Tips and Advice Solicitation

Hello readers! I am still on non-travel mode as I get through the holiday season, but I am already planning and working towards my trips for 2014-- and my calendar is quickly filling up!

I wanted to try something different though. I wanted to hear what YOU would suggest as great things to see or do in the states I will be traveling to. So far (barring any major catastrophe), I am going to:

Atlanta, Georgia in January 2014
Dayton, Ohio in April 2014 (though it's for a conference, so I'm not sure how much free time I will have)
Las Vegas, Nevada in May 2014
Charlotte, North Carolina in July 2014

I'm also seriously trying to fit in South Dakota in August 2014 and New Orleans, Louisiana at any point during the year.

So- what should I do? Where should I visit? Any advice or things to watch out for? Keep in mind that although I am planning on relinquishing my crown soon (I am taking driving lessons!) I am still the Queen of Public Transportation, so I most likely will not be able to go way out into the boonies without a little help. (Before you say anything, South Dakota is thus far looking like a trip with people who do indeed drive lol).

Tell me on my Facebook wall, tweet me, or simply comment below!

Thanks guys, and I'll see you on the next adventure!

Falling In Love

Before you get all weirded out about my blog title, let me make the disclaimer that this is NOT about my personal life.

Fallingwater

Great, now that that is out of the way, let's talk about Fallingwater, arguably the most famous home in the United States after the White House. This residence is probably the best known Frank Lloyd Wright building, and was built in the late 1930s for the Kaufmann family. For any non-locals, the Kaufmanns were the owners of probably the best department store EVER- Kaufmann's- that opened in 1871 but was bought out by Macy's in 2006. It was a big part of Pittsburgh culture. "Meet me under the Kaufmann's clock" is probably one of the most said phrases in the city (even though technically it's the Macy's clock now...), and has been a gathering place for residents since 1913. Obviously, to have had this much influence over the city, these folks had to have been wealthy. And one of the things they did with their money was to commission Mr. Wright to design a weekend home for them far from the city where they could be rejuvenated from all the smoke and pollution urban Pittsburgh suffered with due to steel making. They used this home for roughly 25-30 years, and then Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. donated the home to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy to be turned into a museum for the public.

Which bring us to my Sunday afternoon visit to Fallingwater with two of my coworkers. It was about an hour drive from the city to the site. As the Queen of Public Transportation, let me tell you now there is NO way to get here unless you drive. NONE. We passed plenty of cows and fields on the way there. Not a bus stop sign in sight! And if you don't drive, good luck trying to find a bus tour out there- before my coworkers decided to go, I tried to Google tours from the city to the premises. I found ONE company that only does tours sporadically. Not very convenient, although it does include the nearby Kentuck Knob- another Wright home seven miles from Fallingwater that often gets overlooked by tourists (like us).

Inside the Visitor's Center

Anyway, once you get to the Visitor Center, you are told to listen for your tour number but to feel free to use the restrooms and browse the shop and cafe in the meantime. Once you are called, you are directed to a path after being told "the rules" of visiting the home, and you walk down a nature trail of sorts, making a right at a waterfall where your tour guide will be standing waiting for you with a giant walking stick in hand. Our tour guide was amazing- Eric Kobal. He was excited (but not crazy), knowledgeable (but not snooty), and friendly (but not fake). Seriously he knew details about EVERYTHING in the house- the plants in the gardens, the art on the walls, the books on the shelves, the design highlights, everything! I'm sure they probably go through some intense training in order to know so much, but I enjoyed that he didn't sound rehearsed and encouraged us to ask questions. Thankfully our group was engaging and excited to be on the tour.

Eric our tour guide! The guides carry the sticks as a sort of homage to Kaufmann, Sr.
who has a portrait in the living room holding one of these.

He had lots of quirky stories and factoids to share with us, but probably my favorite was the one about the color scheme of the home. The home is painted in a beige-y peach color called ocher and accented with Wright's favorite color, Cherokee red. This is actually the second choice of Wright- who thought the home should be covered in gold leaf! Imagine how that would have looked in depression era America-- one family being so rich they could afford to build a house covered in gold while just a few miles away their employees practically starved. Thankfully the Kaufmann's saw this was a terrible idea and the current color scheme was used instead.

