Category: ART

Museums, Gardens and other cultural sites

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Museums, Music, Performing Arts, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix AZ

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: MY NEW FAVORITE MUSEUM

My great nephew in dental school invited us to his white coat ceremony. I wasn’t sure what that was, but it was in Phoenix, so I was ready to go. Come along and discover my new favorite museum!

A Challenging Morning

We had crazy time getting on our flight: missed the exit for the Parking Spot, wrong turn once in the Parking Spot lot, told the shuttle driver the wrong gate, then boarding pass printed the night before said one thing, the airline app said something else and the board in the terminal said something else entirely. Then we asked a airline employee who sent us to another terminal via Sky Link. That’s all before we boarded the flight.

Then on the ground in Phoenix, the car we got shook like it was coming apart, before we got out of the airport, so we had to go back and exchange it. By then we were starving, so we went to an IHOP. Our waiter was on the autism spectrum. Now I’m thrilled IHOP had hired him and he really did a good job, but communicating with him was a little challenging. When you’re already frazzled, that takes an extra level of concentration and my concentrator was broken.

Bill’s problem was completely different. He ordered strawberry pancakes, expecting big fluffy pancakes with fresh strawberries. He forgot he was at IHOP, but he was crestfallen when the pancakes arrived with frozen strawberries on top.

A Wonderful Museum

After all our tales of woe, one might think we were on a losing streak, but I struck gold when I took us to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). It fell on my radar the last time we’d visited Phoenix/Scottsdale, back in 2020, but try as I might, I couldn’t get Bill interested. This time I didn’t give him the chance to nay say it. I just said that was where we were headed.

What an amazing place! The MIM figured out how to make technology work in a museum. As you may remember several posts back, I’d panned the use of technology by the Seattle Art Museum which made enjoying their porcelain collection impossible. I was wary when the MIM receptionist gave us headsets and told us not to worry, because they’d come on automatically when we neared a display. He was right.

In the first gallery I saw all the icons I’d wished for when we were visiting MOPOP a few months before. It’s like someone had looked into my personal catalog of musical greats and chose the stars they’d highlight in the their museum. Well, some of them were not my favorites, but they were my dad’s and I stood there with tears in my eyes wishing he could be there with me.

Here’s how it worked. If you looked at a display case from afar, you could see the display with costumes, instruments and such. You knew who you were going to enjoy. Then, when you stepped up closer, an audio recording would play, filling you in on the details of the display and video recordings would show on various screens. Step away and they’d quit. It was phenomenal. I had a great time – and that was just the first gallery!

The next gallery was a hands on exhibit allowing visitors to play many different kinds of instruments – mostly percussion. Mr. Bill loved it and we spent a good amount of time there.

The balance of the museum might be the best part. They’ve divided the world up into various sections and whole galleries are devoted to the music of the different regions. Oh my goodness! There were gorgeous costumes from all over the world. Videos of folk dances or notable entertainers from an area. And the instruments. How wonderful! Various areas of the world have instruments I’d never dreamed of. It was one thing to look at them, another to hear how they sounded and something else completely to see a video of beautifully costumed dancers performing to music played on the instrument. I was in heaven.

For me, being cut off from the rest of the world with the headphones allowed me to be fully immersed in the experience. I was tapping my toes, snapping my fingers and clapping my hands. I might have even broken into dancing a few times. Did I mention this was a wonderful museum.

Having visited all the displays of the various countries we started visiting other galleries, devoted to specific instruments, like the piano or guitar. These galleries probably deserved just as much of my attention, but we’d pulled out of our garage about 4 AM that morning and the two hour time difference were telling on me. Besides, we had a family gathering to attend.

Here’s another spread from my photo book:

Please, please, please visit this museum if you are in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. I’ll e going back every time I’m in the area. Now plan of coming back next week and I’ll share some highlights from our family time.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Fashion, Gardens, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Sightseeing in OKC

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: FROM DEATH TO LIFE IN OKC

We’re taking a short trip to Oklahoma City. Yesterday we hit the Cowboy Museum and our primary goal today is the Edith Head Exhibit is OKCMOA, but we started the day at the OKC National Memorial. Come along!

