We find ourselves unexpectedly back in Seattle. After campaigning in Montana and Colorado, we came to realize that COVID has changed “business as usual” in political campaigning and it is unlikely there will be actual campaign offices in the states we hoped to visit. So the good news is dear friends were looking for house-sitters, so here we are.
We were in Seattle two weeks ago as well and stayed in the Sheraton downtown. The hotel was a client of mine at Tip Top Creative for many years, so it was nice to be back and to see old friends. And to be honest, anytime we can stay in a hotel it feels like a vacation to me!
Although COVID has changed things considerably at the Sheraton - no Club Lounge, no restaurants, no pool or gym, we were well taken care of and our friends at the hotel treated us to an exceptional bottle of wine and snuck a microwave into our room so we could enjoy an evening of self-styled room service.
Romantic “Room Service” at the Sheraton. A delicious bottle of 2007 Pedestal Merlot and good company made up for the main course - although Stouffer’s as helped us out of a jam more than once.
Back in June, we left Mexico and headed to Montana to work on Governor Bullock’s senate campaign. Our goal was to visit states where the senate races are close and do what we could to change the senate majority from red to blue. Montana was our first stop. We spent a month in Billings doing whatever we were asked - including Michael spending time waving a Bullock banner at busy intersections.
My Road Warrior. We don’t often rent cars, but we hit the road in Montana and Colorado over the last couple of months and thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
After a month we rented a car and set out for a tour of western Montana. Along the way, we visited Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, both stunning in their own way. We bought our tickets online and pulled up to both park entrances early in the morning - around 7:30 am. The roads were clear of traffic - in fact we drove several miles in Yellowstone and our only impediment was a very good looking Bison.
Yellowstone lived up to it’s reputation. We were captivated - and also had the park almost to ourselves until we met up with this big guy. He was just sauntering down the road next to our car!
I was surprised because I’d read Americans were taking more road trips than ever - but I am not complaining. Glacier was the same as Yellowstone - the only traffic jams we hit were at trailheads where day hikers were vying for limited parking. Otherwise, we wound through the park enjoying the majestic scenery at our leisure.
Glacier was all “Wows, Ooohs and Awes” around every turn. And this was from the car!
We quickly discovered that Airbnbs in the states are expensive! Maybe because there is less inventory, or more people are choosing to quarantine or stay longer in places for a change of scenery, but for whatever reason, we had a hard time finding affordable places to stay.
However, we did find some fun places including an Airbnb stay in a private room in Polson, MT near Flathead Lake. Our host Sharon keeps a small flock of fainting goats. I didn’t know what those were but soon learned they literally faint and fall over on their sides if startled. She told me that term ‘scapegoat’ came from herders who put one of these goats at the back of their flock so when a predator approached, the poor frightened goat would faint and be snatched up by the interloper while the rest of the herd “escaped.” I found some back up to this story, so I feel okay passing along the legend :)
Our host’s flock of Fainting Goats. They loved animal crackers for snacks and are friendly as long as you don’t do anything to frighten them.
A car rental that isn’t round trip is not the most affordable way to go, but we bit the bullet so we could end up in our home city of Seattle to see family and friends - from a distance, of course.
We stopped in Coeur d’Alene to see good friends who had recently moved there. What a beautiful city! We’ve heard so much about it and wondered if we should add it to our ever-changing “Top 10 Places We Could Retire” list. Maybe … but Idaho is a very conservative state and we had a trusted real estate agent warn us that we shouldn’t move just to find a more affordable city to live in. Her advice was to find a place where you can relate to your neighbors or you won’t be happy.
From there, we drove across Washington State from east to west on I-90. There were some pretty parts along the way, but we’d been spoiled by Montana and Idaho’s more dramatic terrain. It was during this quick stay in Seattle that we holed up in Seattle at the Sheraton.
A bright spot was a visit with my friend Michael at Sosio’s in the Market. Here he is explaining the benefits of “Little Green Balls of Death” brussell sprouts.
It was eerie to be in the city we’ve called home for so many years and walk streets where you could sometimes sit through more than one traffic light cycle before you cleared an intersection. Many retail businesses are closed; either temporarily, or for good. Most major stores like Nike Town, Nordstrom, and Macy’s have their windows and doors boarded up to guard against violent demonstrators - they are open but some have posted guards at their entrance. Amazon flooded downtown with a dozen new office towers that spawned more restaurants per block than you can imagine. Most of those are offering pick up or delivery only, or sadly have closed forever.
I owned my own graphic design and advertising agency, Tip Top Creative, for nearly 30 years. Most of our clients were in the food, hospitality, and events sector. We created identities, packaging, and marketing campaigns for many of Seattle’s best-loved restaurants; including all of celebrity-chef Tom Douglas’ establishments, several prominent hotels around the country, major events like the Seattle Boat Show, and State-wide tourism efforts. We even named a Seattle neighborhood - The West Edge. So this first visit to Seattle under lock-down was a shock to the system.