After the main house tour (you go through both the main house and the guest house), you are taken to what used to be the car port but is now a sort of movie room where a different person (our was a woman named Bonnie) explains the ways the organization keeps the building maintained, discusses a little about how much it costs, and then does a strong push for membership and donations without coming across as a used car salesman. Seriously, if I had an extra hundred bucks in my pocket that day they could have had it- that's how positive the entire experience (even being solicited!) was. From there you are allowed to go back to the outside area and take pictures, but NOT the inside (more on that later) and then you head back to the Visitor Center. On the way back there is a side trail that takes you to a great spot to take the "iconic" Fallingwater pic that everyone always sees in magazines and books. I honestly had an awesome time here (history and arts nerd that I am!) and would love to come back.

The oldest piece of art in the home. A Hindu goddess statue dating to around 700 AD
Taken from outside so as not to break the rules!

Now, some tips and random tidbits. Don't even think about wearing non-flat, feet exposing shoes. Most of the surfaces we walked were either uneven stone, gravel, or dirt and wood chips so wear something sturdy and protective on your feet. If you've never been and aren't sure you'll like it, take the regular tour. It's $22 for adults. But if you already know you are a Wright fan or want a VIP experience, go ahead and shell out the $65 for the in-depth tour (I know I will next time!). What's the difference? Well, you get a tour that's twice as long in a smaller group (a maximum of ten) AND you'll get to take pictures inside of the house (which we were not allowed to do) and go to areas the general public isn't allowed. AND you won't have to worry about other tours bunching up in spaces with you as the VIP tours are pretty much isolated from everyone else.

A gathering of walking sticks and a donation box. 

Whichever tour you take, I beg you to please ask questions about the art and sculpture you see around you. Why? Well, where else can you be super close and personal with original, authentic Picassos? There are Japanese woodcuts, Riveras, and Khalos mixed in with ancient art from around the world. And there are beautiful antique books that belonged to Junior of some of the most celebrated titles in the history of literature. Another highlight was learning that the Kaufmann's cook, Elsie Henderson, is alive and well at 100 years of age and was recently at the home signing copies of her cookbook (they didn't have any signed copies for me to purchase, otherwise I would have!)

Thank you so much for reading my blog and for following me on my adventure! Feel free to check out my Facebook page (and hit that like button!), and follow me on Twitter to find out where I'm headed next!

Where Do You Belong?

Hiya folks! No new travel news. Just another state-themed survey/article I wanted to share that shows the "mood" of every state. I took the quiz and it said I belong in Florida (of all places! ha!). Find out where you should be by clicking the article below:

America’s Mood Map: An Interactive Guide to the United States of Attitude

In other news, Nevada is officially on the schedule for 2014 and Georgia and North Carolina are strong candidates for travel. Of course I'll have to add more to reach my 50 state goal on time...but know that I AM working on it!

What is the Most Screwed Up Thing About Your State?

One of these days I'm going to learn to not make "final" plans until I know they are officially final.

Remember how I said that I was done traveling for the rest of the year? Well, turns out, unless my co-workers TOTALLY flake on me, in about two weeks I'll be doing another excursion within Pennsylvania!

Otherwise, I've already set up my schedule to be available to see Georgia and Nevada before Memorial Day. I've never been to Nevada, but I actually used to LIVE in Georgia, so that will be a bit more difficult to work out.

In the meantime, I found this article about weird factoids about the states. For example, did you know that Ohio is the nerdiest state? That Florida has the highest rate of identity theft? Or that Alaska, the state I just left, has the highest suicide rate in the country? Pretty strange indeed but I thought this was at least a little entertaining and state themed, so I wanted to share.

Enjoy, and talk with you in a few weeks!

What is the Most Screwed Up Thing About Your State?

10 Cures for the Chronic Overpacker

When I started this blog, I said that I would be open to doing this exploration with whatever friends and family wanted to tag along. I've had people tag along with me through Maryland, Florida, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. I've had people claim excursions with me for whenever I get to Hawaii, Nevada, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia (right?!), Texas, and Colorado. Most recently, my godmother was my travel buddy for Washington and Alaska. Since we live in two different states (Pennsylvania and Georgia), we met up at the airport in Seattle.

I hadn't seen my godmother in a few years, and after my initial joy at being reunited with her, I was totally shocked and surprised to see her lugging this humongous, over-sized, HEAVY suitcase. 

