I'm out of my hotel about 9:15 AM, which seems to be too early. But the clouds have burned off already and it's looking like a beautiful day. Most of the touristy things don't open until 10AM, and it only took me ten minutes to eat breakfast at a little convenience-store / deli.
I stop at a Tully's on the Harbor Steps for a cup of chai. It's interesting to note the contrast between chains. At Starbuck's, they put the "don't burn your hand" sleeve on the cup for you. At Tully's, they put the lid on the cup for you, but no sleeve. Huh. Anyway, I've got a chance to catch up on my writing a bit.
I look through the list of things I might want to do, and decide that I'll hit the Seattle Art Museum first. It's right here, and AAA liked it in the guide-book. Then again, some of their rankings make me wonder.
Last night I left the window open at the hotel. It was nice having the fresh air, but about 5am, I got woke up to the sound of crashing trash-cans. When I got up to close the window, I tripped over my sandals and nearly took a header into the window. Oops.
There are some nice looking apartments down here at Post Alley and the Harbor Steps. Or maybe they're condos. I wonder idly just how expensive they are, but I never bother to check to find out.
I've noticed some wicked calves on people walking around here. Up and down the hills all the time can make for some pretty shapely legs. Which reminds me that last night on the way back to the hotel from Safeco, I just took 4th the whole way, which spread the hill out over eight or ten blocks instead of the two or three it is coming up from the waterfront. That made the walk home a lot more pleasant.
I kinda feel as though I should be seeing more, but I've been to Seattle a half-dozen times in my life now, and I've seen a lot of the touristy things before. And those that I hadn't seen, I seem to be catching this time. I guess if I'm here again, I may want to spend more time around the University district, instead of downtown. It's one area I haven't seen much of that sounds interesting.
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| Seattle Art Museum |
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At the Seattle Art Museum, there's a pretty good collection of First Peoples art. Some is carved from Argillite, which is similar to the red pipestone we have in Minnesota, but it's black. It looks like it would be a cool medium to work if I had any talent in that direction. There's also a smattering of other aboriginal art from Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Rim. There's a floor full of European art that I find very disappointing, and a Do-Ho Suh exhibit that's interesting, but it's only a few big pieces. In all, I spend about 90 minutes in the museum, and I'm pretty well done with it.
I grab a completely unremarkable lunch at a completely unremarkable lunch-place, then take the monorail up to Seattle Center. I don't feel like going up the Space Needle, but there's the Experience Music Project and the Jimi Hendrix exhibit sounds interesting enough to draw me in. The admission was $20, but since this is the vacation where I'm seeing the touristy things that I'd figured were "too expensive" on previous trips, I figure what the heck, and in I go.
There's a section with rock memorabilia. Nothing earth-shattering, but there are some cool mementos. There are also interactive bits, where you can do karaoke and get a tape of your performance, and another where you can noodle with various instruments. Not for me, but some people really liked 'em. I spent a lot of time in the evolution of rock, the evolution of the electric guitar and the Jimi Hendrix sections. Here's the full list of exhibits. There's also the huge tower of guitars that's the first thing you see, which is pretty cool just to look at.
The Evolution of the Electric Guitar (also covering electric bass and amplifiers) was pretty neat. Most changes along the way in guitars were designed to make a louder instrument. I imagine parents through the ages yelling Turn that racket down!
. There are a lot of early guitars, including the first electric, the first flying V, the first electric bass, and on and on. An interesting tidbit is that the first amplifier designed for use with electric bass didn't sell all that well there, but turned out to be a great rock-guitar amplifier.
The history of rock included a neat little section on the Minneapolis Scene in the 80s. Mostly Hüsker Dü, Babes in Toyland, and The Replacements. But there's the cash register that sat at the front door at First Avenue through most of the 80's as part of the exhibit, and I think that's pretty cool.
The Jimi section has a pretty complete history of him, and a lot of memorabilia, too. I find out that Jimi's first experience playing was in Nashville, mostly because that's where he was where he got discharged from the service. Another factoid is that it was only three days after the Ladyland studio opened that Jimi left for London, never to return. He barely got to use the studio he'd built.
Also, the little audio-tour boxes (MEGs) here are a lot better than similar units I've used in other places. The headphones are more comfortable, and because the boxes are digital, it's a lot easier to skip around and only listen to the bits you want. The UI on them isn't great, but it's not bad either.
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| The Space Needle |
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After leaving the EMP, I turn my cell-phone back on to discover that Don's called earlier than I expected, and he's ready to meet for dinner whenever I am. So I tell him where I am, and that I'll meet him by the Space Needle. While he's driving over, I figure that I should've told him which side of it we'd meet on, but I figure the part with the valet parking for the restaurant is simplest. Of course, he figures he'll find me on the side nearest the EMP. D'Ohh!
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| Don's House |
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Don and I head out to the new place he's building. It's a pretty nice drive out, considering we're almost in rush-hour. The house is going to end up being about $2.3M, but it's got a lot of cool features. Heck, Don's even got his own bat-cave (well, not quite, but the basement level is pretty much all for "Daddy's toys"). I start to worry that Don's changed completely, but when he mentions that part of the reason they chose the spot is the pizza place we have dinner at in North Bend, I'm reassured. And yeah, it's pretty darned good pizza.
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