Flying High in Seattle

So Clay and I finally went to the Boeing Museum of Flight which is just 10 mins from our place - I loved it even more this time than I did 8 years ago - definitely one of my favorite museums ever! We only had 4 hours there and I swear we could spend another 4 weeks there exploring everything. The normally $14 admission is cut to $3 with my MSFT card and I can't wait to go back with everyone who visits!

Probably my fave exhibit is the huge 6-story gallery with planes galore, each with their own stories (pictured to the left). This huge room is right next to the space exploration exhibit and right below the tower exhibit which teaches of air traffic control, dispatchers, the phonetic alphabet, etc. However, one of my favorite memories from my first trip was of walking through an old Air Force One so I had to show Clay that plane (which has moved across the street and now also has a Concorde to walk through and the very first 737 and 747 ever made). That's the 747 to the right - notice the small blur of khaki and red underneath the plane - that's Clay standing under the plane to show you how huge it is!! I was disappointed that the 747 didn't have an internal tour as I've always wanted to see a double-decker plane with the spiral staircase, but the Concorde and the AF One didn't disappoint... Did you know that the AF One has a doggie door for the president's office on board and the Concorde literally grows 6-10 inches while in air due to heat?!?! How crazy is that?!? It could cross the atlantic in just under 3 hours and many rock stars used it to quickly get from country to country for shows. Rough life, eh?? Too bad they're all grounded now due mostly to the one accident in France in 2002 and the manufacturers are now more interested in fuel efficiency than speed.... Oh well - another part of history now I suppose.

Speaking of history the last exhibit we looked at (which I think is also new?) is a history of WWI and WWII pilots and aviation - what an eye opener. There were stories, pictures, and planes from both wars and each had their own personal account and/or artifacts which were all so moving. The model of a trench and the stories of hours spent down in them and the lives lost were particularly frightening. I can't even imagine what our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers went through to protect our freedom. Thanks again guys from the bottom of my heart.

All in all it was a super day and a super trip down aviation's memory lane - I'm just looking forward to going back with each of you, and in particular to return with mom and dad so Clay can hear all of their personal stories and insider knowledge to add to the exhibits! :)

-e :)

So many photos, so little blog!

Ok seriously behind, I know! So what's been going on in the great Pacific Northwest you ask? Lots!

First of all we had another visitor last week! My mom came to see the flower show (well and us of course!) last Tuesday and stayed for a week - it was great to see her! Not only did she cook us food, but she walked Clay (you see I'm tired at the end of my day and I walk to and from the bus each day so I'm ready to crash on the couch and escape into some tv - while Clay has been sitting on the couch watching tv (ok, and working too) and is ready to go out and do some walking when I get home), chipped in on some AMAZING vinegars for us at Pike Place Market, ventured throughout the Seattle neighborhoods with us, and even joined us on our weekly Library/Rock Bottom Brewery Sunday walk.

Our weekend was then filled with a drive around the different Seattle neighborhoods. So the first picture above is from Alki, which is the West Seattle Beach that has amazing views of the Seattle skyline, a tiny bit of beach, and several local restaurants and shops. The other two are taken from Gas Works Park (aka the park where the naked cyclist parade ends). We got to the park just in time to watch the sun go down - I'm sure my mom has some great pics, but at this point our camera pales in comparison to hers, so I'll have to wait for her to send us the pics from our next stop: Kerry Park (home of the view used on Frasier for the view from his condo).

On Sunday we got to walk around downtown and cap it all off with some Fire Chief Ale at Rock Bottom - how perfect is that??

On Monday she sadly departed for Atlanta, but she promises to be back in April :)

I simply cannot stop smiling

...and for that I'm sure to be sent on an express bus to hell, but can you bear with me while I gloat a little? I promise I know how tough the economy is - and I know all too well the complications that come with these times - and I know I'll get hit by karma in the end....but golly gosh darnit there is just no wiping this enormous grin from my face!!!!!!!

So what on earth could send this peach into such utter enjoyment??? Well the demise of my enemies of course! More specifically - Shaftrust. During my tenure there the stock climed to a high of $90 (I take full credit of course), and after I left the stock dropped 67% down to $30. Quickly visions of greedy execs who insisted on options danced in my head, and I had a mini-gloat.