OKC National Memorial

I don’t do it. I sat on the bus when a tour I was on went to Auschwitz. I didn’t go anywhere near the Twin Towers Memorial when I went to NYC. I try to avoid all JFK-related sites in Dallas. To me, sites like this memorialize horror and visiting them is not a tribute to the dead, but to those who caused the trauma. I realize others don’t feel that way and so they should go, but I don’t. I also know that saving these sites is a message to the future, but I’m not the future.

 I base my actions on Philippians 4:8, which admonishes us in this way, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

On this particular morning in OKC, Vicki & Deborah wanted to go to the OKC Memorial. I didn’t want to, but I also didn’t want to make a big thing of my thing, one not unique to me, but certainly not common. We walked the few blocks to the Memorial. I took a few pictures. but mostly I just waited for my friends. When they were done, they compared various sites with similar purpose, but I had nothing to contribute, because I choose not to.

Edith Head at OKC

“Whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Certainly, these words describe the work of Edith Head. She was a costume designer in the heyday of Hollywood, designing costumes for Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Bob Hope, Barbara Stanwyck and so many others who graced the silver screen.

We all know I adore clothes, shoes and accessories. I inherited the passion from my mom and my Aunt Edie. In these days when comfort trumps style for our younger generation, there’s a creeping reverse snobbery against those of us who appreciate the days when our handbags matched our shoes. That’s fine for them, but I refuse to succumb.

The Edith Head exhibit was gorgeous, nostalgic and wildly entertaining. Each carefully crafted costume had a story and told a story. I could stand at each display and see layer upon layer upon layer. First, I thought about the in-depth research Edith Head would do, so that she actually understood the clothing of the era she was trying to depict. Then she had to consider the materials available to her, what would look good made enormous for theaters around the world by a camera’s lens. Then she had to deal with the whims and demands of the stars, each one comparing the work she’d done for them and trying to decide if she was doing her best and making them look their best.

Then there was the impact her work had on people. The glamour she created, the stories she helped to tell and the stars she made shine more brightly. I was one of those people. The list of movies I watched with Edith Head costumes is long and I loved seeing outfits I’d first admired on screen, right in front of me. Then there was the workmanship. It was impeccable.

I didn’t take a picture of every dress in the exhibit, but as you can see, I took many. I think I could have stayed all day, sometimes just strolling leisurely through the exhibit to enjoy the overall impact and then next time going at a snail’s pace to read every word about every display. Then again to pick out my favorites.

I think I would love to travel on my own. My husband and my bestie think I am insane. It’s not that I don’t love them and want to be with them, it’s just that my interest in some things go beyond the rational. I would go to New York and day after day, show up at the Met to soak in the masterpieces. I would sit alone on the deck of a ship and stare into the distance. I would sit at a Parisian curbside coffeeshop all day long and watch people. But pursuing those dreams would alienate the people I love most. So, I travel with them and have a wonderful time, but sometimes, I want less of them and more of what I’m seeing. That’s how I felt that day.

Chihuly Was Calling

On this particular day, it wasn’t just the attention spans of my friends I was concerned about. Edith Head wasn’t the only artist we had come to admire. OKCMOA has some of the most amazing Chihuly pieces I’ve ever seen. I’d only recently returned from Washington State, where Chihuly is one of the main attractions, but I was eager to see more. On top of that, we needed to get back home that day and Vicki had a bit of a crisis to manage when she got there.

So, we went to the floor with Chihuly and soaked it in. What can I say about Chihuly? His work says it all. Here’s a sample:

Alive at Crystal Bridge Conservatory

I promised a day which went from death to life and Crystal Bridge Conservatory is a very alive place. My two companions thought it was too hot out in the conservatory to enjoy the plants growing there, but I needed it for a bookend to the sad beginning of my day. Vicki stepped out for a short visit, but Deb, who had seen it, opted to stay in the a/c. I soaked up what I could as quickly as I could. Enjoy these few shots.

Then it was time to head home. Traffic was not nice to us and we spent entirely too much time trying to get some gas for the ride home. Tardy, but elated with our day we went back to Rockwall & Heath.

Next week we’re headed to another of my favorite places: ARIZONA. Come back and enjoy several days in the desert!

