The Great American Road Trip: Day 29 - Playing tourist with Jim

Even several days later I still can't believe how busy and fun my time in Seattle was, largely because Jim and Jeannie were kind enough to try and help me see as many cool things around town as possible. On Tuesday I finally dragged myself out of bed early enough to go on a real run, following their suggestion to head down to the harbor and visit the Olympic Sculpture Park. I *may* have gotten a bit turned around and left the hotel heading both away from the water and away from the Harbor Steps that would allow me to cross the otherwise solid line of buildings blocking off the route to get to the water, but after a few blocks I figured it out. There were a lot of other runners and bikers, but I think I was the only one stopping every so often to take yet another photo ;) Facebook seems more conducive for flipping through massive amounts of photos, so I'll put a few up here and a link to my FB photo album once I put the rest up there.

I met Jim for breakfast, sitting at their table that overlooks the city, and we plotted out our day. First stop - the Duck Tour! Not so secretly I've always wanted to go on one, I think my first glimpse was in Philly when we had our family reunion out there (that must have been...10 years ago?), where all the passengers had to wear rubber duck beaks over their noses. The tour left just a few blocks from the apartment building, and while we didn't get duck noses, we did get plastic duck bill-shaped quackers that you blow through to make a nice honking sound ;) Our tour guide was dressed as a Scot, complete with high socks, tam-tam with a tartan border, and long shorts replacing the kilt "after that unfortunate wind incident". He informed us that he was banned from playing bagpipes the entire ride, but they did make appearances from time to time amongst the Seattle produced or themed music. His hats also changed with the music and location - a motorcycle helmet when we merged onto the highway (look, we're up to 41 mph!), a captains hat as we drove into Lake Union, Willie Nelson bandana with braided pigtails as we got "on the road again", a hard hat as we drove under the raised highway that was damaged in the last earthquake and is now propped up with supports as Big Bertha digs a new traffic tunnel underneath it, Jimmy Hendrix afro as we passed the Experience Music Project museum, etc. Jim knew a good deal of the information that our guide presented, beating him to the punch half of the time, but I think we both learned a lot along the way.

Our next stop was taking the monorail to see the Space Needle. I didn't realize that the monorail had been built in 1962 for the World Fair, once I took a good look at it it looked somehow futuristic and a bit old fashioned at the same time - the vision of the future as it appeared in popular culture 50 years ago. We had lunch in the Armory - a kale caesar salad and bowl of tomato bisque for me, a delicious looking steak pie for Jim (all the dishes, cups, and silverware was compostable, of course - this is Seattle), then wandered over to the Space Needle. We chose the right day to be tourists, it wasn't crowded at all but the many crowd control measures in place indicated that there are times when it must be swamped with people. The sun was shining but it was still quite windy and chilly at the top so we did a lap around, pointing out interesting buildings or places we'd seen earlier on the tour, then retreated inside to the interactive city maps and the displays of information about the tower and its construction. Did you know that the turning restaurant at the top is moved by a little motor a bit bigger than a gallon of milk, and that it's so well balanced that it has been working continuously since it was installed 50 years ago, without stopping? We also found out that they poured so much concrete to create the foundation that the center of gravity is 5 feet above the ground - in an earthquake prone region, it's actually a very safe structure to be stuck at the top of.

We returned safely to the ground and went next door to the Chihuly glass museum. I didn't realize this until I talked to Elise and Hannah, but apparently when it was built it was quite controversial - the area had been owned by the Space Needle but was essentially public use land, and most of the submitted proposals had been by local groups intending to keep it that way by transforming it into cultural/memorial type museums or parks. Dale Chihuly does have a lot of connections to Seattle and Tacoma, and has spent many decades working and teaching there, but the public impression seemed to be that an outsider was coming in and making a bit of a secret deal to open an expensive (and thus fairly exclusive) art museum on land that used to be available to more people. It does seem that now that it's built most people see it as a positive addition to the Seattle cultural and art scene, and as someone who has seen his work elsewhere, I will say that seeing it in a building and garden specifically built to house it gives his artwork an amazing new dimension.

