The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen
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Rain. It seemed that as soon as he hit the Washington State border, it started to rain. It seemed almost cliché, but Oz guessed these things had at least some basis in reality. The trip through Oregon was uneventful. He'd made Eugene an hour sooner then expected, mostly by ignoring a few speed laws. The truckers helped with this. Oz figured they know where all the cops are. So as long as he paced the trucks, he'd be in good shape.
After dinner in Eugene, Oz made Portland for the last leg of his trip for the day. Repeating his previous night's pit stop, Oz found a truck stop just out of town and bunked in the van for the night. He dreamed again, but not like the "vivid" dream from before. He couldn't even remember it when he woke up.
After leaving Portland, it took less then an hour to cross the Columbia River which marked the Oregon/Washington border. The rain kicked in soon after that. It was really just a light drizzle, not even enough to warrant full-time wipers, and he could leave the window down.
The first real change in scenery came when he got through Olympia and entered Tacoma. He could tell the switch from rural/suburban to urban. It was when he passed the Tacoma Dome sports arena that Oz noticed something else; a smell. He couldn't place it, but it was bad! It wouldn't be until later that he would learn it was called the "Tacoma Aroma", caused by paper mills and refineries dumping sewage into Commencement Bay. Thankfully, it did not last long. Traveling through another suburban stretch, Oz discovered another smell, this time a much more pleasant one; a brewery. The Rainier Brewery to be exact. He'd never tasted the beer, but Oz loved the smell of boiling beer wort.
It was just past the brewery that Oz got his first glimpse of the Emerald City itself. Coming up from the south, most of what he could see was industrial. As he got closer, the downtown buildings and architecture became more apparent. Not knowing what else to do, Oz took the "Downtown" exit, and followed the signs to the "Visitors Center". The place reminded him of San Francisco. Lot's of hills and one-way streets. Oz eventually wound up at a place called Westlake Center.
After parking the van, Oz entered Westlake Center, which looked like a mall more then anything else. It was also one of the two stations for the Seattle Monorail, which led to Seattle's most famous landmark, the Space Needle. Determined to leave those attractions for later (they probably cost money just to enter), Oz found one of those leaflet displays, hawking all of the other sights to see.
Conveniently, one held a map of the whole downtown Seattle area. It showed Westlake Center (You are here!), Seattle Center where the Space Needle is, someplace called Pioneer Square to the south, the water front and someplace called Pike Place Market. He also grabbed a few for some nightclubs in the area that had the potential for a gig for the Dingo's.
Having no desire to cruise a mall, (that was Buffy and Cordelia's gig), Pike Place seemed like a good place to hunt around. It was within walking distance at least. Even though it was just another retail center, the flyer promised something more.
The walk was pleasant enough. The rain had finally stopped, but it was still overcast. It was Mid-November so the air was cold, but not unbearable. Like most cities today, the downtown area was really just one big strip mall. Oz passed stores of every kind; a lot were the chains that appear everywhere, others unique to the Pacific Northwest. To add to yet another stereotype, there was a Starbucks on every corner just about.
One thing that did surprise him was the amount of apparently homeless people on the street. You didn't see too many homeless in Sunnydale, because they were easy prey for Vamps. They learned quickly to move on or become dinner. A few had their hands out, but Oz passed them by like most of the other "upright" citizens. It wasn't a lack of compassion; it did make him feel guilty. It was more like he new he had to conserve what he had, or he'd be right there with them. After all, technically he was homeless now since he'd really run away from home, although he was a little to old to be called a runaway. But he had no place to live other then the van and no source of income. He resolved to do something about that quickly.
Arriving at Pike Place, the first thing Oz noticed was fish flying through the air. At the entrance to the market, behind a life-size bronze piggy bank, stood a fish market. The fish mongers were throwing fish to each other in some kind of bizarre performance art. As an attraction it was great. Oz himself was fascinated and watched for at least 5 minutes. He might have even bought a fish if he'd had a place to cook it.
Tooling around some of the other stalls in the market, he found that the market was an eclectic place. A mixture of open-air stalls and fixed storefronts. Lots of crafty type stuff, hand-made products from clothing to jewelry to paintings. Farm produce stands were in abundance as well. Oz reminded himself of his earlier decision to not do a "mall crawl" a la Cordie so he started to look around for other things of interest. It was then that he spotted a sign directing people "Down Under".