Accommodations, Architecture, ART, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

The National of OKC

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: MARRIOTS “THE NATIONAL” – AN ELEGANT & HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE

Like most people, I have a budget when traveling. When I’m with Bill, the full cost of the room will land on our credit card, but when I travel with the girls, I only pay for half a room. I’ve been known to get us into some interesting places so I can save a little money, but this time I stretched the budget as far as I could. We stayed at The National and it was a wonder. Come see what I mean.

Gorgeous Inside & Out

As I pulled up to our hotel I was gobsmacked at the elaborate exterior, but I also had to figure out how to we would handle the logistics of unloading and parking. Vicki immediately solved that quandary by saying, “Go ahead and valet. I’ll pay for it.” My husband is valet adverse. A forgotten valet ticket in my car can ruin a perfectly good outing. “Is this what I think it is? Why did you do that?” But if Bill found out about this valet parking session, then I could say, “It’s Vicki! She paid!”

The bellman pointed us inside and gave us direction to go up the elevator to the lobby. This place was gorgeous and I was walking around like a rube who’d never been to the big city. The main floor looks just like an elaborate bank lobby from the 20’s or 30’s, which it was, but instead of gutting it and modernizing it, they went with it. It was so very cool.

We checked into our rooms and made plans to meet back in the lobby for drinks. The rooms were very modern, elegant and well-appointed. I was loving this place more every minute.

Drinks & Dinner

At the appointed hour we found a table in the lobby of The Nationial and ordered up some drinks. It was a blast to sit there and people watch, around the teller cages which had become a central bar.

We’d made reservations at Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse, which is a very popular (and very good) restaurant on the canal in Bricktown. Nothing to complain about except that it was not the Mantle’s Deb and I had enjoyed during a 2015 visit to OKC.

That meal at Mantle’s is remembered by us as one of our favorites – ever – and we’ve been around the world together! The atmosphere was amazing, the food was great and we had one of the best waiters ever. He’d thought we were going to be a couple of old ladies ordering a Caesar Salad and undertipping. We had a little bit of everything and I am sure we over-tipped. By the end of the meal he was our new best friend (we get a lot of those as we travel) and we wanted to take him with us.

By comparison, the sterile sports-focused steakhouse of today just couldn’t compare. The food and service were great. No complaints really, it was just sad not to have the opportunity to visit an old favorite. It had only recently closed and we’re sure that in the ensuing years they’d probably “improved” it, but I have to give it a shout out.

I’m guessing we ubered back & forth between the restaurant and the hotel, because we didn’t want to move our valeted car and find someplace to park in Bricktown, but now, a year later, I can’t remember! Back at the hotel, three tired girls went back to their respective rooms and slept up for the big day of walking ahead of us.

The next day we saw the OKC Memorial, the Edith Head exhibit at OKMOA and the Crystal Bridge Conservatory. Come back next week and join us.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, TRAVEL, United States

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: A FUN AN INFORMATIVE MUSEUM

We’re in OKC – that’s Oklahoma City for the uninitiated. It’s a wonderful mix of modern city and old west town. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a great place to start a visit there and it’s also on my list of all time favorites. It follows the West from lonely prairie to cow punching paradise, from punching the ground from oil to punching the horizon with skyscrapers. Come along and see for yourself.

A Somber Beginning

The grand entrance to this museum starts on a somber note. Artist James Earl Fraser’s End of the Trail depicts a Native American warrior, defeated by the Cowboys who invaded the West and made it their home. It’s a poignant reminder that we weren’t first.

It’s not the last reminder in the museum of the sins we committed against the First Nation, but the rest of the museum is not a guilt trip. There’s plenty to love about the Cowboy way of life, from cattle drives to rhinestone covered western wear.

Into the Galleries

We turned right from this statue and entered the galleries. There you’ll see all kinds of displays. Some do represent the First Nation, beautifully beaded doeskin dresses, decorated top hats with eagle feathers and other mementos of a bygone culture, but you’ll also lots of other things to see.

If you like Western paintings and sculpture from names like Reminington and Russell, then hold on to your hat, because you’re going to see a lot. There’s lots of ranching paraphernalia from barbed wire to rodeo belt buckles. They touch on everything from the local general store to the various ethnicities of cowboys and vaqueros, including the influence of black cowboys, Chinese railway workers and Germanic farmers.

