I just returned – about two hours ago – from a four-day trip to Seattle.

Before things get stale, mixed-up or otherwise distorted, here are some quick first impressions of Seattle and the surrounding area that we saw:

• People are polite – I come from Chicago, a pretty friendly big city, but I’m not meaning it friendly in the way of the South, for example. Just overall geniality. Still, in Chicago, there’s a lot of me first activity. In downtown Seattle, by contrast, drivers let people cross when the people have the right of way. By the same token, people hang on the curbs waiting for the walk sign, even when the street was clear.
• There is no cuisine – As a major port, and (relatively) near Alaska, I thought I’d have to fight to find something not fishy to eat. I was hoping for this (because I wanted, basically, to eat seafood the entire trip. I love seafood). Not the case, at least at the downtown restaurants. Struck me as odd.
• City in transition – Oh, there is a lot of building going on, and it’s all high-rises and not too attractive. The old part of town – Pioneer Square – still is the most architecturally interesting area, and seems to be striving to keep that character, even with change. Downtown? Fuggetaboutit…. It’ll be interesting to see how the city shapes up in a decade or so.
• Soggy city – I can’t complain: Three of the four days we were there it was, for the most part, clear and sunny. Can’t ask for more than that. The last day – and today, our travel day – Seattle showed its expected colors (grey and gray). Cool, thoroughly overcast, with spits of rain here and there. Not fun.
• Casual city – Did a lot of walking around the city, including the business areas, and past bus stops at rush hours when people were getting on/off the bus. I think I only saw a handful of suits, a dozen or so ties. These were people walking into office buildings. I’ve no problem with casual dress – I’ve more of a problem with silly policies outlawing/requiring this or that – but it seemed odd. To use the Chicago example again, stand at a bus stop at 8am in Chicago and it’s suit after suit or – at least – business causal (Dockers and a quiet sport shirt).
• Granola Culture – There were a lot of (non-homeless) folks – mainly men – who looked like they had barely survived the 60s and were still plugging away in Seattle. Lots of, for lack of a better example, Willie Nelson look-a-likes. I’ve nothing against Willie Nelson, but he’s not usually held up as a fashion/grooming role model, or am did I miss that issue of Vogue?
• Green – I mean green in two ways: Green 1 – The city/citizens put an effort into recycling, saving water and so on. There are bike lanes, bike holders on fronts of buses and garbage cans that have trash/paper/plastic slots. Can you imaging a stereotypical New Yorker doing this segregation? Green 2 – Lush, lush area. Pines and firs all over the place, bright rhododendrons, masses of ferns. We didn’t get off the beaten path as much as either of us would have liked, but that we did see was wonderful. Hill, trees, water…

That’s the quick hit, more detail (and pictures – currently processing) as the weekend continues.