Are You Experienced? - Seattle's Experience Music Project

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Seeing as I was so close, I decided to spend a day in Seattle after my trip to Vancouver. A city that was also on my list of must visit places, I was anxious to see what this Pacific-Northwest vibe was all about. After taking a quick hopper flight from Vancouver, I took a quick shuttle from the airport to my hotel. Dropping off my bags, I immediately headed down 3rd Ave. straight towards Pike's Place Market, home of the famous flying fish. I ended up talking to one of the employees there who actually can be seen in the Seattle episode of Man v. Food behind the counter. Not only did he give me some insight on the market, but recommened a great spot for lunch that the common visitor would not be able to find. After watching a few fish fly across the counter and watching a woman get a dead fish head thrown at her, I made my way up to Matt's across from Pike's Place. This cool little restaurant had great local microbrews and an awesome tuna melt. I finished up my sandwhich and then headed towards Seattle Center, home of the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project. Now I have to admit, I am a sucker for metros/subways, and always enjoy trying a new system if a city I am in has one. Well, Seattle loses BIG TIME! If you are unfamiliar, Seattle has a monorail that shuttles people from a Macy's downtown to Seattle Center in about 5 minutes. It's a $2 ride, there's no other stops, and it just loops back and forth all day. For a city of its size, I'm a little surprised there is no light rail or metro in the city and metro area. Honestly, the monorail is pointless. I will give it one plus, and that it goes throught the exterior of the Experience Music Project. Once I got off the pointless train, I headed into EPM to connect with Jimmi Hendrix and the Seattle grunge scene, because that was basically all it was. There was a cool room dedicated to Hendrix, a hallway that shed insight into Seattle's contributions to the music industry, and bunch of interactive interview exhibits, and most importantly, a jam session room, where you can rock out on all kinds of electric instruments. Included was everything from a jazz bass guitar, to a full-on drum kit, to turntables. This pretty much sums up EMP, absolutely nothing like the Rock Hall in Cleveland. Still, a very neat place and worth a trip. To get the full experience, I also took (literally) a 10 minute stroll through the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and Museum, which would make any fan of George Lucas pitch an instant pants tent. I will admit, yes, the model Death Star was neat, and it played the Emperor's March and lit up when you pushed a button next to it. Also, the display of Japanese toy robots was pretty badass.

I will have to say, EMP did provide me with one of my favorite souviner experiences ever. Wherever I go, I usually pick up a shot glass of a city, place, or college. It's just something I do, and I have a pretty extensive collection as we speak. Of couse, I had to get one from EMP. After I had picked one out, I paid, and the cashier wrapped up my purchase. As I headed into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, the nerd who was checking enterance stamps went to give me something, and made me drop the shot glass, breaking to pieces. Well, of course I wanted a replacement. I went back to the cashier @ EMP and asked if I could get a replacement, and if he could give it a little "extra" wrapping. Well, my friendly cashier had no problem with this. Not only did we wrap it in extra tissue paper, but he proceeded to wrap the entire thing in an entire sheet of bubble wrap, creating this massive protective shield around this tiny shot class. People have always said the people in Seattle were a little different, and this was no exception. However, I appreciate the going above and beyond in the name of customer service.

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Photos

Experience Music Project
Are you experienced?

Pike's Place Market
My fish throwin' pal

The famous shot glass
Masterfully wrapped.