Well kids I just took a peek and the news is even better. CLEARLY the Wall Street analyst shave now been officially alerted of my departure, because guess where it stands now?!?!?!?

$9.

That's right - you read that right - not ninety, not even nineteen, a mere NINE DOLLARS folks.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I know I'm awful, I'm a horrible, horrible person, but gosh darnit I can't stop smiling!! Mulleted man hands devil woman is going down! This is what happens when you treat Erika poorly people! It's like the day arsehole Tony jacka$$ was fired from Hewitt....revenge is so sweet!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Now to my friends still stuck there I promise this isn't directed at you, for I wish you only riches, and you are all underappreciated, under-rewarded peeps and they are too greedy and ungrateful to include you in their exec plans anyways (jerks!). I am still thinking of your 401k matches, but you all have plenty of time for those to bounce back! Join me in thoroughly enjoying the greedy old men who get all the $$ - guess they'll have to sell a couple cars, cut back on their house miads and landscapers.

Hey boys - I hear McDonalds is hiring.

Now for my song of the day: The_allamerican_rejects_gives_you_hell blast it and grin and smirk and rejoice with me!!!


ps-yes I'm a bitch for this posting, please forgive me - I promise I'll start to feel guilty and regret it......later.

Sight Seeing Saturdays

So lately Clay and I have been trying to visit the many points of interest around Seattle music - not only are we huge music lovers in general, but the grunge movement and the guitarists who got their start here are nothing short of amazing!!

Not too many years ago Paul Allen opened his "Experience Music Project" (EMP), but visiting there several years ago, I was severely disappointed and am not in any hurry to return to the blatant (not to mention boring) showoff of his music collection. So instead, we were left to venture the random sights and memorials on our own....

Enter first Mr. Jimi Hendrix, a guitar hero for Clay for sure. Hendrix died at the very early age of 29, choking on his own porcelain god impurities at the time his father lived in good ole' Renton, WA (similar to Tyrone, GA in both proximity to big city and in redneckedness). He was first buried somewhere else, but when his dad realized that fans wanted a place to come visit him (and when the checks were cashed, I'm sure), he wanted to give Jimi the proper burial place he deserved. Thus the memorial to the right - it was quite impressive. Carvings of his lyrics in his own handwriting, his signature, his pictures, and one or two dozen plots circling the memorial for his family to join him in the future. It was beautiful.

If only Steph had such a monument that she deserves....

Then to complete the Hendrix experience, we heard there was a Jimi Hendrix statue in Capital Hill (aka the Midtown Atlanta of Seattle) we needed to see. And so to Cap Hill we drove.... We got to Broadway and Pine (the intersection of the statue) and looked and looked - drove around it twice and finally got out to try to find this statue... Surely it's actually a model of Hendrix himself and not some abstract art that we saw from the street??? So we look, we venture close to the art at Seattle Community College (located at the same intersection), but no Jimi.

Surely it would be obvious?!?

FINALLY.

He seriously couldn't have blended in more, couldn't have been more random! I guess the only thing that made sense in this busy intersection was that it happened to be in front of a music store - I guess that was the big connection?? A monument in and of itself, Clay and I had to walk into this store - surely one of the last remaining brick and mortar music stands left in the country.(!) It was ok. I guess. It was no Zune marketplace ;) But alas, our Hendrix experience has been completed. Check!

Next on to my personal fave - Mr. Kurt Cobain. The lead singer of Nirvana, he was a leader of our generation and a genius sadly too sick for this world. Unfortunately his crazy wife won't bury his remains or even tell where she scattered ashes, so the only remnants of his last days remains at his house where he took his life (unless you believe all of the conspirators who say that he was actually murdered and his suicide note was nothing more than a brain dump and a letter to simply leave his wife). The neighborhood was much different than I would have ever imagined - extremely quiet and conservative feeling, the address wasn't even posted anywhere... Of course I'd done my research so I'm confident we found the right house - I wonder who lives there now - but for sure it is inhabited by someone who doesn't want any visitors or spectators... Not shy, I still took pics and still walked up close - he was a hero of mine, dangit! I deserve to feel a part of his life. Thus the pic above :)

So our musical tour ends here, a reminder of the great Seattle musical influences of the past - if only such brilliance would spring up here again.... Well short of me and Clay of course! ;)

So happy musical times everyone - go put on your favorite album and enjoy the healing power of some kick-arse music!!