Stop 8: Seattle, Washington
When Brent was rediagnosed, it was less than a month before his 32nd birthday. I remember thinking he could either be in the hospital for this birthday or at home...but either way, he’d be rather sick. So I created a private Facebook event inviting all of Brent’s friends in Philadelphia and back home in Wilkes-Barre to a surprise party for Brent. I figured if he wasn’t in the hospital I could have him surrounded by the people that meant the most but if he was admitted then everyone would already have that evening blocked off and could try to stop by at some point to wish him a happy birthday. Welp, he wasn’t in the hospital to celebrate his 32nd year and he told me, “This was the best birthday I’ve ever had.” Hearing that made me so extremely happy.
When planning out this tour, I wanted to travel somewhere meaningful for Brent’s 34th birthday. I decided on the Pacific Northwest. Just about a month before Brent was rediagnosed, we were sitting in his living room a day before my birthday. We planned this west coast road trip beginning in Seattle and driving the coast down to San Diego. Between the two of us, we knew plenty of people that would allow us to couch surf and the towns/destinations where we didn’t know anyone, we planned on camping. We didn’t make that trip together but I checked off two cities for him: Seattle and Portland.
My brother, Chris, and I boarded the plane in Philadelphia to Seatlle and to meet up with Josh and Hannah. As we settled into our seats, we realized we were absolutely SURROUNDED by Americorps volunteers making their way back from Puerto Rico. Ummm, could our flight be anymore PNW than that?
I made a promise to my brother we’d take more photos together because I think I have more photos of myself with his daughter at this point. But somehow, even miles away...Maddie ends up in the picture. *Swooooon* The flight was pretty dreamy for the first few hours as we were literally chasing the sunset from the east to west coast. Then the last few hours...well, I could’ve done without.
Josh and Hannah had already checked into our Airbnb (which was super cute!) in the Capitol Hill section of Seattle. You can see it here! They landed at a brewery a couple of blocks away called Outer Planet Brewing. It was a small but solid spot. When we walked in I spotted them laughing and chatting and both had exclaimed when we walked in the door. Josh and Hannah had made several friends and had several beers at this point. Brent and I adore these two. They’re a genuine couple. Their wedding was actually the last wedding Brent and I attended together which was only a couple of weeks before he was admitted into ICU. Brent met Josh via a mutual friend. It was as simple as Brent being told a kid named Josh moved to Philly who played soccer as was also from the Wilkes-Barre area. Brent got Josh’s phone number, called him, and basically told him they were supposed to be friends and they were going to be. So we talked to our newly found friends by Josh and Hannah about where we were from, what our plans were and asked for suggestions on places to go. One piece of advice we did end up taking away from these new friends was to catch a view of the city from Kerry Park.
Chris and I woke up early the next morning, walked to the market and began making breakfast for everyone. The weather forecast for our trip was sunny and mid to high 50s. I know what you’re thinking, “LOL. WHAT.” I know, I know. We totally expected rain and clouds too. It took us a while, but every person we met that realized we were from out of town would say, “Well, jeez. You got Seattle on a beautiful weekend. It’s NEVER like this.” Only, it took us a while to realize they weren’t speaking about the warmer temperatures. They were talking about the fact that the sun was actually out.
We left our Airbnb and started our walk to center city with our final destination being Pike Place Market. We had also decided that we’d snack through the city that day. We first passed by a place called The Pine Box which looked pretty cool but was closed so we stopped at the Melrose Market across the street. The 8 year old market is an indoor food and retail market on Capitol Hill in Seattle. It is made up of a set of historic automotive buildings constructed between 1919 and 1926, which were eventually converted into the Melrose Market. It had a rustic/farmhouse chic vibe going on. Or put it this way, you’d think that Joanna Gaines’ cousin probably designed it. We passed through and continued on our walk when we landed Snack #1: Cupcake Royale. A whiskey maple bacon cupcake and a caramel pretzel ice cream. And yes, we asked the girl behind the counter for 4 spoons and a knife to slice the cupcake into fourths.
As we walked out of the cupcake shop, staring back at us at the bottom of the hill was Pike Place Public Market buzzing with tourists and the water glistening behind it. This is probably the one thing I wanted to check off the list and see in the city. So we dove on in.