The museum takes you all the way from empty prairies to modern metropolises carved out of the West. Perhaps the most fun to be had is the Western influence on entertainment. From old black and white movies to the modern country & western music scene, you’ll see things which remind you of old favorites you’ve enjoyed. Tip of the hat to Jimmy Stewart, Tom Selleck and Sam Elliot!

Wrapping Up Our Visit

Hours after first walking up to the defeated Indian, we were back in the lobby – our heads spinning from all we’d seen. We went to the other side of the museum to use the restroom and walked through a gallery with modern interpretations of the West. I particularly liked the painting of the large cougar crossing a waterway. You can see it on the left center of the photo book spread.

From there we made our way into the gift shop, which is nothing like your standard souvenir store. Why? LOTS of gorgeous clothing for one thing. They had gorgeous jewelry also, but I’m used to seeing that in museum gift shops. If I lived up in OKC, it’s likely I’d be shopping there often. Don’t miss it if you visit. Heck, you don’t even have to go into the museum, just sidle into the lobby and head right. That will keep you busy for a while!

But all good things must come to an end. We were tired and needed to find our hotel – and what a hotel! Join us next week at The National!

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

OKC Girls Trip

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: LET’S GO SEE THE EDITH HEAD EXHIBITION

From the moment I heard about the Edith Head Exhibition at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art I knew I had to go, but I also knew it wasn’t the sort of trip Mr. Bill, my usual travel companion, would enjoy. Not to worry, Deborah and Vickie want to go everywhere. Come along as we take a trip up I-35 to OKC, stopping in Norman for lunch.

The Jane Gang

There’s a group in my contacts called, The Jane Gang. This is a group of women I’ve collected over the years and consider the inner circle of my tribe. Perhaps the most important thing about us is the faith we share. Monday Morning Bible Study and Life Group are the places on the calendar where we’ll always see one another, but these guys are fun, so we also love adventures. If I ask, “Do you want to go…” I can’t even get to the destination, because it’s always YES. On this particular trip Deb & Vickie were my companions, because Victoria couldn’t come along. Poor Victoria.

Our Trip from Scratch!

I was the designated driver for this particular adventure in August of 2024. I first dropped by for Deb, then Vickie and then we were on our way. Needless to say, the conversation did not lag for the whole trip. We three always have something to say about everything and nothing.

Eventually, our stomachs chimed into the conversation and Vickie started googling “restaurants near me” and she found a humdinger: Scratch Kitchen! Norman was a bit of a surprise to me. I’ve driven by the college town without so much as a nod, comparing it in my mind to the fast food thoroughfare dominating Nacogdoches, my college town. Was I ever wrong.

Scratch was in an area that reminded me of what the Dallas West End used to be, when it was the cool place to be – ancient history I know. There’s an upscale warehouse vibe to it and in fact, Scratch is in a revamped industrial space with some other eateries. The restaurants are all built around an arcade with restrooms they share. It’s a great idea. Instead of each one having a tiny dingy restroom in need of some TLC, there’s a nice, bright, recently cleaned facility. I approved heartily.

Lunch Alfresco

I’m an eat-on-the-patio kind of a girl, as are my gang. It was August, but not awful so we opted for outside. I can’t say it was my favorite patio ever, because it is right on Main Street, so your view is the local traffic, but it was fun.

The menu was full of delicious sounding sandwiches and salad. That meant this gluten-free girl was opting for the salad, but I have no complaints. It was delicious. In fact, everything was delicious, well-served and priced reasonably. We had no complaints and we were soon back on the road.

After lunch we were on our way to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Come back next week and join us.

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL, United States

Finishing Up Our Seattle Sojourn

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: HITS AND MISSES IN SEATTLE

We’re trying to enjoy our last day in Seattle, but I’m not doing as well in my travel guide tasks as I had in the earlier days of the trip. Still we found some sights that were worth seeing. Come along with us!

The Aquarium and Pike Street Market

Confession, at this end of the trip, I would do things differently. There were so many other things I wanted to do. I would have taken more time in the rainforest. I would have given us another day in Victoria. I would have made it out to the San Juan Islands. I would have gotten closer to Mount Rainer and the Cascades. But hindsight is 20/20 and you don’t know until you go!

