Grandfather

A hiatus.

Here we are now, entertain us - Seattle Part 1

Highlights of the Seattle trip.

First day in Seattle we get the party started right with lunch and a tour at the Red Hook brewery. The food was good and the tour was entertaining. More importantly we got to try a bunch of delicious beer. My favorite? The Red Hook ESB.

After a quick rest, we headed over to Gas Works park for it's July 4th celebration. 

We finished the day on top of a toxic waste capped hill over looking the beautiful Seattle skyline and watching fireworks blast off from a barge in the lake.

Day two started at Pike's Place where we saw the first Starbucks, fish tossing, and had delicious chowder. My favorite picture from Pike's Place, though, was this picture of the Olympic Mountains peeking out from behind the highway. Seattle's blend of city and nature is awe inspiring. Even when you're in the city, you can feel the trees and mountains cushioning you.

A short hike from chowder was the well-known gum wall. Colorful, yet disgusting. 

Ashley and I left our mark.

Next up was the Space Needle. The weather was beautiful, so the line was long. We didn't go up, but I snapped this photo of the Space Needle from the base. From afar, it looks so simple, but once you get close, you can see how architecturally complex it is.

On a whim, we decided to go to the EMP museum. Honestly, one of the most fun museums I've ever been to. 

The hallway leading down to the section about horror movies. My favorite part of the museum!

The largest LED screen with some trippy flowers hovering by.  Name the music video playing on the screen!

The scifi section was my second favorite part of the museum. It had a huge collection of movie props and memorabilia from all sorts of sci fi flicks throughout the years.

Friday started with a hike up to Rattlesnake Ridge. That's my cousin, Harley, looking like a pro while shooting some pictures. Like father like son.

It wasn't an easy hike, but the view was worth it. 

As we headed back into the city I snagged a shot of the space needle.

After a quick rest, we toured UW. I grabbed an iced mocha at Cafe Allegro, Seattle's oldest espresso bar, to pep myself up.

We walked around and learned about the campus courtesy of my cousin. The Suzzallo library was impressive to say the least.

It even had a Harry Potter-esque reading room.

Part 2 later.