The market was apparently built on the side of a hill, and had multiple levels. Down Under had more shops of course but one in particular caught Oz's attention; a magic shop called the "Conjurer's Cubbyhole". Immediate feelings of guilt over leaving his Wicca girlfriend assaulted him. He debated going in or not. The place certainly looked interesting from the outside. Maybe he could find a present for Willow. She'd probably throw it out the window, but what the heck.
As he entered, the first thing Oz noticed were the "play bill" posters of Houdini and the like covering the walls. Quite a number of them were for a magician billed as "Rudolfo: The King of Magic!" The shop was loaded with standard "mundane" magic paraphernalia. The "Snake in the Nut Can" gag, Trick Cards, Rope Tricks etc. There were also some more professional tricks and theatrical equipment; fake knives, stage blood and masks. Nothing that looked truly magical, not that he'd know something magical if he saw it. He just hoped something would just "jump out" at him.
There were a few customers browsing. The one sales person Oz could see looked up at him as he entered and smiled at him before going back to the customer she was helping. As he was browsing, he kept getting the feeling he was being watched. When he did, Oz would look around, catching the sales girl quickly turning away from him. There were other people in the store, so why the interest in him? He'd like to think it was his smashing good looks but he knew better.
Oz picked up a book of magic spells. He was trying to decide if this was one Willow had already when he got that feeling again. Turing around, he saw the sales girl approaching him. No looking away this time. She was dressed in all black, whether it was a costume for the store or if she was one of the brooding Goth Vamp-wanabe's he didn't know.
"Hi, my name is Lila. Can I help you with something?" The standard line for any sales person.
"Thanks, I'm okay" was Oz's standard response, designed to relieve the sales person of their obligation so Oz would not have to engage the person in conversation. Didn't work this time.
"Are you interested in Magic and the Occult" she asked hopefully. Interested... Oz thought to himself, I live it baby! He didn't say that of course "No, not really. But my girlfriend is. She's Wiccan."
"Oh Cool!" She responded. "I'm in the Blatha An Or Coven, where does she practice? Maybe I know her."
Oz was about to blow her off when he remembered, he came here to gather information. Where to go, what to do, how to get a job. So he decided to indulge in a rare multiple-word conversation.
"I'm not sure. Actually, I just came up from Cali to find work. I'm a musician, just rolled into town a few hours ago. You wouldn't happen to know where I could start to look do you? My name is Oz by the way."
Smiling she said "Sure Oz! There are a lot of clubs along the water front and downtown that have live music. Some of them have bulletin boards where I've seen bands posting want ads. There are also a couple of local rags the musician's use you can get upstairs at the newsstand."
"Wait a minute", she continued. Moving behind the counter she came back with a flyer for a club. "This is a really cool place to go for live music. It's mostly rock and folk, with the occasional celtic act. There is a band playing there tonight I think you'll really like called Red Moon."
Looking at the flyer for a place called the J & M Café & Card Room, Oz saw the logos for the bands that were playing there this week, and then came to the one Lila was referring to, Red Moon. Their logo was that of a red full moon (obviously) partially obscured with white clouds, and wolf below, baying at the moon. A chill went down his spine. Was this a joke or a coincidence? "Cool, thanks" was his only reply.
Moving closer to Oz, Lila whispered to Oz conspiringly "We keep the real stuff in the back if you want to look for something for your girlfriend." She pointed at a door behind the counter marked PRIVATE. "If you're interested, I can see if the boss will let you in for a look. It's kinda pricey though."
"Um, no thanks. I'm sorta on a budget."
"Sure, that's okay. I understand. If there is anything else you need just let me know, I'm here pretty much all the time." Lila informed him. Saying thanks again, Oz left the shop and gathered himself. Despite the odd feelings about the flyer and the band's logo, he decided it couldn't hurt to check it out. Stopping at the news stand, he picked up a few of those newspapers Lila mentioned.
It was going on 6 PM, and the flyer said the band didn't get going until 10. The sun was already going down, so it would be dark soon. With a few hours to kill Oz decided to get something to eat and then head towards the van. He'd looked at some menus during his wandering and most of them were a little over priced. This was a tourist area after all. As he was walking, his salvation appeared before him. The Golden Arches; always there when you need them.
