Michelle went to Seattle! (with David) Summer Stop #2

I have wanted to go to Seattle since I was in my junior year of high school.  That might have been almost 2 decades ago.  I remember my driver's ed class in September of my sophomore year, this new girl named Jacqueline came into class (complete with that cool new-girl smell) and sat down at the desk next to me with her awesome portable CD player and headphones.  She pulled a CD out of her bag.  The cover was fascinating.  The band's name:  Nirvana.  She never listened to a word our driver's ed teacher said, I got to know her a little bit, but that CD, and all that went with it, would define my personality for a long time.  Enter:  Seattle grunge music.  Pearl Jam followed closely after and I was hooked.  Singles quickly became my favorite movie and still is.  The fact that Kurt Cobain killed himself just before high school graduation made the grunge frame around my high school years even more defined.  I would have loved a chance to go to Seattle during that time and see all those bands play in the little local clubs where they all started.

Thanks to David's insane travel schedule this year which included the PVSC conference in Seattle, I finally made it there.   Even if it was 19 years later, and my "local grunge music" experience was reduced to a handful artifacts and a listening station in a museum and I made it "nowhere near the neighborhood" where Singles was mostly filmed.  It was a really awesome city to visit and I had a grand time with David and our friends we've met through his school and work over the years.

Here's the photo tour of "wife day camp" (while David and colleagues were at the conference all day, the spouses, mostly wives, got to live it up in the city.)

Mt. St. Helens as we were flying in:

 Pioneer Square - someone has knitted stockings for the trees and lamp-posts?  cool.

 drawbridge at the lake lock system

baby salmon swimming upstream at the locks

neat water art

Shopping... I can't remember ever shopping that much in one weeks time.  There were just so many cool stores so close together.  I actually didn't buy that much, but got my good fill of window shopping.  My favorite purchase of the trip:  a new pair of Dr. Marten calf-height, lace-up, cherry red boots.  My first pair in about 15 years.   Now I just need the weather to cool in Albuquerque so I can break them in!

Pike Place Market - I spent hours here and went at least once every day.  I could not get enough of this market!

 Fresh fish at the market:  I ate seafood for every single meal except maybe 3 I can think of.

 G-ORGEOUS flowers at the market.  I've never seen so many FRESH fresh cut flowers in my life!  And, for like 10 bucks a bunch!

 The Gum Wall.  Made complete now with my lime green piece of key lime pie gum.  My friend's daughter gave me a piece.  Gum just shouldn't taste like pie crust.  I was glad to spit it out and stick it on.

 The Seattle Aquarium - I loved this aquarium because it really focused on all the local sea life and was so naturally done.  Most of the tanks are filled with water that just flows in from Puget Sound.

(yep, the ugliest octopus I've ever seen, wait, the only octopus I've ever seen...)

I couldn't get over the amazing anemones and tide pool creatures.

 The day camp wives:  Julie, Michelle, Sara...  BFF's see ya next summer!  (or, probably here in Albuquerque soon too.)

Glasshouse Studio - I had no idea that glass blowing was such a big part of Seattle art.  The blown glass exhibits everywhere from the hotel to the city centre to the art museum were incredible.  We stopped by this studio in Pioneer Square to watch it be done one day.  I love the dog that just hangs out on the floor as they blow glass right above him.

 Um... I couldn't afford to take home more than a small trinket of said blown glass, but it is sure pretty!

 Lake tour - Lake Union and Lake Washington - floating houses!  I've never imagined parking a sailboat at your front door.  How cool is that?

Gas Works Park on Lake Union:  I love the stark contrast between the soft greenery of the park and the harsh leftovers of industry that they have chosen to leave as a sort of monument to how far they've come in making their city one of the "greenest" cities I've ever been in.

Lake Washington, is apparently where all the rich people of the planet live.  We boated by the Bill Gates estate, his fellow Microsoft guy, Paul Allen's house (he is also the one who founded the EMP) some other dude who invented amazon.com, you know, all the important people in the world.  

 Space Needle and EMP:

The Experience Music Project is pretty amazing.  I wished the whole time that Grace was with me.  She would have loved it all, especially this tower of guitars in the center.  She would have been a great fellow band member to have in the little concert simulator since she can actually play the guitar.

Smells Like Teen Spirit... anyone recognize that sweater?  Back in the day when MTV played actual music videos?  What about that MTV video award.  (It actually is engraved "Smells Like Team Spirit.")

At the top of the space needle.  Flash off...

 Flash on...

A little rain?  Actually, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it did not rain on us the entire trip, only a little here and there.  We actually had a few sunny days, but, I was chilly most of the time.  It just seemed unnatural to spend a summer vacation wishing you had brought more sweaters.  Thanks Seattle!  I'll have to come back sometime again. Oh, and p.s. a huge thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Chapman for keeping the girls alive and well while we were gone!!