Seriously, this might as well have been her

What on earth could be in there? On the blog, I previously discussed ways to make packing a suitcase more efficient, and many of those tips I learned directly from her. I stood there next to my carry-on suitcase and tried hard not to laugh at her as she asked me where the rest of my luggage was. We were only going away for a week- how many clothes did she NEED? I just didn't get it. I brought three pairs of pants, shirts and sweaters, a few pairs of shoes, plenty of underwear and socks, and a dress for when I needed to be fancy- and still had room for souvenirs at the end of the trip!

Yes, I'd love to be all fancy on trips and have a super fly new outfit for every day of my vacations (I guess), but more than that I dislike having to lug my suitcase around. And being responsible for a big, clumsy block of baggage is not my idea of fun.

So, to help you, my loving readers, avoid the same fate of bringing way too much crap with you on a trip, I wanted to share an article with you from the Huffington Post.

10 Cures for the Chronic Overpacker

 To me, the suggestions seem pretty common sense. But apparently this information must be shared. Enjoy!

My First Fjord

Fjord. Such a funny word to say! But what a beautiful sight to see!

The entire first day of my Carnival cruise to Alaska was spent slowly sailing up this majestic water canyon that is the Tracy Arm Fjord. A woman was announcing over the sound system when whales or other interesting wildlife would come past and say hello to our ship passing by. (It wasn't very helpful. For some reason the whales didn't realize it takes a few seconds to whip out a phone or camera to snap a pic or video to show all of our friends and blog readers that "Look, I saw a humpback whale!!" and would dip back into the water very quickly).

This was my first look at Alaska as well. It was relatively warm (mid 60s on August 28, 2013 when we were there) considering I was expecting it to be frigid and snowy the entire time. I mean, isn't that what those of us in the continental 48 are told to expect from Alaska?

Let me be the first to tell you that was hardly the case. The only time the air was really biting was when the wind blew, but with a corduroy jacket I was fine.The water was just as turquoise and sparkling (though not see-through) as any Caribbean waters I've seen- and I've been to seven of the islands down there. The trees on the cliffs were a rich but earthy green. Speaking of the cliffs, they were very steep and only at the very tops were covered in snow. We saw chunks of blue-looking glacier ice float past us (hopefully not breaking off due to global warming!) and occasionally saw eagles or goats living their lives oblivious to the 2000+ people gawking at them from a big white ship.

We ended at Dawe's Glacier at the end of the Fjord. You could pay ($400-500) for excursions to take a smaller boat up to the glacier and see the wildlife up close and personal. I didn't have $500 to spare so I watched from the main ship with the majority of the other passengers and shot a pretty nifty two minute video that I uploaded to YouTube. I few couples my god mother and I befriended did take the excursion and they showed us pictures of seals chilling on rocks and glacier chunks. Pretty neat.

Nothing left now but to leave you with the pictures I was able to snap while in the Fjord and other waters of Alaska as well as my YouTube vid I mentioned earlier.

As always thank you for joining me on my journey across America.

Finishing Up Alaska

I've been so busy at work I didn't realize I still had SO many photos/locations to tell you all about for Alaska! I think I can eek out one or two more entries about my time in the Pacific Northwest...

SKAGWAY, ALASKA

This is where we spent the most time of all the ports during the cruise. I already told you about my time at the Red Onion Saloon there, but I visited a lot of smaller museums and sites as well.

Display showing a gold rusher moving his supplies

KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK 

*Please note, the day I typed this up (October 3, 2013) the US Government was shut down, so the website may not open. Hopefully this will be just a temporary thing!

This National Park is actually a collection of buildings, trails, and historic sites between Washington and Alaska that preserves the story of the gold rush of the late 1890s. 

Taken straight from Wikipedia:

The Skagway unit protects much of downtown Skagway including 15 restored historic buildings. The visitor center in Skagway is located in the historic White Pass and Yukon Route railroad depot building at 2nd and Broadway.

From the visitor center, visitors to the park can experience the history of Skagway and the gold rush by participating in ranger led walking tours or by watching the park movie.

The park also preserves portions of the White Pass Trail and the Chilkoot Trail, which leaves from the historic townsite of Dyea, Alaska and runs to Bennett Lake, from which prospectors could raft to Dawson City, Yukon.

The historic townsite of Dyea is also part of the historical park. The trail center in Skagway is operated by both the National Park Service and Parks Canada and has information regarding current traveling conditions along the Chilkoot Trail. A permit is required to hike the 33-mile historic trail.

How the gold would have been stored at the local bank/post office-
I lost my notes so I'm going off of memory.

