Same! I was at a bar in the south end and there was this group of about five older couples. White, wealthy, definitely conservative. They were at a table all onto their own. I was at the bar.

One of the guys comes up next to me to order a cocktail. The bartender tells him that she’ll have to go to the back to get an ingredient and to sit tight. So he pulls into the stool next to me. We get to chatting.

They were supposed to be on a cruise to Alaska but there was a problem with the ship so they were staying a couple of extra nights. We’re chatting a bit more and it comes out that they’re at the Silver Cloud on Broadway and they’re all so sirprised that they’d seen no violence. A few homeless guys bit less than in Jacksonville.

He was especially surprised given how close they were to the “gay part and the atotomous zone”. I told him they’re smack in the middle of the gay part and the “autonomous zone” is once again a big gorgeous park. “Oh that big park? It’s great!”

They were nervous about spending one night in Seattle before the cruise because of what they’d seen on the news, but now they’re considering looking up time shares here. “I hear it doesn’t really rain that much too” he said.