As we made our way through the crowd, I realized I was in Seattle’s version of Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market. There were fresh flowers everywhere, fish, meats, produce little shops with souvenirs and crowds of people.
But this is where we landed Snack #2: Bloody Marys and New England Clam Chower (two of Brent’s favorites) at The Athenian Seafood Restaurant and Bar. This place had quite the view on the water overlooking the Olympic Mountains which stand at close to 8,000ft with a rain forest at the top (Like WHAT. Rain forest? That’s crazy) which is nothing compared to Mount Rainier starring back at them at a whopping 14,411 ft. which is actually a volcano. We couldn’t get over the view. This is something I’m sure I’ll repeat over and over like I did that day. We had no idea that Seattle had so much going on geographically.
After we wrapped up we went back into the market to watch the fish being tossed around as the crowd cheered and applauded. (That was the real reason we went to the market). But then we met up with Tony, one of Brent’s close friends from West Virginia University. I had met Tony only once before. He reached out to be shortly after Brent got the news back in 2016. Tony and Craig, another Mountaineer, wanted to come visit Brent due to the recent events and asked if they could come on Saturday, March 12th. I asked Tony to do one better by arriving on Friday, March 11th to be a part of Brent’s surprise party I had in the works.
On Brent’s birthday in 2016, Tony and Craig flew into Philadelphia. I told Brent I was taking him to a birthday dinner but wouldn’t tell him where. He was exhausted from going to the Philadelphia Flower Show earlier that day with his mom followed by lunch with myself and his dad. That afternoon, I was able to race him back to his apartment for a quick nap before I anxiously woke him up telling him we needed to go and lied telling him that the reservations were extremely important to keep. He groaned and got in the car with his neck pillow. He couldn’t sleep though. He was mad when I got on Route 76 (I mean, I think getting on 76 upsets anyone in general) to get on 95 south and started to get irritated when I wouldn’t tell him where dinner was. As we continued south, I got off the exit for the airport and I remember him saying, “Ais, left. Stay left. Ais, honey, you’re getting off at the airport, AIS!” But I looked back at him and smirked and I saw the wheels in his head start to turn. He responded to me with, “Where are you taking me?!” I laughed at him and told him to calm down and that we weren’t flying anywhere. As we pulled up to the curb for arrivals, he saw Tony and Craig standing there with their luggage at their feet. They jumped off of the sidewalk waving their arms in the air with excitement. “Oh my God. No. You didn’t!!” He was almost reduced to tears as he got out of the car to embrace his friends he hadn’t seen for a bit of time. I introduced myself to both Tony and Craig and got them into the car and then finally headed to dinner to one of my favorite and unique “go tos” at Victor Cafe. Side note: This place is super fun because every employee is an opera singer. Everyone 20 minutes of so a brass bell rings and an aria is sung.
Brent was ecstatic that Craig and Tony were in town for the weekend but he had no idea what was still ahead. I kept updating friends at the house on our status. I planned a Star-Wars themed party including homemade Wookie Cookies, Light Saber chocolate covered pretzels, Mini Jabba the Hut Dogs and more. Oh yeah, we also had a DJ set-up in his living room.
When we arrived, he was taken COMPLETELY off guard. He couldn’t get over it. The apartment was jam packed with our friends, family and Carve Crew. Also, West Virgina was on the screen. They beat the University of Oklahoma that night in the Big 12 Tournament 69 to 67. I remember standing in the living room towards the end of the game next to Mr. Evans and hearing him mumble, “Please let them win for Brent’s birthday. PLEASE win.” Well, they did...
This was also a very special birthday as we had received THE letter stating that Carve for Cancer, Inc. was approved as an official 501c3 non-profit. Cancer or no cancer, the evening honestly could not have been any better. There was so much joy and love in that apartment. The next morning Brent had a bit of fever. So I made him sleep and drink plenty of fluids. He had been so tired from the exciting night. Brent spent time with the two boys Saturday. Before we took Craig and Tony to the airport by the end of Brent’s birthday weekend, we grabbed a solid Sunday brunch at Khyber Pass Pub. The Big Ass Biscuit there is SO good. As we left, I asked to take a photo to remember one of the best parts of the surprise birthday weekend: friends.