I entered several of these buildings in Skagway, including the main Visitor Center where I watched a 20 or so minute video documentary about the gold rush and how it affected everyone- the rushers, their families, the Native Americans that were already there, and those who struck it rich (or became bankrupt). Not a very impressive gift store, but the information was helpful. Certainly I was NOT going to go hiking, but for my more adventurous readers, I've been told it is a trail that hikers love because of its difficulty.

In one of the buildings I started chatting with one of the Park Rangers about my old job (at the Smithsonian) and why I was so into museums, and he excitedly went and grabbed an "office person" for me to talk to. Mr. Karl Gurcke is a historian for the KGRNHP, and we chatted for about 15 minutes about not only the history of the city and how it has managed to stay a float a century after the gold rush ended, but how everyday people live their lives currently. We exchanged business cards, though shamefully, I have not yet emailed him to thank him for speaking with me- but I DID mail one of my postcards!

CORRINGTON'S ALASKAN IVORY AND MUSEUM

Mask on display in the museum portion of the shop

Not a whole lot to say about this place, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I learned a lot of Alaskan history within two and a half small rooms- a lot of it information I didn't get anywhere else. There were displays about Native myths, and details about how they carved and weaved many of their cultural items (most of which you can purchase in the much-larger store portion of the building). One neat thing was a talking mannequin that was supposed to be Captain James Waddell. He told the story of how the final shots of the Civil War were actually fired in what we now know as Alaska. THAT is an interesting fact I didn't know about and even though he looked a little worn and dumpy, I was impressed they even had that level of display to begin with. 

Captain James Waddell- he may look bummy
but he talks and moves at the touch of a button!

There were also lots of baskets made out of whale baleen
This claims to be the largest.

CITY OF SKAGWAY MUSEUM

City of Skagway Museum

I happened upon this museum by chance. Off the main hubs of the city (which is saying a lot since Skagway is about the size of a neighborhood in larger American cities), I thought this museum was a church at first. It was certainly the newest looking building I saw the entire time I was there. I paid two bucks to enter, and walked around the tiny exhibits that essentially told the story of the citizens of Skagway. Everyone from police and firemen, teachers, business men (and women!), and all social statuses were represented through their personal artifacts and belongings. There was more information about the now defunct fraternal society called the Arctic Brotherhood (whose lodge is still standing and is an information center for the city). I enjoyed that there was a lot of information about how women were able to make their own way in a town that was so overrun with men- not all the successful women in Skagway had to work at a Saloon, and I was glad to see more information about the entrepreneurs of the time. My favorite non-artifact portion of the museum? The SUPER clean bathrooms. That's always a big plus for me, and the entire place was spotless and sanitary looking!

Table from the old Arctic Brotherhood lodge

Dress from one of the women entrepreneurs-
Whose name I can't remember because I can't find my notes :(

Here are some more pics of what I saw in Skagway

The old Arctic Brotherhood lodge- the most photographed building in Alaska
Apparently architecture students really dig this place

A looksie at my combat boots. More importantly, all the sidewalks
in Skagway were wooden, something I found interesting

Recreation of a Saloon in one of the Klondike Park's buildings

Actual miner's tools excavated near Skagway and Dyea

Well, I think I have one or two more entries before I am (officially) finished with Alaska and Washington. I'm on a travel hiatus for the rest of the year, but have strong plans to visit Nevada, Louisiana, and Georgia all before Memorial Day next year! In the meantime, you can check out all of my Facebook photos (and hit that "Like" button while you're at it!) from the rest of Alaska and all of the other states I've covered thus far. 

Thank you so much for joining me on my adventure!

My First Salmon Bake

Before I begin this post, I think you should know two very random factoids about me.

1. I strongly dislike eating outdoors. When I go to restaurants I only eat out on the patios if I'm out voted by friends. If I know I am entering a situation where I have no choice but to eat outside, then it takes about 15 minutes of mental prep before I start my day to squash my weirded out vibes about being forced to eat outside.

2. I loathe blueberries. I think they taste bitter and rancid all at once. I mean, I'm not crazy about berries as a whole to begin with, but I enjoy different berry flavors in certain specific formats so long as those gross seeds aren't involved. But blueberries? I'd rather go hungry. Of the many foods I disliked as a kid but have since grown up and enjoyed, blueberries are one of the few to stay on the list of DO NOT EAT foods.