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TBC - Meeting New Friends
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Rain. It seemed that as soon as he hit the Washington State border, it started to rain. It seemed almost cliché, but Oz guessed these things had at least some basis in reality. The trip through Oregon was uneventful. He'd made Eugene an hour sooner then expected, mostly by ignoring a few speed laws. The truckers helped with this. Oz figured they know where all the cops are. So as long as he paced the trucks, he'd be in good shape.
After dinner in Eugene, Oz made Portland for the last leg of his trip for the day. Repeating his previous night's pit stop, Oz found a truck stop just out of town and bunked in the van for the night. He dreamed again, but not like the "vivid" dream from before. He couldn't even remember it when he woke up.
After leaving Portland, it took less then an hour to cross the Columbia River which marked the Oregon/Washington border. The rain kicked in soon after that. It was really just a light drizzle, not even enough to warrant full-time wipers, and he could leave the window down.
The first real change in scenery came when he got through Olympia and entered Tacoma. He could tell the switch from rural/suburban to urban. It was when he passed the Tacoma Dome sports arena that Oz noticed something else; a smell. He couldn't place it, but it was bad! It wouldn't be until later that he would learn it was called the "Tacoma Aroma", caused by paper mills and refineries dumping sewage into Commencement Bay. Thankfully, it did not last long. Traveling through another suburban stretch, Oz discovered another smell, this time a much more pleasant one; a brewery. The Rainier Brewery to be exact. He'd never tasted the beer, but Oz loved the smell of boiling beer wort.
It was just past the brewery that Oz got his first glimpse of the Emerald City itself. Coming up from the south, most of what he could see was industrial. As he got closer, the downtown buildings and architecture became more apparent. Not knowing what else to do, Oz took the "Downtown" exit, and followed the signs to the "Visitors Center". The place reminded him of San Francisco. Lot's of hills and one-way streets. Oz eventually wound up at a place called Westlake Center.
After parking the van, Oz entered Westlake Center, which looked like a mall more then anything else. It was also one of the two stations for the Seattle Monorail, which led to Seattle's most famous landmark, the Space Needle. Determined to leave those attractions for later (they probably cost money just to enter), Oz found one of those leaflet displays, hawking all of the other sights to see.
Conveniently, one held a map of the whole downtown Seattle area. It showed Westlake Center (You are here!), Seattle Center where the Space Needle is, someplace called Pioneer Square to the south, the water front and someplace called Pike Place Market. He also grabbed a few for some nightclubs in the area that had the potential for a gig for the Dingo's.
Having no desire to cruise a mall, (that was Buffy and Cordelia's gig), Pike Place seemed like a good place to hunt around. It was within walking distance at least. Even though it was just another retail center, the flyer promised something more.
The walk was pleasant enough. The rain had finally stopped, but it was still overcast. It was Mid-November so the air was cold, but not unbearable. Like most cities today, the downtown area was really just one big strip mall. Oz passed stores of every kind; a lot were the chains that appear everywhere, others unique to the Pacific Northwest. To add to yet another stereotype, there was a Starbucks on every corner just about.
One thing that did surprise him was the amount of apparently homeless people on the street. You didn't see too many homeless in Sunnydale, because they were easy prey for Vamps. They learned quickly to move on or become dinner. A few had their hands out, but Oz passed them by like most of the other "upright" citizens. It wasn't a lack of compassion; it did make him feel guilty. It was more like he new he had to conserve what he had, or he'd be right there with them. After all, technically he was homeless now since he'd really run away from home, although he was a little to old to be called a runaway. But he had no place to live other then the van and no source of income. He resolved to do something about that quickly.
Arriving at Pike Place, the first thing Oz noticed was fish flying through the air. At the entrance to the market, behind a life-size bronze piggy bank, stood a fish market. The fish mongers were throwing fish to each other in some kind of bizarre performance art. As an attraction it was great. Oz himself was fascinated and watched for at least 5 minutes. He might have even bought a fish if he'd had a place to cook it.
Tooling around some of the other stalls in the market, he found that the market was an eclectic place. A mixture of open-air stalls and fixed storefronts. Lots of crafty type stuff, hand-made products from clothing to jewelry to paintings. Farm produce stands were in abundance as well. Oz reminded himself of his earlier decision to not do a "mall crawl" a la Cordie so he started to look around for other things of interest. It was then that he spotted a sign directing people "Down Under".
