Sleepless in Seattle
James drove over from Latta to spend the night so that we could catch our early flight the next morning. Since James hadn't been back into Charlotte in many years, when he arrived in the late afternoon, he asked to take a ride up to the city.
I was surprised driving us, that I kinda knew where we were in town. I knew where we were so much that we drove passed the old house that I grew up in with my brothers and parents. Isn't that a hoot?! It took having an out-of-town guest to have a reason to drive back to my old hometown. LOL I was very surprised at how much things had changed and grown on that side of town.
Eventually we made our way back down to SC, where we talked for hours and got only a few hours of sleep at best before getting up in the morning to head to the airport. I don't think we look too bad for only two hours of sleep. I want to say thanks to my good friend Larry for getting up so early and taking us to the airport.
We left Charlotte right after the sun rose....	...and had our only layover in Minneapolis.
	Minnesota is very green and seems to have a lot of lakes.
It was pretty amazing to see how the green of Minnesota...	...eventually changed to the browns of N. Dakota.
mmmmm snacks on the plane
About half way to Seattle, we finally saw the start of the Rockies and began to fly over the mountains.
One of the amazing sights we saw from the air was a fire!
	The first snow-topped mountain range
A huge lake in Montana MouseOver to see a CloseUp of the irrigated area
	A frozen lake in Montana MouseOver to see a CloseUp of this cold lake
The view out and down from our 16th floor room in the Roosevelt.
Every night the gang met downstairs in the Von's, the restaurant/bar connected to the hotel, for cocktails and a discussion about dinner or dancing.
My two best buds! James "HopeyCurey" from Dillion, SC and Greg "Wolfie" from Columbus, OH
	After meeting up for our first drinks together, we headed out as a group down to the water. We wondered around the Public Market looking for a good place to eat our first meal together.
Eventually, we were seated in an upstairs balconey cafe, where we watched the sun set across the sound as we ate dinner. I had a lovely piece of salmon with grilled veggies and rice, along with my first mjohito (a mint, lime, vodka drink).
	The next morning, my friends (James and Greg) and I headed back down to the water. Greg brought a freshly-baked loaf of sour dough bread that we munched on as we walked clear down to old Seattle and back.
Looking out across Puget Sound toward Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
	Seattle was filled with amazing art - everywhere! There were sculptures, murals, paintings, museums, and architecture everywhere you looked. I've never seen a city with this much public art, and it was beautiful.
When we got back to the hotel, a bunch of the group was ready to go over to the Space Needle. Just a few blocks from where we were staying was an elevated monorail that ran right over to the Needle.
	Seattle really has a lot of good transportation. Continually running buses, the Link light rail, and the monorail could really get you around the town. Of course, for us being right downtown, nearly everything we wanted to visit was within a walking mile (even if it was all uphill LOL).
Getting tickets and getting ready to head up.
	Just before getting onto the elevator, we were able to get a group picture taken. there are so many of us, that we totally covered up the Seattle skyline in the backdrop behind us. Yes, I'm in this picture. I'm crouched down there in the middle. I didn't have a very good footing and almost fell over just as they snapped the picture. Doh!
Looking up at the Needle.
	When we got to the top, I stuck my camera out, pointed down, and snapped a picture. See where the hand is pointing? Way down there is where we had bought our tickets. Way, way down there.
The views out across the city were awesome!
	Looking out across the sound, we could barely see the mountains (and Mt. Rainier) until the light cloudy haze began to move in, obscuring our view.
Right here in town, sea planes took off and landed from off this lake. While we were up in the Needle, a small plane took off, and flew several stories below where we were standing, as it flew across town.
	Looking over at downtown Seattle. Our hotel is near the middle of that clump of skyscrapers.
Oops! I have the camera closeup focused too much.
Leatherman up in the Space Needle with downtown Seattle in the background
Can you see our hotel, the Roosevelt? MouseOver for a CloseUp to help you find it!
As there was no set agenda for the trip, meals tended to be a time when our group congregated every day. After the Needle trip, we ate at a sports bar, and later that night we ate at fish-n-steak restaurant.
The only two scheduled events for our trip was a Meet-n-Greet and a Memorial Service, both which were held on Friday. Because nearly all of us were "long term survivors" (meaning we had been dealing with HIV/AIDS for 15 to 20 or more years), we have all lost a lot of people to this disease. We've even lost online friends who were members of our forum over just the last two years. One such person was planning on attending our gathering until he passed away just a few days before this trip.
We discussed arrangements online about where to hold our memorial service. Because of the nature of Seattle weather (usually rainy) we opted out of a park or outdoor venue. Luckily, we found a local place, a house that was used for support meeting for various HIV groups and individuals, that had the room and time for our meeting - and it was only a 20 minute walk (uphill LOL) from our hotel.
The whole group met at the Dunshee House for our Memorial Service. Without a doubt these are some of the most wonderful people in the world. I feel very privileged to have met them all. My life has been greatly enriched, not only by knowing these people; but by now being able to call many of them my friends.
While we all sat in the front room in the Dunshee house, Gary gave a speech centering around the concept of "defying gravity". His thoughts tied together how the spirits of our loved ones defy gravity staying near to us and how that remaining closeness allows our own spirits to defy gravity and stay buoyant and hopeful. It was very touching, moving speech with what seemed like the proper amount of sadness and hopefulness.