Yep. That is pretty much the face I make when presented with them.
Image from http://cheezburger.com/2669553664

So imagine my utter delight when I realized that the salmon bake I had paid $50 to attend was not only outside, but only had one dessert featuring my "favorite" fruit. Yep...this is where you insert my WTF face. However, since I paid for it, I was going to go. Besides. Surely the salmon and other offerings would make up for it, right?

Enter the Gold Creek Salmon Bake in Juneau Alaska. My money got me a round trip ride (on a school bus) from the port, an all you can eat buffet, and musical entertainment. When you first arrive, you are handed a cup of very creamy clam chowder that honestly didn't taste all that different from Progresso clam chowder with some extra herbs thrown in for good measure. Long lines (and I strongly dislike long lines!) wrap around to all the stations, including the general food buffet line and the grill where two guys were basting and flipping salmon on large metal racks. Luckily the eating area was mostly covered by plastic umbrella shaped things over the tables. The buffet included a lot of food that had Alaskan themed names- but weren't much different from what you would eat at home. (For example, the "Miner Baked Beans" were simply pork and beans with grilled hot dog thrown in for good measure.) Warning- do NOT eat the blackish looking pasta salad. It has some sort of balsamic vinegar/soy sauce flavor that is absolutely terrible and no one I saw ate it! I liked the gravy covered chicken, and the salmon, though a teeny bit over cooked, was decent. I enjoyed that even all the way up in Alaska, they had a black man on the grill.

Grilling the salmon

View of the eating area and the plastic umbrella shaped things keeping us dry

I liked that they had no problems telling us what the glaze was on the salmon (brown sugar and pineapple juice), and I DID eat a whole lot of food (after throwing away that terrible pasta salad).

I was also pleasantly surprised that I liked the Alaskan Blueberry Cake. Apparently, blueberries (and huckleberries) are to Alaska what peaches are to Georgia and oranges are to Florida. But remember, I hate blueberries so I got the piece with the least amount of berries in it after my godmother insisted I try it. It was absolutely delicious- very light and delicate tasting and it was enhanced by the lemonade I was drinking. Overall, I'd rate the food as OK. I didn't enjoy being out in the elements- especially while it was raining and in the mid 60s- but I could see how that would be fun for people that like that. They also had marshmallow roasting camp fire areas, and two cute mallard ducks that had no problem walking among the crowd and eating what they pleased.

My plate: Chicken w/gravy, grilled salmon, cornbread, wild rice,
pork and beans, and my lemonade with my blueberry cake

The gift shop on site was woefully under stocked and tiny-- several visitors asked the girl at the register if they had bottles of the sauce used on the salmon. I can't figure out why you would want to buy something as simple as brown sugar and pineapple juice, but nonetheless they lost quite a few sales because all she could do was giggle and say they were out of stock.

And the singer-- man he was terrible. I almost felt sorry for him because only one or two people clapped for his off-key, tone deaf songs that were more depressing than anything else. I would have rather they played a CD or something over the speakers.

I know it sounds like I'm griping a lot about the experience, and while there were things I liked and didn't like, I'm overall glad I had the experience. The Pacific Northwest version of a fish fry is apparently the salmon bake. But as our bus driver put it (whilst he passed around pictures of his children and gave hints that he would appreciate tips), it's obvious they make a LOT of money ($1.5 million annually we were told) and reinvest very little of that back into the dining site.

But hey, there are thousands of cruise ship passengers who will shell out that dough for the Alaskan experience. Who am I to knock their hustle?

Symbol of a City

The last entry I have for my visit to Seattle, Washington is the iconic Space Needle. Built in 1962 for the World's Fair and designated as a Historic Landmark in 1999, the Space Needle has been an important and unique landmark and symbol for the Seattle area for decades. I've already tackled the Sears Tower, so this seemed like an obvious itinerary inclusion.

View of the Space Needle from my hotel

There really isn't a whole lot to say about the visit. I paid $18 plus tax to take the 41 second elevator trip up to the observation deck- but that was a discount price since I got there very early in the morning after debarking from my cruise ship. Just like the Chihuly museum, there are different types of tickets that allow you to come twice in one day to see the view in both day and night. The Needle's website (and several travel web sites) suggested getting there early because wait times can be as long as an hour. Luckily there was no one in front of us as we took the trip up. It was cloudy the day we went, so our view wasn't the greatest, but I did take a video I uploaded to my YouTube page. You can see it below:

I didn't eat at the restaurant (but read other reviews that said it was very expensive) and the gift shop had really cool items that reflected Seattle and the businesses that have decided to call that area home- again very expensive. I just can't fathom spending $80 on an Xbox jersey for a little kid. There is a Starbucks at the top (of course there is!) and my godmother bought a coffee from there, but as we remember, I'm not much of a coffee fan.

