Vacation Day 4: Tuesday

Tuesday was a very busy day for us. We woke up early and drove into Seattle to go to the Experience Music Project (EMP) and Sci-Fi Museum/Hall of Fame at the Seattle Center. I am still a little confused about EMP...wiki says it is a museum of music history, but to me it appeared to be a history of Jimi Hendrix. There were other aspects of the museum as well (like a history of the guitar and musicians from the greater Seattle area), and my favorite part was the hands on music area where we learned to play the guitar, drums, and piano (all instruments that I have always wanted to play). Apparently they also have different exhibits that come in and out of the facility. We also went to the Science Fiction Museum/Hall of Fame which was very interesting. The most exciting part of the "experience" was when we were watching a film of a Jimi Hendrix concert and the fire alarm went off. We ended up having to go outside and wait for the firemen to come and give us the OK to go back into the building. I was not happy to have to wait outside in the cold for so long. Overall, it was a good experience, but a little over priced (but for any of you who are planning to be in Seattle, almost all of the museums in Seattle are free on the first Thursday of every month).

After EMP, we took a trip of a lifetime...to the top of the Space Needle. My dad and I had never been up to the top of the Space Needle, and that is a little embarrassing since we are both from Seattle. My parents treated us to a meal in the revolving restaurant...a very expensive meal. I was interested in several of the items on the menu, but the server had told us about an Ahi Tuna special that sounded interesting. Little did I know that it was a seared Ahi Tuna that was completely raw. This was my first experience with raw fish and I was a little scared, but my parents had paid good money for this meal so I pushed through and ate the entire meal. Although I did not love the consistency of the raw fish, it was pretty good...and I LOVED the wasabi mashed potatoes. Dan enjoyed a Jidori chicken which was stuffed with deliciousness. After the meal we walked up to the viewing deck and took some pictures...and it was not as cold as I was expecting it to be.

As soon as we got home from our long day in Seattle, we left again to go and meet my friends Crystal and Villiami. We decided to go out to Alki Beach to eat at a chowder house that they had been wanting to try. Crystal and I had spent many a summer day at this beach, and one of my favorite memories is when we slept out on the beach to save spots for the Fourth of July fireworks...we met the weirdest people that day (including a man with a python in a cooler and a group of people who brought couches and a mini fridge to the beach). Anyway, we ate at Duke's Chowderhouse and I ate the chowder sampler which consisted of 5 different delicious chowders (but the award winning clam chowder was by far the best). As is tradition at this point, Dan ordered the Mahi fish tacos...and they were the best fish tacos in the world! I had a little zero point sample, and I can still taste the wonderful flavors. If any of you are planning to visit Seattle and enjoy fish tacos, this is the place to go. We also got to spend a little time with Crystal's adorable children (Naomi and Elias)...Polynesian kids are the cutest kids in the world. This was by far our longest day of the trip!