Conference finished, time to see some of Seattle. First the
Chihuly garden and glass, which was actually pretty impressive, and worth the steep entry price.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpmemeavVmuLhS3A9JWYDFJxt7QrfHC2eSQTXWLCOsWZ-YQAkr_Riulxo6Wz5zD1wqLAO10zgyxjwLmHJPM1dWbXsEKFeXo3NMS9jLPuW3AkTr8gca0p_Q-WVgUwT-CLzd_DuUGMjOco/s320/IMG_3333.JPG) |
Glass leeches? |
Next Em got in line for the Space Needle (meh, certainly not worth waiting in line for an hour), and I went to the
Experience Music Project. They had some decent exhibits (Hendrix, Stones, Nirvana, AC/DC) and downstairs there was an
Icons of Science Fiction exhibit, which was interesting, but small.
To be honest I wasn't super impressed with the exhibits, the music ones seemed to be lacking in interesting content and rich detail. They felt like larger-than-usual collections of fan memorabilia.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSP_vnQuFAGw2tysZOVO9hD58194MY8qepWt7dflezWjsHHDZ0_OF4fH61K0Trhyoky2xQOCwa3dYco7lBGC1QQmMv47qgWDE8G-Keu9t9W41cwu0IzWh35V94DPyKOLC22tVqEWYqFY/s320/IMG_20120811_132048.jpg) |
Least frackin interesting costume display ever, but I love my BSG |
Next we got on the ferry to Bainbridge island with our friends J+B, recently back from Alaska. The ride over was nice, but there wasn't much on Bainbridge to hold our interest.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXo5LTHZNk1W3A2hQNvAz_muQNB2Ivo91Adt0NfIs-bNYxCI-Rsa42DWPv-2tkSH8goFinrWLnc2jqOPOmpE4O1rg2_Q_l-8dvWNQULUu1h95P7E18KH5A0UOMkVZQz7viX2M3UhsxnQ/s320/IMG_3350.JPG) |
This sculpture may have been the highlight of our Bainbridge island visit |
And finally, back to the hotel via the Olympic sculpture park, which was a nice attempt at revitalising a shitty bit of land spanning a train line and a freeway, but didn't seem to quite hit the mark like, say, NYC's
highline.
I promise I'll say something positive next :) In general I actually really liked Seattle, we stayed in a great neighbourhood (Queen Anne) with nice bars and restaurants, and I loved the coffee culture. Espresso! Everywhere!
Maybe it's the engineer in me: I found Ballard Locks really interesting. The city has built a series of fish 'ladders' to allow the salmon passage upstream to spawn. It's basically a series of small weirs that the fish jump over to get upstream. There is a viewing area where you can see the salmon underwater, and if you wait long enough on the walkway, you can see them jump the barriers. Pretty cool.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fApbN90RT1ZxzDYJ88XppSsT18UXUHo7hSwaH7ZafVV8618vdV0uqid4t0D9UiGtEiBtmCn3gQ24cuODSPsqNxIJ1u3TPDWqqUrwhMbvGnG9BrL8E8MSaK83A22cN2eF0Gq78ANpPmg/s320/IMG_3362.JPG) |
There will be a test later |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLYFGtaF0meRX259WQUUhJljmnyFVlJUmHF0OH55JxTkPE_K5pTnWIcRfB10XdRhHe71G0dZKP9gs2rrAGskmR_N3PkY7GpVBENOCyPENX_n2eRYxYgqkRmBB3ZK1GKKmC7QnLm8suMY/s320/IMG_3373.JPG) |
Sprinklers to keep the hordes of seagulls from eating all the little fish that tumble through the lock and end up on the surface when it opens. |