Adventures of a Discoverer

Raves are something pretty common, that most people have heard about. Basically, it is a whole lot of people in a large venue listening to DJs playing electronic dance music and everybody going crazy. I've been to some myself, a number of years ago. But this week I participated for the first time in a new spin on that: a paddle rave! It's quite an interesting idea. In short, you put the DJs on a boat equipped with some powerful speakers and let everybody know that they should show up at a given date and time... in the middle of a lake. Last Wednesday afternoon, one such paddle rave was organized on Lake Union, right in the middle of Seattle. The preferred way to join was with a standup paddle board (hence why "paddle rave") so that you could dance to the music, but there were a few kayaks as well, including my own, and even some small boats. The location of this paddle rave was the waters close to (but not next to) the Gas Works Park. Apparently these raves are becomi...

A couple of weeks ago I could check out the Cold Creek Loop: it has its name because it is a circular trail. It was a very beautiful hike, even better because of all the flowers blooming at this time of the year, but unfortunately this trail may not exist much longer. Let me tell the whole story. For starters, getting to the trailhead is not easy: after reaching the Snoqualmie Pass you have to go into an unpaved road that is in pretty bad shape. Furthermore, part of it was washed out leaving a trench crossing the road, and as such regular cars cannot get through: you need a truck or SUV with high clearance. On the other hand, that meant that there was no problem finding a place to park by the trailhead. After a short walk you reach a couple of small lakes appropriately named Twin Lakes. By them, there are already some nice views of the water and the mountains. But, as you walk past the lakes you discover that the trail is pretty much gone. The bushes grew over the trail, so I had to pr...

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity of checking out an art venue in Seattle I hadn't been before: the 12th Avenue Arts. On top of that, I did so by enjoying a performance of Experimental Theater: "Dream, Carl, Dream!". Let me explain! First of all, the 12 Avenue Arts is a somewhat new art space in the city. New apartment buildings are popping up everywhere, but, in the case of this one, the builder included on the ground floor a space for art that can have multiple uses, including theater. It's small, but very comfortable and convenient, and I'm always happy that we can get new spaces for art in the region. Now, about Experimental Theater: there isn't a precise definition for it, but in general includes theater performances that "break the separation between the stage and the public". This is certainly the case of "Dream, Carl, Dream!": a small theater group from Seattle created a very interesting play that goes exactly along those ...

In southern Mexico it is common to find a species of grasshoppers known as "chapulines": being abundant there, eventually people figured out they could be used as food, and they became a typical dish of the region. Last weekend, Jenn and I went on a date on a very nice Mexican restaurant in Seattle named  Poquitos , which was offering chapulines as an appetizer and, given that I hadn't tried them before, I decided to have some. They are served in a small bowl with a slice of lime, which you should squeeze over them to add a little extra flavor. The bugs are throughly roasted, so there is no "goo" left in them: in fact, they are quite crunchy and have a nice texture as you chew them. They taste good too, especially with lime and salt, although there is an important note I should make: in this restaurant, the chapulines are offered in the traditional southern Mexican way, i.e., really spicy. Given that I'm not a big fan of spicy food, at the end of it my mouth...