Needless to say, being with Tony on this weekend meant a lot to me. He had texted me the week leading up to the trip saying he had the entire weekend blocked off for us. I’m so glad he did because he did a stellar job of giving us a local’s prospective on the city while still hitting a couple of “must sees” for visitors. We started with Post Alley and on the wall leading up to this was the first #LiveLikeBrent sticker slap of the trip.
Post Alley is a short and narrow alley under the market COVERED in chewing gum. Think of the Love Lock Bridge in Paris...but walls covered in gum...and less romantic. There’s a reason I compared those two if we’re being honest. According to Tour Guide Tony, they have to scrape the gum off the base of the building because over time it has made the building structure less sound...just like cutting off the locks of the bridge. But again, less romantic. I know. We all put a piece of gum on the building...Tony had never done it before but he put his up too!
We walked through the alley and made our way down towards the water. Tony brought us to Snack #3: Ivar’s. “Sometimes I come here multiple times in a week.” We waited in line and sat at a table under a tent by the water. We ordered a few items but the most notable one was the fried salmon...yes, you read that correctly. Actually, I correct myself. The most notable item was the tartar sauce. Hannah and I were ready to bathe in it - it was that good.
After we finished, we hopped on a boat to cruise over to Bainbridge Island and back to get a view of the city and landscape surrounding it. The Puget Sound, Olympic Mountains and Mount Rainier were once again...incredible. The photos and videos below can’t even do the view any justice. Seattle was definitely the most underrated city on my Tour de Brent.
On our way back to Seattle we had Snack #4: Ferry Beers! We had local Seattle brews as we sat inside for the ride back enjoying the sun and views out the windows. When we got back to the city, we walked an up hill battle to Snack #5: Another beer! Tony took us to a place called Cloudburst Brewing. It was a unique little brewery along one of the streets in the city with an open air feel via a garage door entrance. We snagged a couple of seats and crowded a small cafe sized table. We chatted about everything, Brent, politics, Carve and whatnot. I asked Tony what I ask everyone on these trips, “How did you first meet Brent?” Tony said it was their freshman year at West Virginia University. They were sitting in some sort of orientation and Tony was wearing a pair of his Dragon brand sunglasses. If you know Brent, he always wore Dragons. I actually just found a pair of his old Dragons he stashed in my glove compartment of my car. But I digress, Tony said this kid came up to him during this orientation and said, “Hey man. What’s up with your glasses?” Tony responded to him, “What’s up with YOUR glasses?” And they had been friends ever since. If you’ve been reading these posts, there’s a trend here. Brent approached people the same way... a nonchalant but friendly attitude that was incredibly easy to respond to.
After we wrapped up at Cloudbust, Tony took us to Pike Brewing Company. This place was the exact opposite of the brewery we had previously been to. The place was absolutely massive.
We ordered a round of drinks, dungeness crab and artichoke dip, pretzel platter and house kimchi. It was so good. There was decor everywhere, neons and the place was fun and was buzzing with chatter which I suppose is expected on a Saturday in the city. But regardless, it was a solid way to end the day with Tony. So I found a door before we left that had only a handful of stickers on it and placed another up there.
We made our way back to the place to collapse for what little was left of the day. When it came to finally deciding to eat dinner and stop snacking, we ended up at an Ethiopian joint called Queen Sheba. Josh, Hannah and myself frequent a place in Philly called E.R.A. which is a dive bar with excellent Ethiopian food. My brother was skeptical when we decided on this for dinner. But we ordered a platter and shared everything...it’s safe to say he now thoroughly enjoys the cuisine too. And I know when you look at the photo below you’ll think, “Uhhh. That definitely looks like a bunch of slop.” I get it. If this were an episode of Chopped this dish would be marked down tremendously on presentation. But the chef would say, “I made up for the lack of presentation to the judges in the taste. I just KNOW that the flavors are there to make me a Chopped Champion.” Truuue.
