistently before they were able to make it a full time job. Even the keynote speaker this year, David Jaffe (who works as video game designer), outlined in his speech his own struggle to follow his internal 'voice', his passion. What can I say, I have a weakness for stories where good people work hard and with passion and are rewarded. And for me, PAX is a big celebration of hard work and passion becoming something more than it set out to be.

Here is the huge main theater fit for rock stars, used by nerds:

Lets pause for a moment and talk about one of my favorite parts of vacationing: the food. We had amazing luck finding great food at small hole-in-the-wall places. Particular stand outs wereLil' Woody's Burgers and Shakes, a hot dog stand in Westlake Park and The Baguette Box.

Here was my amazing brased pork shoulder sandwich from The Baguette Box:

I was so impressed at what great tasting quality food we got for reasonable prices. It inspired me to be a bit more adventurous at home to see if I could find any place as cheap and delicious in LA. (Recommendations welcome.)

So, to summarize, my weekend consisted of touring a beautiful city, playing board games, eating great food and being encouraged to keep doing what I love. I am truly grateful.

~Claire Out.