The Northwest Passage

Don't be jealous (Dayna) but I went to Seattle this weekend. I figured, I've been in Yakima a whole week now so it had to happen.


Actually my friend Tyler told me there was a YSA activity in Everett this weekend. So I went to that on Friday night and saw him, but before I left I informed my friend Sarah Richardson that I was coming, and seeing her was a requirement, since our rendez-vous in New York was an epic fail.


Well when Sarah discovered I had never been to Seattle before she said we should ditch the YSA activity on Saturday. I couldn't have agreed more, since that had been my secret plan in the first place.


So  we went to Pike's Place. Its the big marketplace in Seattle with lots of street vendors.

This is where they throw the fish. Although they didn't really do it while we were there...

They also have street performers. My favorite was this guy. Pianos rock.

He was really good too.

There was also this French Bread shop that smelled like heaven when you walked past it.

Of course there were also sure signs that we were definitely in Seattle.

My most favorite spot of all though was Beecher's...

Oh my goodness, this place was amazing. There were so many different types of cheese!! I could have sampled them all, but that would have only ended badly. So we sampled four different types and then Sarah bought the Rosemary Jack, which was delicious.

After Pike's Place we headed to Seattle Center, where we were finally able to meet up with Jackie.

Seattle Center, in case you didn't know is where this is:

It cost $17 to go to the top, so we did not do it. It was cool to look at though, and Sarah said you can go up for free if you come for breakfast (which is cheaper than $17) so we're going to do that at some point.

There is also this fountain there:

The trick is that you're supposed to touch the silver orb part without getting wet. Except your feet, I mean you have to slosh through like four inches of water to get to it, but you can't get sprayed by the jets. I did it, three times. I know, you're amazed.

Then we saw this:

Lego Liberty. Patriotism never looked so good.

Then... we went here:

The Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum.

This was my absolute favorite part of the trip. First we went to the science fiction part of the museum where we saw cool things like this:

This one is just for my brother Tyler.

I also wondered why I've never seen Blade Runner...

but I mainly realized that, yes, I have read Isaac Asimov, and Raymond Bradley, and Aldous Huxley, and...

I am a science fiction nerd!!

Gasp.

After going through that side of the museum we moved over to the music side, where I was overwhelmed by the awesomeness and had no idea what to do or where to go first.

Tower of famous guitars.

Electric Spanish Guitar from the Guitar History Showcase. (Nate, this one is just for you).

I kind of have a thing for Spanish guitars.

There was also the sound lab where you could take lessons on drums, guitar, or keyboard. They also had recording studios in there, you could even record your own song and make a CD. Or you could hook up your iPod to one of the teaching stations and play along with your own music.

There was also a place where it was like you were in your own band. Like a glorified Rock Band.

The also had this section called Northwest Passage dedicated to musical artists from Seattle, which, as you know, is numerous.

There was just no possible way to get to everything (they had a room dedicated solely to Jimmy Hendrix that we didn't get to)before we had to leave to get some dinner. I want to go back, ASAP.

We did end up going to the YSA dance that night to appease Sarah's cousin, who had gone to the workshops during the day with the belief that we would be there (well, mainly that Sarah would.) I swear, anyone who goes to a Mormon dance would believe every other weird thing about Mormon mating rituals that they've ever heard. Why do we even HAVE those things? Cotton Eyed Joe, really? EFY is over people. Move. On. That is all I'm going to say about that.

It was so fun hanging out with Sarah and Jackie, who are two of my most favorite people in the world. I also got to catch up with Tyler on Friday night, which was awesome.

Basically, I'm in love with Seattle.