Gray Weather Survival Guide

The sky may be gray, but that’s no reason to feel blue. We’ve come up with plenty of ways to survive

By: Written By Francine Ruley and Lorna Yee with Amelia Apfel, Thea Chard, Brangien Davis, Rachel Hart, Manny Lewis and Kate Calamusa |   January 2010   |  FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Get in touch with your inner dolphin in The Hyatt at Olive 8’s saline pool.

The sky may be gray, but that’s no reason to feel blue. We’ve come up with plenty of ways to survive—and thrive—during our long winter nights and rainy days.

1. Play ball!
This town’s big on pinball—thanks to our weather, and because we’re a little geeky, says Larry Reid, curator at Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery and organizer of the Georgetown Invitational, a pinball tourney now in its second year. While Shorty’s in Belltown is likely the epicenter of the pinball universe (with 16 machines), the folks at Skill Shot fanzine have put together a list of pinball machines around the Seattle area—so get out there and flex your flipper fingers. You’ll be ready for the invitational in no time, this year on January 31 at Calamity Jane’s, Jules Maes and 9lb Hammer. Reid assures us, “It’s local and it’s friendly.”