Issaquah

I got to see Doug and Suz last Friday. They were up in the area because Suz’s sister had just had a baby. We had to cross a lake, an island and a county line to get out to Issaquah where they were.

This took us all of twenty minutes.

I forget how compact Washington is compared to California sometimes. You get to the other side of Lake Washington and almost immediately, you are in huge evergreens – close to the mountains.

Issaquah is almost the quintessential Washington town: sort of small and quaint (until you get to where all of the new housing developments are), fir lined everything, a fun to spell Indian name and a general Twin Peaks sort of feel that might be a little too much for it’s own good. It is also where Modest Mouse hails from. Yeah, Issaquah!

We managed to find the perfect small town, dive bar. The jukebox was broken, so they turned on VH1 which was apparently doing a special on hair metal of the 80’s. A jovial gentleman at the bar asked where we were from and when I told him I had come over from Seattle, he asked with smile, “what the hell are you doing in Issaquah?” I love it! We drank bar whiskey (aah, Black Velvet, thy name is smoother than thy taste) and rattled on about whatever.

I love Doug and Suz. Suz is horror movie geek just like me and does not mince words – she’s adorable. Doug is one of the friendliest, funniest and most genuine people I have met. He is an amazing drummer who taught me in a very real way that a drummer is a musician, they don’t just bang on shit. It was great to see them again, and a great excuse to visit Issaquah.

Y’know, if you needed an excuse…