Space Needle at night

I'm glad I got to take the trip up, and say I've "done" the Space Needle, but as there isn't much to do there, I don't think I'd pay that much money just to ride to the top again. 

Thank you so much for reading my blog. You can check out the rest of my pictures from Seattle (and my other states) on my Facebook page. I have a few more entries for Alaska to do, and then I am not anticipating any new adventures until next spring, so I'll see you on the next adventure!

Red Light Special

One of my more interesting stops in Alaska was my time at the Red Onion Saloon located in Skagway. A former brothel and bar (among other things), this current restaurant and mini museum tells another side of the Klondike Gold Rush-- that is, what those thousands of (mostly) men did when they weren't prospecting. As you could imagine, they drank. They played games and socialized. And they supported the oldest business in the world- prostitution. There were about 80 different brothels of varying levels at one time in the area, and the Red Onion was considered the best of them all.

Red Onion Saloon

They had quite a few different tour options available, but the one I opted for was the $10 "quickie" tour. For 20 minutes, one of the "working girls" would take you to the upper levels of the building where it has changed very little since the its heyday. There is original wall paper still on the walls, with larger swatches framed and displayed. One of the original red lanterns that advertised the "business" available for patrons is still on the inside (protected form the elements now). Even a beaded gown worn by one of the Saloon's former Madams (the woman who managed the brothel) is on display.

Inside the brother area

The Original Red Light

Beaded gown worn by a former Madam

When they were renovating the building (you know, so they could offer tours and operate a restaurant on the lower levels...) they found all sorts of trinkets left behind over the years. These are displayed in glass cases along the wall. In learning about the renovations, we were told that the dividers that would have separated each woman to give her a "room" had been removed so that groups could come through, but you could still see the staples and nails in the ceiling where they were attached.

Some items found under the floor boards during renovations

That is pretty much the gist of the tour (it was a quickie after all). I learned a few neat factoids (like Skagway had electricity before New York City, and that the ladies would curl their hair with electric curlers- in the dark though because you couldn't have your lights and curlers plugged in at the same time). They talked about the resident ghost names Lydia- but I DO NOT play around with stuff like that, so I was thankful she didn't make an appearance for us. Our tour guide (named Annie Whichway- get it?) was very personable and enthusiastic- even if the corny sex-tinged jokes were laid on rather thickly at times. I get it though, they want to play up the whole brothel thing, and dressing up with red lipstick, bustiers, and telling double innuendo jokes that come across in a family friendly way.

Annie Whichway telling us about the last Madam of the Saloon
as we stood in her former bedroom

I didn't eat at the Red Onion for two reasons. One- there was plenty of already-paid-for food on the cruise ship. (Don't let the excursions desks fool you- downtown Skagway is a ten minute walk away from the port, and there is a $2 shuttle that loops all through town if you can't handle that much walking). Two- the only food I saw on everyone's tables that looked halfway appetizing was a plate of nachos- and I didn't go all the way to Alaska for nachos. I liked that with the tour you get a souvenir garter in red and black. A pretty unique and awesome way to promote your business and create memories for your visitors in my opinion.

My hooker garter

Well, I still have a few entries left to type up for my Washington and Alaska adventures. Thank you so much for reading my blog! You can look at the rest of my pictures on my Facebook page, and as always, I'll see you on the next adventure!

Awesome Museum Alert!

I love going to museums, and you will see lots of them by the time I finish this blog up. As a self-professed history nerd, I love them and get a true thrill and exciting tingly feeling being around the ancient, rare, and beautiful trinkets of time and culture. However, I also know how many of you feel about museums....

Image from doughslam.com

I won't take this post to argue about how awesome museums are...but I WILL take this post to tell you about possibly the most exciting and engaging museum I have EVER been in...the EMP Museum in Seattle. With a focus largely on popular music history (think of it as a younger but cuter sister of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland), the museum also covers major nerd bases with science fiction and fantasy exhibitions too. It's loud, colorful, and a lot more laid back than your typical historical institution...and quite frankly I see it as the direction museums could be slowly inching towards.