Our first stop on this, our last day was the aquarium. Aquariums are usually a hit with us, but not this one. It was all about the kids and everything was a bit shabby. Next up was Pike Street Market. Bill was not enchanted and I’ll admit, for the most part, it seemed a little grubby and run down. We don’t do antiquing or thrift stores, so maybe we didn’t know what we were looking at, but we tried.

Perhaps part of the problem is that we entered by some stairway on the back side and ended up in some dreary hallway with dusty old junk. Once we found our way downstairs we saw (and heard) the famous fish sellers and enjoyed the beautiful displays of floral offerings. Bill grabbed lunch in the sandwich shop there. The service was awful and the food was not worth the price.

So far we’d spent a morning visiting what were supposed to be top notch attractions, but we felt a little like the gray weather. We did walk down to the famous original Starbucks. Absolutely nothing special and Bill was not going to stand in the line just to say he had a coffee from there.

We went back to the hotel and Bill took a nap. I started organizing things to go back into the suitcases for the trip home.

Better Luck in the Afternoon

After his nap, Bill and I decided to do a little walking tour close to the hotel. We found Pioneer Square and the sun was shining. We just enjoyed the outdoors a little and Bill asked me what was next. I recommended taking the light rail up to the University stop, so we could see the Fairmont.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. We finally discovered where all the beautiful people of Seattle hung out. In previous days we hadn’t seen anyone we were impressed with. The Fairmont Olympic Hotel itself was stunning, too. Unfortunately, Bill took the pictures there and once we were home they didn’t meet his standards so he deleted them. Since then, I have put the FOREVER app on his phone and I grab the photos each day so he can’t do that to me anymore.

We loved the people watching there. A future bride was being taken around to the various venues with in the hotel. Beautiful people hung out in the large lobby bar, making fabulous deals, I’m sure. The whole time in Seattle I’d felt overdressed, even though I just had on jeans and boots. At the Fairmont, I was definitely underdressed – and I liked it.

Rounding Out Our Trip

For dinner we went across the street to Redwoods in the Hilton. It was the nicest meal we had in Seattle.

The balance of the trip was the usual routine – packing up and heading out. I lobbied for a taxi, rather than using the light rail, because we were hindered by our bag, Old Red, which had lost a wheel. I even paid for it with my hard-earned memory keeping money. It was a mistake. The taxi was late and so it was a stressful ride to the airport.

The layover in LA was without incident, but the flight home was rough. We didn’t have any specific problems ourselves, but the whole attitude of the Frontier Airlines employees and the way they treated the passengers made us say, “Never again on Frontier, even if we have to pay more.”

And that’s it. My next trip was a girl’s trip to see the Edith Head Exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Come back next week and join us!

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Monday Funday in Seattle

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: SENSATIONAL SEATTLE CENTER

What a difference a day makes. Look at those smiles! Bill had been ready to head home, but this day made him glad he stayed. Come along, we’re going to have a great day today.

Getting Ready for Fun

The day before we’d dragged back from Seattle Center sorry to have wasted a day of our vacation. We’d grabbed the nearest light rail and spent the evening watching TV. Not good vacation form.

On Monday, I was in the gym by 6:30 and had my breakfast at the same sad GF-less buffet. We got ready for the day and headed out to the light rail. This time I had us get off so we could ride the monorail again. We hopped off and headed toward MOPOP.

Museum of Pop Culture – MOPOP

This is MOPOP from above, a deconstructed architectural oddity. It used to be called the Experience Music Project and music is a lot of what it’s about, but these days you also experience video games, anime and other forms of entertainment, so they expanded the name.

We went there first because it opened first and wandered around for awhile. Figuring out the building from the interior takes a little doing. Bill likes to touch things, so he had a great time in some of the exhibits, like the one with sound booths. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he was having fun.

Various galleries highlight a variety musical artists and you get to see lots of costumes, instruments and other memorabilia related to the artists. Their selection of artists to highlight did not interest me in the way I hoped they would. Had I seen similar exhibits related to artists I care more about, I would have had a better time of it.

