When in Seattle...

Now Ryan's adding to the jealousy firepit 'cuz HE'S going to Seattle. What's with Seattle this year? I mean, it feels like when you really dig a band that is so obscure you swear up and down that you are their only fan, their diehard fan...and then they hit it big. All of a sudden everybody's raging about YOUR band and gushing about them when really they just jumped on the bandwagon. You've liked said band since way back in the day, all these other fans are just sucker lemmings.

Or maybe that's a terrible analogy. Hm, yes, it's a completely wrong analogy altogether.

Maybe it's more like this: You know when you get a car you absolutely love and all of a sudden you're seeing this car on the road everywhere. They may have all been there before, but you didn't notice all of them until you owned one yourself. Yeah, I think that's more like what I'm trying to say. (Don't mind me, brain's mush today.) Because I got to visit Seattle this summer it seems like everyone I know and their dog are visiting Seattle this year, too. Bingo. I think I nailed it this time.

Since I'm ahead of my family on the Seattle game there was one particular sight I knew they should not pass up: Tillicum Village.

Tillicum Village is on Blake Island and I highly reccommend it to anyone who visits Seattle. Set aside at least 4 hours for this. Basically, Tillicum is a dinner show. Your ticket includes the ferry ride to Blake Island and back complete with a short tour of Puget Sound, the dinner show, and the meal. Bill Clinton and several other world leaders have dined at Tillicum Village.

As you arrive on the island you are greeted and served an appetizer of clams and nectar. (So good!) You'll also notice that the path leading up to the longhouse of Tillicum Village consists of crushed clamshells. Feel free to smash yours to add to the path!

Following that is a feast of salmon (cooked in the traditional indian style by the fire -- you can see this in action, too), potatoes, rice, salads, and their traditional multi-grain bread. Being a carb-aholic, that bread is some of the best I've ever had. The show consists of various dances performed by the native indians of the Northwest coast. Sit back and enjoy your dessert: a cute big fish-shaped chocolate.

If you decide to take the very next ferry back to Seattle after the show and dinner, that usually gives you half an hour to hike the island. If you hike into the island chances are you won't make it back in time for the ferry, but you don't have to wander deep to get a good feel of the place. There are deer roaming all over the island, and bald eagles, too. I didn't get to see a bald eagle, though. And for those who like to rough it, Blake Island is also a state park and you can camp there. We all swore we'd return to do just that.

I recall Desiree once blogging about how here in Canada the native americans (we call them First Nations here) are so used to government handouts that they are not motivated to do much else to improve their lives beyond what they receive effortlessly. Unfortunately, there are not enough of them actually contributing to society to override the stereotypical drunk and lazy natives that one encounters on the streets. I really think that what the employees at Tillicum Village have going on there is a great idea. Everyone who works in the longhouse are of native american descent. They have a respectable job, they are not placing any undue burden on the taxpayers of Seattle, and they add to the tourism business of their city. I wish that they would create something to that effect around here. Not that they could ever create something like Tillicum Village with the same kind of success, but just give them a project that benefits everyone involved. All the tourists who were on my ferry loved the food, they loved the show, it was definitely a positive experience for them. After the show we got to talk to the dancers and ask questions or whatever. The natives got to display their heritage with pride while making money and the visitors were entertained as a result. It's a lot more positive and healthier than the casinos they run up here. That's just feeding peoples' vices.

And besides, that salmon and bread are soooooooo good!