Six Bones

Chronicles of a Wandering Music Fan

The 9 Worst People You’ll Meet at a Hostel

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Hostel traveling has a lot of benefits, with the low price and heightened sense of community being the most prominent. I much prefer hostels to hotels as a rule, but the more I stay, the more I realize that the same types of ‘bad neighbors’ seem to present themselves over and over again. The following are, in my experience, the nine worst and most common offenders, whose obnoxious behavior can detract from the generally positive experience of staying in a hostel. Don’t be these people! [Read more…]

10 Great Reads from the Travel Blogosphere

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As a new travel blogger, I find that reading other travel blogs is not only a great source of information for your travels, but also for community and inspiration for your own travel writing. There’s a ton of really fantastic travel blogging happening out there, and my Bloglovin’ feed tends to fill up with great stuff much faster than I can read it. I’ve started bookmarking things I really like, and I’m going to start making regular posts of my favorites every couple weeks or so.

That being said, here’s my first-ever Great Reads post!

//What’s Wrong With ‘1000 Places to See Before You Die?’ – Intelligent Travel

This post really resonated with me. I’ve always felt a little weird about bucket lists, but have never really been able to articulate the reason for it. Luckily for me, Robert Reid wrote about it more eloquently than I ever could. Always keep in mind that travel is about the experience, not about ticking boxes on a list.

//The Ultimate Manifesto for Eternal Happiness and How to Find Work Overseas – Around the World in 80 Jobs

This post is extremely helpful for those interested in working overseas. Definitely worth a read! [Read more…]

Trover List: Seattle’s Grunge Landmarks

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Seattle’s Grunge Landmarks – a photo list by Six Bones

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the tragic death of Kurt Cobain, the legacy of Seattle’s grunge movement is once again in the spotlight. The grunge era helped define the culture of Generation X, and propelled popular music into the alternative rock movement of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Grunge’s popularity also drew the eyes of the world to our rainy little corner of the world, helping to make Seattle the major hub of independent music it is today.

The nice folks at location-based photo sharing app Trover (read about it here) asked me to create a list detailing of some of Seattle’s grunge landmarks, and share it using their new widgets. The list highlights some of the spaces and places critical to this slice of rock history, including the original location of Sub Pop Records, important music venues, and Kurt Cobain’s unofficial memorial. You can read about them by clicking “See More on Trover” on the list above.

Dr. Martens: For Travelers, Punks, and Traveling Punks

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via drmartens.com

via drmartens.com

There’s a lot of talk about shoes in the travel blogging world. And why not? You’re on your feet for ages when you travel, and when space is limited, you want to make sure you’re making the right shoe choice for any situation. In all the reading I’ve done about travel gear, I’ve seen nary a mention of the best travel shoe ever: Dr. Martens. [Read more…]

Four ways to save money when visiting Seattle

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1. Skip the Space Needle.

I know, I know, I’m telling you to skip the most iconic icon that has ever icon-ed in Seattle. By all means, when you go to Seattle Center to visit the Experience Music Project or to see a sweet laser show at the Pacific Science Center, definitely check out the Space Needle…from the outside. Otherwise, you are paying $18 to ride in an elevator, and that is just tooooo ridiculous.

Instead, try going to the Columbia Tower, where admission to the 73rd floor observation deck is a much more reasonable $12, with unlimited re-entry all day–perfect to come watch the sunset from one of the highest points in the city. The Columbia Center observation deck provides a 360-degree view of Seattle, and then your cityscape shots can include the Space Needle. [Read more…]

Essential Travel Apps: Trover

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I hate to admit it, but I’m kind of a lazy travel planner. Though I’ll often read the basics about where I’m going (neighborhoods, major attractions, etc) I generally rely on walking around and talking to people to find the things I want to see, do, or eat. While this works out some of the time, I really need to work on planning more things in advance.

In rides Trover, my lazy-planning knight in shining armor. Trover is a free website and app (available for both iPhone and Android) which allows users to post photos (or “discoveries” as they call them), geotag them, and add a description. The app combines all of the positive elements of Yelp, Instagram, FourSquare, and Pinterest, but without all of the extra BS. [Read more…]

Easy Street Records & Cafe, Seattle, WA

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Easy Street Records is easily my favorite record store in Seattle. They carry a ton of Northwest music, have super friendly and helpful staff, and cater to pretty much everyone’s taste. They also regularly have live music in-store. The entire first floor of ESR is CDs & DVDs (both new and used). The walls are covered in fantastic posters, art, collectibles, and featured music. [Read more…]

Weekend Getaway: Orcas Island, WA

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The shore near Eastsound, WA

For every Seattleite there comes a point in late winter/early spring where the ubiquitous grey drudgery begins to consume you. Grey concrete, grey skies, and no hope of sun for another few months means we have to get out, and stat!

Happily for us, there are many beautiful natural areas are accessible from Seattle, making weekend escapes quick, easy, and often fairly cheap. This weekend I took a trip to one of my favorite places in the Pacific Northwest: the San Juan Islands.

Located in the north Puget Sound, the San Juans are a short ferry ride from Anacortes, which is about an hour and a half from Seattle (via car, though there is an Airporter shuttle that goes from SeaTac Airport and Downtown Seattle to Anacaortes). There’s a small beach right next to the ferry terminal, which is a great place to kill time while waiting for your ferry to board. The ferry ride alone is worth the trip–beautiful views of the islands, and if you’re lucky, you may even spot some Orcas! [Read more…]

Day Trip: Big Four Ice Caves

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Last fall, some friends and I decided we wanted to get out of the city and spend a day walking around some of Washington’s plentiful forests, and the Big Four Ice Caves seemed like just the right thing! The Big Four ice caves are in an area between the Mt Pilchuck State Forest and the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest. A pretty little two-hour drive from Seattle, you can access the caves starting in early summer, after nearby waterfalls and warm winds have worn tunnels through the previous year’s avalanche pileup.

It was a spectacular September day, and after a very pleasant scenic drive we arrived at the trailhead for the Big Four ice caves. The hike itself is very easy: about two miles round trip, with minimal incline and beautiful views. This walk would be great for people of all ages; we saw families with small children, and older people walking with canes, and everyone seemed to be moving in stride. [Read more…]

I’m Katy, a Seattleite quitting my normal life to pursue my two greatest passions: travel and music. I’m documenting my general travel adventures, as well as great record stores, labels, festivals, and music I find around the world.