Let's start with the building. First off, it's huge (140,000 square feet to be specific). I wasn't able to get a good shot of it from any angle because it's so massive. No ivory towers here folks, this place has steel and aluminum of different finishes and colors sculpted in abstract shapes that make the building seem like a giant flowing sculpture in its own right. It's directly next to the Space Needle, and the Monorail actually travels through an outer swoop of the building.

Space Needle, Monorail, and a piece of EMP

Peeking up to the sky from one of the entrances

image from empmuseum.org

This is the first museum I've been to that features science fiction and fantasy (as in myths and legends- nothing perverted folks!) in a way that makes it accessible to everyone from hardcore, costume sporting geeks to those who have no clue who Bilbo Baggins is. Highlights include original Tolkien books and drawings, the original Lion costume from the 1939 classic 'The Wizard of Oz', plenty of costumes from the many 'Star Trek' series, an original Superman costume, and the silver skull face from Terminator. As a HUGE 'Dr. Who' fan, I loved being so close to a Dalek- even though if I were really in an episode I would be running for my life.

EXTERMINATE! (but not really)

Suit used in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video

If this doesn't creep you out even a little...

The largest portion of the museum is dedicated to popular music. There's a giant funnel-shaped sculpture made out of musical instruments- that actually play music. A gallery dedicated to Seattle native Jimi Hendrix featured clothes and instruments and tons of video footage of the late guitarist. I gotta admit I knew very little about him before going through the exhibit (and watching footage of him play in the Sky Church allegedly envisioned by Hendrix with a larger than life sized screen that rotated video footage of various music artists as well) but now have a better respect for him as a musician.

Giant instrument sculpture 

Jimi Hendrix poster

Jimi's "Sky Church" room with the best screen I've ever seen

Another great musician from the state of Washington would come years after Hendrix had already died- Kurt Cobain of the group Nirvana. There was a gallery dedicated to them and the grunge movement of the 80s and 90s. Now, as a black girl growing up in the inner city, it wasn't "cool" to listen to rock music the way it is now. So my friends and I would watch MTV and sing along and bang our heads in the privacy of our homes, and only publicly acknowledge liking the rap and R&B everyone else listened to (I mean, we liked that music too...so it wasn't that difficult). Anyway, for me going through that particular gallery reminded me exactly how far I've come in my life- and about how much suicide (an issue I take very seriously) affects people you don't even realize (Kurt Cobain killed himself in 1994- I still remember MTV News interrupting some random video with the breaking news). I felt like I was paying respects to this guy and his former band, and I am so happy this was part of the EMP experience.

Entrance to the Nirvana gallery

Clothes, a guitar and an MTV Moon Man
(VMA Award) from  Kurt Cobain/Nirvana

One of the In Utero creepy angels

One of the most historic rooms was dedicated to the advancement of the electric guitar throughout rock and roll history. It was a very dark room, with a video playing discussing the early blues guitar players that were the roots of rock and roll music. While I LOVED the guitars (they have a ton of one of a kind instruments and some really cool electric basses and cellos too) I did NOT love the woman unable to control her too-old-to-be-disruptive son who was running and yelling.

One of the more interesting instruments there

The last major exhibit I saw there was "Women Who Rock", which sadly ends September 22, 2013. While I enjoyed the exhibit, it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. Whereas I thought I would learn more about the struggles of female musicians in a music history context, this was more mini biographies with career highlights jazzed up with famous outfits and pretty pictures. It was also a little misleading- often you would read about the career of the artist pictured, but the outfit wouldn't be from the same era. I took pictures of nearly every outfit there, though, and enjoyed singing along to the music playing throughout the gallery. Some of my favorites (by outfit, singer, or both...) were:

Cher's famous Native American costume next to an outfit worn by Donna Summer

Lady Gaga's meat dress

MY IDOL Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation Hat and Jacket

Well, I could go on and on for quite a few more paragraphs about how much I loved this place. I would recommend you spend AT LEAST two hours there (I spent closer to three and nearly missed my cruise ship because I stayed longer than anticipated). My ONLY gripe is that it's a little confusing trying to find the elevators to move from floor to floor. The highlight of my trip there was the top notch customer service every employee had. The one desk associate even helped me get directions to the (much further than Google Maps led me to believe!) bus stop so I could get on my cruise. Kudos to that magnificent team!

Well, I have a TON more photos from this museum and all of my adventures on my Facebook page. Go on through, "like" it, and I will see you on the next adventure!