Last Days in Redmond

Just like that, our summer semester here in Redmond, WA is over. With OIP completed, many of the other DigiPen students have flown back home or off for their post-semester vacations. For our final days here in Washington State, Gang B207 joined up with fellow BAGD student, Yi Cong, for two days of last-minute sight-seeing and exploration.

But before that, honourable mention goes to the Root Beer Store, a quaint little place that we chanced upon by accident (thanks to Kenneth’s Hawkeye instincts), specialising in—yup, you guessed it—root beer. Of an unthinkable assortment of flavours and brands. The more outrageous ones included Buffalo Wing and Candied Bacon root beer, but other interesting flavours such as grape, choco-fizz and butterscotch were also on sale. There were so many to choose from that it was really difficult deciding what to get. Eventually each of us walked away with several bottles in hand.  

All those weird-ass flavours.

For lunch, we had some Asian fare at the Asiana Bistro Teriyaki. The menu was a mash-up of Japanese, Chinese and Korean dishes. I got a salmon teriyaki set with rice and vegetables. Prices were moderate but the food wasn't at all great. Still, it was edible for what it was.

Looks better than it tastes.

At this point, Yi Cong came by to join us after watching Marvel’s Ant-Man. Together, we took a long hike through Marymoor Park towards Lake Sammamish. The fair weather and wonderful view definitely made it worth the workout.

All the nature.

We exited the park and eventually made our way back to our apartment. Yi Cong came by and, though we had initially invited him for dinner, cooked chicken rice for us instead. We ate a hearty dinner, played some games, drank some root beer and time just flew by. The first night was over before we even knew it.

By Yi Cong, the true masterchef.

This morning, the entire apartment got up at around noon with a root beer hangover. Yi Cong came by again (he’s our guest star) and we took a bus down to Bellevue. We stopped first at Barnes & Nobles and got trapped in a little time sink there, before eventually making our way to Bellevue Square for lunch at an iconic American fast-food restaurant: MacDonald’s.

After lunch it was time to hit the arcade. It was snazzy place without the usual obnoxious loudness you hear in Singapore, though the game selections were definitely limited. We shared a 20USD play card and tried out the Star Wars Battle Pod game (designed by DigiPen’s own Andy Logan!), a 2-player 4-wheel-drive racing game, a Terminator Salvation shooting game, an ice-hockey foosball game and a 4-player Pacman arena game.  

Atas arcade is atas.

With that, our time here in Redmond has officially come to an end. Keep checking back here as the Five Guys take on Orlando, Florida next. Universal Studios, here we come.