We didn’t take a lot of photos, but Bill did grab this one of me enjoying this sculpture made of guitars donated by some of the top names in music. I’d say the museum is worth a morning and the price of admission. I’m glad I went, but it certainly wasn’t my favorite attraction of the day.

Chihuly Garden & Glass

Now this is what I showed up for. If you haven’t figured it out, I love all things Chihuly and Tacoma had not delivered up enough of him to satisfy me. Not sure anyone could, but Chihuly Garden & Glass was pretty wonderful, perhaps because it had been designed and curated by Chihuly himself. Enjoy the slideshow below to get a taste of why we loved it!

If I were actually in charge of our traveling as Bill pretends I am, then I would have enjoyed lunch at Chihuly Garden & Glass, because there’s a restaurant and wine bar there. I must have mentioned it a dozen times, but Bill never even acknowledged that it registered with him. So, I can’t tell you if the restaurant was worth it or not – but I’d vote YES!

The exhibit itself is beyond wonderful. It just seems to end to soon. You go through several galleries which highlight various forms that Chihuly repeats over and over in his work. Think of all the positive superlatives you know. Yep, that’s almost enough to describe the amazing and beautiful works that inhabit the attraction.

But wait there’s more! It is Chihuly GARDEN & Glass, so once you’ve made your way through the galleries, then you go outside to the gardens. Luckily, the sun came out to play and we got a bright and beautiful look at the displays Chihuly chose to represent himself.

And here are my pages:

The Space Needle

We took a break for lunch, because it wasn’t quite time for us to use our timed ticket for the Needle. We went to the Armory, which was where we’d been the day before. Bill wandered around to find something new, but I enjoyed the Middle Eastern food we’d eaten the day before. I think Bill wished he’d done the same thing.

Then we got in line and rode the elevator to the top of the Space Needle. Left to his own devices, I think Bill would have skipped what he assumed was a tourist trap, but once he was aloft, he was awestruck.

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating. We’d appreciated the bright sun which made our visit to the Chihuly Garden so gorgeous and gave us such awesome photos, but as we’d eaten lunch, the Seattle Gloom has descended once again. That’s why the photos of the exterior are so gorgeous, but the photos from inside the Needle are so gray. See what I mean:

Still, regardless of the weather, you’ve got to go to the Space Needle when you’re in Seattle. We loved it.

Back at the Artic Club Hotel

We took the monorail and light rail back to the hotel, where Bill decided to take a nap. I went down to the lobby bar for a glass of wine and suffered the poor service that came with any food and drink we had while there. Such a blight on an otherwise wonderful accommodation.

When I returned to the room, Bill was all napped up and it was time for dinner. A few blocks away, the Marriott Courtyard had a restaurant called The Bistro, so we strolled over there. Nothing to write home about, I assure you. I’d heard Seattle was a foodie paradise, but we didn’t find heaven while we were there.

This was a great day of sightseeing. Coming next week is our last day in Seattle. Come see what we find!

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Sunday in Seattle

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: HIT & MISS IN SEATTLE

Welcome to Seattle! We’re on our first full day in the city, but it was a Sunday. I had a hard time putting together a day of sightseeing for us. I had a full plate on both Monday & Tuesday, but pulling together our Sunday activities without a car took some doing. Come along and see what you think!

Let’s Start at SAM

One thing that was easy to choose was the Seattle Art Museum, but working out of an old tour guide, I thought it was going to be free, which it wasn’t. The things you want to see that are free, get a pass. They only have to be slightly good to justify your presence. If you pay, then your expectations go up. For free, SAM would have been fine. That we had to pay made us love it less.

We had no trouble getting there. We walked across the street to the light rail station, caught the next car going north and hopped off after a couple of stops. Then it was about a block to the museum.

They’ve got something going on logistically. Yes, my guide book was outdated, but the entrance they promised was closed up and it looked empty. Will it stay that way? No one seemed to know. We continued up the block and found the new entrance. That’s when we found out just how outdated my guidebook was. You should have seen the look I got when I mentioned it was going to be free!

The ground floor didn’t seem to have much in the way of exhibits going on, mostly the reception area, restrooms and such. So, we went up to the next floor and started wandering around. Initially, we didn’t connect with what they were showing. We’d stand before a painting or sculpture for a bit, look at each other, shrug our shoulders and then move on to the next thing.