Sunday, March 11th was Brent’s birthday. We kicked it off with Tony, his wife and son. Jessamyn and Rainer were just as awesome as Tony...even if Rainer gave us the stink eye for the majority of the meal. Nonetheless, it was a place Tony highly recommended called, Portage Bay Cafe. The four of us were trying not to eat too much as we had a lunch meeting that day. But we ate ourselves into a sluggish mess...I mean, their tagline is “Eat like you give a damn.” We couldn’t stop giving a damn.
After we parted ways, we continued Brent’s birthday with a meeting at an Italian place with Dr. Shustov, a research doctor Carve 4 Cancer has been funding for the last three years. Ultimately, Carve’s annual donation to Dr. Shustov is placed into a foundation called Cush it to the Limit. The foundation was set-up by the family of Ben Cushing, a 19 year old who, similar to Brent, had Hepatosplenic T-cell Lymphoma.
As Josh, Hannah, Chris and myself walked into the restaurant and up the stairs into a chatter filled room, we were greeted by over a dozen smiling faces. It was Dr. Shustov’s assistant, Ben’s friends and his family members. We were overwhelmed at first but immediately everyone began shaking our hands, introducing themselves and welcoming us to Seattle.
As we sat around the table, Dr. Shustov came in to join us. I shared the story of Brent and Carve alongside Josh. Some days I can talk about Brent and his journey without batting an eye. Other times, I can’t control the emotion in my voice. Against my will, I shared some tears which were well received and reciprocated. We didn’t know Ben. As I sat at that table, I wish I did though. As soon as Ben’s mom began telling his story we couldn’t get over the similarities between Ben and Brent. Ben’s story is much shorter than Brent’s as he had been diagnosed and passed within 9 months. But the way they described Ben and the type of person he was, I kept interrupting by saying, “You are describing the exact person that Brent was.” We were floored. As everyone went around and introduced themselves, I couldn’t help but focus on Ben’s buddies that were sitting across from me. I know that I’ve said it a million times before, but Brent surrounded himself with only the best people. I find myself so grateful to have his friends as my own today. But Ben’s friends are no different. Across from me sat Ben’s sister Emily, and friends: Cole, Ben and Will.
It was shared that Cole stayed home from college to be with Ben in the hospital during his first semester. WHO DOES THAT?! When Brent underwent and was recovering from his transplant, I traveled every Friday to him in New York City to return late Sunday night so I could get back to work during the week. But I was 28 years old with a career. A 19 year old, fresh out of high school with a college experience lying ahead...to say that they are going to put that off to be closer in distance with their best friend, that’s quite the 19 year old if you ask me. But he’s not the only one. Will decided to attend school locally. Ben’s friend, Ben, was going to come home the next semester if Ben was still in treatment. If Brent didn’t already make you want to be a better person, Ben, Cole, Ben and Will have inspired me now more than ever.
Dr. Shustov spoke to the group sharing some new theories and research he had been doing for this detrimental disease. He spoke about both Ben and Brent’s cases. Ben was what his mom referred to as a “classic case.” He checked everything off the list that could lead to this rare cancer: young, male, Crohn’s diesease, mono and the list goes on. He had been diagnosed in January of 2017 and underwent 11...I said ELEVEN rounds of chemo and treatments. He lost his battle in October of the same year. What a warrior. Brent on the other hand didn’t have Crohn’s and survived his cancer twice. The ironic thing? Both Ben and Brent had the same incredible will to live and find a cure so nobody else had to go through the same experience. These two vivacious dudes, almost 15 years apart in age, same goal, same adventurous and giving type soul and same cause of death: kidney failure. Ben used to tell his mom that he wanted to come out east to snowboard with Brent. When Josh broke the news to the Carve Crew last October about Ben, there was such a heaviness on our conference call. We hope to work together in the near future for our two warriors.
After a few tears had been shed and we said goodbye to our new friends, we made our way to the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle to a brewery called Stoup. This part of the city was mainly residential but absolutely STACKED with breweries. After we got in line to order a round of drinks I realized Brent had been here and had stickers from the brewery. So naturally, I tagged it.
We had a couple of rounds out on the sun drenched deck which was packed. Josh and Hannah had two friends swing through with their newborn named Olive. Excuse me while I swoon at that name for a little babe all over again. But as the sun began to set we decided to rent bikes and head to dinner. Side note: They have something similar to the bike share program here in Philly. Except you can literally leave your bike anywhere when you’re done riding. ZERO docking stations. Philly Craiglist would have a field day if we didn’t have docking stations.