During the past five years or so Amazon has taken over a large swath of downtown called South Lake Union. It stretches from the city center to the edge of the urban lake - about a mile from the center. The gleaming new skyscrapers and interesting spaces like the Amazon Spheres altered the skyline. And all those buildings housed thousands of Amazon employees that became the customer base for dozens of new restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and boutiques that opened downtown.
Washington was one of the first states to mandate sheltering-in-place which meant all those “badgers” as they were known (for the badges around their necks) and the many other tech and biotech workers that filled the city by day, have been working from home since March. And it doesn’t look like they will be back until early 2021. Add the Black Lives Matter protests that spun out of control downtown and on Capitol Hill and you’re left with a pretty bleak scenario.
This triple whammy of the Coronavirus, protests, and an upcoming election fraught with political in-fighting and disinformation has both Michael and me in a funk. And the fact we can’t travel outside the country doesn’t help. But compared to so many, we continue to be blessed to have a temporary home, our health, and as retirees, we do not have the stress of childcare and unemployment. Having said that, our country is suffering greatly, and we feel it.
I guess the bright side is we have a reason to travel to some beautiful parts of America as we continue to do our best to make a difference in the upcoming elections. After just five days in Seattle, we left for Colorado to work on behalf of former Governor Hickenlooper’s senate campaign. As a designer, I was worried about how his 12-letter last name was going to fit on campaign material, but we learned right away he is known as “Hick” so that worked just fine. Whew!
Michael’s favorite way to participate is to wave a yard sign at busy intersections, usually with a Dairy Queen in sight so he can have a Blizzard as his reward after spending an hour or two in the hot sun. We took our “Hick” sign with us as we toured Colorado, just as we did with Bullock’s sign in Montana. Our routine was to reach a town along our route where we were staying and Michael do sign-waving while I wrote notes to Democratic voters in North Carolina encouraging them to Toss Trump Out and support Cal Cunningham’s senate race.
We stayed in the Rabbit Ears Motel in the background
I matched Michael Blizzard for Blizzard with a Chocolate Dip Cone.
It gave purpose to our road trips. In Colorado, we visited Denver, Boulder, Grand Lake, Steamboat Springs, Grand Junction, Ridgeway, and Canon City. A highlight was driving through the Colorado National Monument - another National State Park. The deep canyons and towering red rocks were amazing. During our drives through Montana, Washington, and Colorado we were in awe of the wide-open spaces we traversed. Let alone the craggy mountain passes we crossed and deep forests that offered cool shade. What a beautiful country we live in.
By the time we toured the Colorado National Monument, our third National Park we bought the Senior Pass good for one year. Shoulda, woulda, coulda bought that at Yellowstone!
Taking pictures from our moving car was fun. I never knew what I’d captured until the end of the day.
During the few days we spent in Denver, I fell in love with the city. There was a diverse mix of the old and new along with great green spaces downtown and along the river. There was a bustling restaurant scene (as bustling as it could be) And when COVID is finally behind us, we’d like to go back and explore that further.
Downtown Denver is jammed with public art. My favorite was this blue bear titled “I See What you Mean.” who peered into the Denver Convention Center.
Meanwhile, we could see there is a thriving cultural community with multiple theatres and art venues. We were able to spend a limited-entry afternoon session at the Denver Art Museum (that’s a COVID trend that could be beneficial in the future) and took in an excellent exhibit of Norman Rockwell’s work - which went well beyond his Saturday Evening Post covers. We learned about his World War II Four Freedoms efforts, and his participation in the Civil Rights Movement. We also enjoyed an extensive exhibit of work by artists Remington and Homer. All three painters were fellow commercial artists so I felt a particular connection.
There was much more to Norman Rockwell than his politically perfect magazine covers.
Remington revisited during BLM - fortunately the statue was undamaged.
We’ve returned to Seattle for a few weeks to reassess our campaign plans. Due to COVID, most states do not have campaign offices, so we are not able to fulfill our dream of licking stamps, answering calls, going on coffee runs, and high-fiving with other volunteers. Instead, we have cobbled together a do-it-yourself plan. And while we feel we are making a small difference, it’s not as fulfilling.
I am writing note cards to Democratic voters in North Carolina. 50 down, 150 to go. I will stamp them and box them up to send to the NCDems headquarters to be mailed there.
There may be an actual office opening in Maine for Sara Gideon, who is running against Senator Susan Collins. We will wait a few weeks and head there for what will be a very close race. Meanwhile, we can still write notes to voters, make donations and phone calls encouraging people to vote.
During the last two months on the road, we’ve stayed in some really interesting places, including classic roadside motels, a tiny house, glamping tents, an abandoned schoolhouse, and a Quonset Hut. I’ll write about these, and other quirky places we've called home during our travels in the next blog.
This was a great Airbnb in Severance, CO. The hosts were wonderful - and once you got past the exterior a beautiful, well-appointed suite with a kitchen and access to the BBQ and Hot Tub made for a great stay..
Stay well, stay safe, and thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell
The Senior Nomads