The market was apparently built on the side of a hill, and had multiple levels. Down Under had more shops of course but one in particular caught Oz's attention; a magic shop called the "Conjurer's Cubbyhole". Immediate feelings of guilt over leaving his Wicca girlfriend assaulted him. He debated going in or not. The place certainly looked interesting from the outside. Maybe he could find a present for Willow. She'd probably throw it out the window, but what the heck.
As he entered, the first thing Oz noticed were the "play bill" posters of Houdini and the like covering the walls. Quite a number of them were for a magician billed as "Rudolfo: The King of Magic!" The shop was loaded with standard "mundane" magic paraphernalia. The "Snake in the Nut Can" gag, Trick Cards, Rope Tricks etc. There were also some more professional tricks and theatrical equipment; fake knives, stage blood and masks. Nothing that looked truly magical, not that he'd know something magical if he saw it. He just hoped something would just "jump out" at him.
There were a few customers browsing. The one sales person Oz could see looked up at him as he entered and smiled at him before going back to the customer she was helping. As he was browsing, he kept getting the feeling he was being watched. When he did, Oz would look around, catching the sales girl quickly turning away from him. There were other people in the store, so why the interest in him? He'd like to think it was his smashing good looks but he knew better.
Oz picked up a book of magic spells. He was trying to decide if this was one Willow had already when he got that feeling again. Turing around, he saw the sales girl approaching him. No looking away this time. She was dressed in all black, whether it was a costume for the store or if she was one of the brooding Goth Vamp-wanabe's he didn't know.
"Hi, my name is Lila. Can I help you with something?" The standard line for any sales person.
"Thanks, I'm okay" was Oz's standard response, designed to relieve the sales person of their obligation so Oz would not have to engage the person in conversation. Didn't work this time.
"Are you interested in Magic and the Occult" she asked hopefully. Interested... Oz thought to himself, I live it baby! He didn't say that of course "No, not really. But my girlfriend is. She's Wiccan."
"Oh Cool!" She responded. "I'm in the Blatha An Or Coven, where does she practice? Maybe I know her."
Oz was about to blow her off when he remembered, he came here to gather information. Where to go, what to do, how to get a job. So he decided to indulge in a rare multiple-word conversation.
"I'm not sure. Actually, I just came up from Cali to find work. I'm a musician, just rolled into town a few hours ago. You wouldn't happen to know where I could start to look do you? My name is Oz by the way."
Smiling she said "Sure Oz! There are a lot of clubs along the water front and downtown that have live music. Some of them have bulletin boards where I've seen bands posting want ads. There are also a couple of local rags the musician's use you can get upstairs at the newsstand."
"Wait a minute", she continued. Moving behind the counter she came back with a flyer for a club. "This is a really cool place to go for live music. It's mostly rock and folk, with the occasional celtic act. There is a band playing there tonight I think you'll really like called Red Moon."
Looking at the flyer for a place called the J & M Café & Card Room, Oz saw the logos for the bands that were playing there this week, and then came to the one Lila was referring to, Red Moon. Their logo was that of a red full moon (obviously) partially obscured with white clouds, and wolf below, baying at the moon. A chill went down his spine. Was this a joke or a coincidence? "Cool, thanks" was his only reply.
Moving closer to Oz, Lila whispered to Oz conspiringly "We keep the real stuff in the back if you want to look for something for your girlfriend." She pointed at a door behind the counter marked PRIVATE. "If you're interested, I can see if the boss will let you in for a look. It's kinda pricey though."
"Um, no thanks. I'm sorta on a budget."
"Sure, that's okay. I understand. If there is anything else you need just let me know, I'm here pretty much all the time." Lila informed him. Saying thanks again, Oz left the shop and gathered himself. Despite the odd feelings about the flyer and the band's logo, he decided it couldn't hurt to check it out. Stopping at the news stand, he picked up a few of those newspapers Lila mentioned.
It was going on 6 PM, and the flyer said the band didn't get going until 10. The sun was already going down, so it would be dark soon. With a few hours to kill Oz decided to get something to eat and then head towards the van. He'd looked at some menus during his wandering and most of them were a little over priced. This was a tourist area after all. As he was walking, his salvation appeared before him. The Golden Arches; always there when you need them.
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TBC - Meeting New Friends