We rode to a spot that was recommended by a couple of people, The Walrus and the Carpenter. How was it? We still don’t know. After we walked through the door Josh realized his wallet was missing. In a panic, we sprinted back outside and across the street. No wallet, but he did leave his iPhone clipped to the bike. (insert face palm, here) Again, if this were in Philly...it’d be gone. We rented the bikes once more and retraced our route, stopping in at breweries along the way in hopes somebody may have turned it in. But no luck. We get back to Stoup. No luck. We go to retrace the route BACK to the restaurant again. As soon as we start doing so, a girl messaged the Carve 4 Cancer Facebook message saying she has his wallet and was at Lucky Envelope Brewing. How fitting. We get there and I’m exhausted. My adrenaline was pumping so hard and I felt so badly for Josh that I exhausted myself. He got his wallet back, bought a round for the girl and her friends and we sat down. Then Hannah looked at me, “Oh my God. Where’s my wallet?!” I looked at her, “You have GOT to be kidding me.” The two of us sprint outside to look around the bikes. No luck. Come back inside. Her wallet was on the floor under the table. Immediately, I look at everyone sipping our drinks, “Everyone give me your wallets, passports or whatever else is important on you.” Everything was confiscated and kept in my backpack for the remainder of the night.
We were tired and exhausted. Wallet girl told us about an incredible (Northern) Thai joint not far from where we were located. Incredible was an understatement. The place was called Pestle Rock. If you like spice, this place is your jawn. I cannot describe what we ate or anything to do this place any sort of justice. But just know that if you’re in Seattle - this place is pretty much a must.
The next day before Josh and Hannah hit the road to the airport to make their way back to the City of Brotherly Love we wandered around one last time together. What did we stumble upon? The Starbucks Reserve Roastery. Here they offer their “finest” limited and exclusive coffees and craft everything from sandwiches to espresso drinks to mixology-inspired cocktails. Additionally, they have an entire cafe with a full menu, three bars and quite the merchandise selection. Also, I don’t know why Josh posed like that for the photo below. He’s just always so professional.
While Chris and I had the rest of the day together before he flew out the following morning, Tuesday, and I planned to rent a car and make my way to Oregon, we wanted to revisit some places. We rented bikes, rode back down to center city, walked around, shopped for gifts for loved ones back home, I picked up some post cards (I LOVE sending and receiving them), and we decided to grab a beer for happy hour before dinner. We ended up at Old Stove Brewing Company for some brother sister bonding time over a flight of beers and ciders.
After we decided we should probably have dinner and head back to the place for a somewhat early night we realized Pinebox was open. The four of us ended up walking past this place probably a dozen times but it either wasn’t open or we didn’t have time to stop in.
Pinebox is located in a massive colonial-style building of vaulted ceilings and leaded glass windows which were once the new expansion of E.R. Butterworth & Sons Family Funeral Business which dates back to 1923.The main interior of the building served as a chapel, seating over 350 mourners, and included a pipe organ which is still there across from a choir loft located above where you enter the bar. The bar itself and most of tables are built from reclaimed oak coffin cabinets once housed in their basement where the “processing” happened. HOW COOL AND CREEPYILY WEIRD IS THAT? According to their website...
“The ceramic block marked 33 located between our draft screens was part of the original urn storage. As noted by local historian Clarence Bagley in 1929, this was the first business to offer the city “comprehensive death-related services from corpse retrieval to coffin sales.” On July 31, 1973 Butterworth & Sons provided these services to the family and loved ones of Bruce Lee. Among his pallbearers were Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Chuck Norris, and Lee’s Brother Robert.”
The food wasn’t anything to write home about but they had a legit selection of beer. Earlier in our trip, Josh had me tag a lamp post right outside of the establishment...because obviously, the place was always closed.
Again, Seattle was an incredibly underrated trip and such an easy place to tag for Brent. I’m so glad I was able to experience it with some amazing people and had the opportunity to meet even more quality human beings. Thank you to everyone that was a part of it.
Photo Credit: Chris, Josh, Hannah, Tony and Amanda