After Gary spoke, Mark then read a list of names we compiled online before the trip. These were the names, from us and other members who couldn't attend, of our loved ones and friends who have passed away from HIV that we wanted to make sure were remembered. Needless to say, while Gary's speech had it's moments that caused tears to well up, listening to the too-long list of names being read was simply heart-wrenching. Though I'm always sad that they are not here and need to be remembered, I was glad to hear their names and know that Randy and Jim were once again being remembered not just by me (because I think about them every single day!).
While some of us had gone by bus, some walked, some by cab, and some by van to reach the Dunshee House, all of us took the extra time to walk by to the hotel. I think we all felt quite close to one another and were quite reverent and subdued after the service. Walking gave us some time to process our feelings and to commune with each other in smaller groups as we moved from being somber back to our regular life.
Our other scheduled event was the Meet-n-Greet that evening held in an upstairs banquet room at Von's. Although we had actually already met nearly everyone, this meeting wasn't held until the night everyone had arrived, so there were still a few new faces, and still plenty of others to still chat with.
Everyone mingled, drank and ate so, of course, a good time was had by all.
Several years ago at a previous AMG in Montreal, the two Davids (from NC!) got married. Now, each AMG includes a celebration as their anniversary. Jan congratulated the guys, presenting a cake and giving them an anniversary gift.
	Another AMG member, Henry, was given a gift too. It's the perfect gift for a guy with a mohawk - a bowtie. LOL Really! "Buckmark" always wears bowties so it was the perfect gift.
That's Gary (in the orange shirt) who gave the Memorial speech, and Mark (bald, standing at the right) who read the name, and Jan (the lady in the second picture) who gave the closing comments about our latest late member and the closing prayer.
	James struck up an online friendship before arriving that turned out to be really lucky for all of us. Ash (pictured here) actually lives in the Seattle and became our official "tour guide". Not only hot, hunky, and witty; but he knew ALL the spots to go to for cheaper, better drinks, and for dancing. With his help, we went out every night and had a GREAT time, dancing  and drinking till we closed down the bars. I really enjoyed meeting Ash and was very glad for the good times we had with him as a Guide.
I should mention here about the absolutely great time that I had every day in Seattle. I spent every day with these great people shopping, eating, taking in all the tourist attractions.
Then every night we went out drinking and dancing, came back to the hotel late, only got a little bit of sleep and started all over again. I can't say it was the best time of my life; but it sure ranked up there - even if I only slept about 12 hours in a 4 day period.
	That's me acting 25, only slightly drunk, dancing up on a speaker
To be honest, I realized at one point that I was literally acting half my age because this was the same kind of life I was leading back when I was 25. Then I realized that when I was 25 having this kind of fun, this was the life I was leading before I was infected with HIV. It made me sad to think and feel the difference that HIV had made in the second half of my life. Oh not that I regretted all of the past 25 yrs, because those were the years I had with Randy and Jim, even if AIDS was a big part of those years.
With this introspection, I determined that I do want some of the life I used to have back in my life. I understand I'm too old and too poor to be carousing like that every night; but I can surely get some of that back into my life. I'm going to work hard on going out more because most of all of what I'm missing is dancing. I could always be found out on the dance floor, and I plan to find some dance clubs once I get back to SC.
Sunday night we met up for our final cocktail hour. Though it was tinted with sadness, it was always good being with these people. Early the following morning, people would begin to leave us, one by one and two by two.
Morning came around too soon, and it was time to start to say goodbye to all my new friends. After walking my buddy Greg to the train to the airport first thing in the morning, I found myself crying as I went back to the hotel. I sure wish I had met Wolfie before leaving Ohio, because I might just have stayed up there. But my dogs and my home right now was back in SC, and too soon it was time for James and I to leave our friends behind. The lobby was filling up with suitcases, our group, and a lot of hugs and crying as we all began to depart.
	The two Davids (heading back to NC) left for the airport with us and we all rode the train back to SeaTak. This was our last view of downtown Seattle (from the ground anyway) on our way out of town.
Just before we boarded the plane, some of the haze of the day cleared off to get an amazing picture of our plane and part of the Seattle skyscape right out the airport window. Take a look to the right of the large building in the background (near the center of this picture.)
Here are some CloseUps!
Mount Rainier!
	Bye Seattle! Bye AMG 2011!
Caught between two layers of clouds like we part of a parfait.
	Final Views of Mt. Rainier
Clouds and their shadows on the Montana plains
	This large jet featured monitored in the headrests. There was a freebie trivia game that passengers could play. You got points as the counter counted down based on how fast you answered each of the 20 questions. I won this game!
Coming back to Minneapolis. Half the trip home is over. Next stop, Charlotte!
James and mIkIe tired, excited, happy, and sad at the end of a GREAT trip of a lifetime!
Leaving Minneapolis behind as the sun set.
We got back late that night and my friend Larry picked us up at the airport and took us back to my house. The following morning, James got back into his car and headed out on the last 2 hour drive back to his house.
I can't say Thank You enough to James for getting the plane tickets and room for this trip. Taking me on this trip was a terrific adventure in my life and I am sooooo glad I got to go. I'm going to try to see James more this upcoming year and I'm going to start saving up so I can go to AMG 2012 whatever destination is chosen. I made such good friends that I can't wait to see them again!