The museum was kind of like stepping into an Alice in Wonderland forest - dark rooms allowed spotlights on the glass to bring it to life, the bright swirling colors almost hypnotic, the impossibly long spikes and gravity defying towers seemed even more impressive when set in rooms that emphasized their scale. Outside the sculptures seemed to accent and be accented by the plants and trees, clearly a man-made addition but magically plausible as something you would come across in an environment like this, standing out yet fitting in. He was apparently always fascinated by greenhouses, and thus the grounds has a greenhouse that contains this massive metal vine growing from the ceiling that is covered with hundreds (maybe thousands) of glass flowers. There was a wall with old drawings of other greenhouses/conservatories around the world, and the very top left one happened to be the greenhouse at Mt. Holyoke! Definitely a happy bonus. Not the least expensive museum to visit, but in my mind it was well worth it if you're in the area and have any kind of interest in glasswork.

Blinking our way back into the real world, we made the horrifying concession of consulting a map in order to find our way to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor's Center, just up the street on the other side of the EMP (the Experience Music Project, with a stunning building designed by the famous Frank Gehry). I didn't realize that Seattle was such a base for the foundation, but they employ over 1000 people in the heart of the city (including a large number of RPCV's, if anyone is looking for a foundation-type job). The visitor center is a combination of the family's history of philanthropy, the creation of the Foundation, projects that they've worked on, promotional videos of the kinds of issues they're tackling, and a lot of really neat places to interact and make your own suggestions for projects and solutions. I got pretty teary eyed while watching the videos about maternal/child health in West Africa - I miss my village and my friends there so much sometimes, their ready smiles and biting humor and generous spirits. I was feeling a little somber, and then we discovered the latrine cover display, which completely made my day as I played with water and ping pong balls, watching the little concrete weight snap the plastic cover back in place over and over (where was this when cockroaches infested my latrine?!). Overall I was really impressed not only with the center but also with the work they're doing not only internationally but also in the local community to combat homelessness and to support access to education at all levels.

We ended up walking the 20 minutes home instead of waiting for the monorail, and met up with Jeannie who had spent the day golfing in the rain. They had their eye on going to another of Chef Tom's restaurants, Lola being conveniently located across the street, but it was reserved until quite late. So we went a few doors down to Assaggio, an Italian restaurant that they've enjoyed before, which proved to be just as tasty as the smell wafting out the front door. We shared an antipasti plate as an appetizer, and then I had a seafood-laden spaghetti in a spicy tomato sauce that absolutely met my goal to eat seafood at least once a day while in Seattle. I had gotten my email from Mount Holyoke about it being Mountain Day that morning, but since Elise and Hannah were busy we decided to delay our mini reunion for a day, and I had my own celebration with Jim and Jeannie by ordering the Tartufo, a chocolate gelato ball filled with zabaione cream and rolled in cocoa with hazelnuts - amazing!

And random note to the day that tragically has no photo - there is apparently a ride sharing company operating around town that marks its cars with a huge pink fuzzy mustache across the front grill! I saw one each day that I was out and about but never managed to get a picture so you'll just have to use your imagination.

First daytime glimpse of the Wheel, running along the harbor

In the sculpture garden

I appreciate cities that make ordinary things pretty

And have lots of public artwork :)

Quack Quack

Mural in Fremont (note the rowers) ;)

Our fearless captain

row row row your boat

Seattle skyline

Gas Works Park

Our driver even told us about a "house boat" boathouse that someone built so the rowers can row right into the building, conveniently located near the JL store (?!?!)

Here we go!

Gnome on his first monorail ride

Taaaallll

Fancy gentlemen do, indeed, like free maps

At the top of the Space Needle

Cousin Jim was kind enough to help Gnome get in the picture without risking him blowing over the edge

Replicas of the bolts that hold the supports to the ground

In the Chihuly Museum

Wouldn't you love a ceiling like this?

Magic forest

The famous Seaforms

MHC!

His vision of a greenhouse

Some parts of the garden were a little spooky, but I did think these fiery ones were quite friendly looking

Outside the Gates Foundation

Self-injectable birth control?! This would have been amazing to have in my village - the women would have loved it, especially the ones from farther away.