Bill was fascinated enough by the sculpture above that he took the photo and then took one of the tag, but it’s the only item that inspired that reaction out of the whole museum. I’d say that was a fail.

The Peter Principle in the Porcelain Gallery

I was initially wowed when I walked into the porcelain collection. I mean that’s my jam and the pieces were gorgeously displayed, but you were only supposed to want to look at them, I guess, because logistically it was a mess.

I adore all decorative art, but especially porcelain. I can spend hours wandering from case to case, comparing one piece to the next, trying to guess the manufacturers and then recalling what I have seen from that maker before. Someone had the magnificent idea of putting everything in a database and giving the museum goers access to the database from a wall-sized screen. Talk about a fail. Technology proved the Peter Principle!

You’d see something you wanted to know more about. In the good old days, you’d read the tag next to it or in the case with it. At SAM, you’d have to go over to the huge screen, scroll through the database until you got to the case you’d been looking at and then figure out, from across the room, which piece in the case you were trying to research. I found myself walking over to the screen, looking through the database, getting to the case I wanted and then trying to remember exactly why I was over there in the first place.

I’d stroll back to the eyeball everything again. Remind myself of the actual item and go back to the screen, which by then had cleared itself, so I’d have to start again. That was when all I wanted to do was know the manufacturer. If in my perusal I wanted to compare Piece A in Case 3 with Piece H in case 6, well it was just too complicated and took too much time. Within 15 minutes I moved on. Big, big, big disappointment.

On to Seattle Center!

We tried at SAM. We even tried a tour with a curator and visited a Calder exhibit. All too soon for our $27.99 senior price of admission we were back out on the street.

What was more fun was getting on the monorail and heading to Seattle Center. We’d be going back there the next day, but the Pacific Science Center would be closed, and all the guide books said I should want to go there.

Our first stop, once we reached Seattle Center, was The Armory. It’s an events center with a food court. We found a pretty fabulous vendor of Middle Eastern food, which served us what was perhaps our best meal in Seattle!

The Pacific Science Center

It had been damp, dark and dreary all day – very Seattle weather. By the time we headed to the Science Center, we were beginning to feel as if our skin was puckering. Our first conundrum was how to get in. There was a sort of fountain/pool area which the center had been built around, but no obvious place to enter.

The attraction was free and we opted to also get tickets to a show in the planetarium. Good thing, because it was the only thing worth our time. Not the best audio/visual/laserlight show we’d ever seen, but better than everything else in the Center as far as we were concerned.

The description and reviews for the attraction set it up for failure. If they would have said, “This is a children’s science museum,” I would not have bothered to enjoy the free admission. We would have headed to Pioneer Square or Pike Street Market or the Sculpture Garden along the waterfront – something, anything – instead of the sounds and smells of damp children.

We didn’t have anything else scheduled for the day, so we really tried to enjoy it, but we just didn’t. We headed for the hotel and thought we might regroup and head out again, but it didn’t happen. We rifled through the snacks we had on hand and watched TV. Bill wished we’d headed on home when we were at the airport the day before. I assured him that by that time the next day he’d be glad we didn’t.

I count the day as a bust. I wished I’d invested the day in the rainforest, but you can’t know everything until you actually do it. I understood Bill’s frustration. We’d spent a boring day in the car on Saturday and then a boring day in Seattle on Sunday. Who wouldn’t want to go home. Here’s the page I made for my photo albums:

If you’ll come back next week, I promise I’ll show you a better time!

Accommodations, Architecture, DESTINATIONS, Shopping, TRAVEL, Travel Planning, United States

Getting To & Into Seattle

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: TALE OF TWO FERRIES, AN AIRPORT AND A TRAIN

Welcome to the back half of our Washington State vacation. We were about to close our big circle of Western WA State: SeaTac, Snoqualmie, Tacoma, Olympia, Olympic National Park and Victoria B.C. We’ll take two ferries and a train before we can go to sleep. Come along!

Two Ferries

The first ferry was right across the street from our hotel and we were supposed to be there at 9 AM. Then they made us wait for 90 minutes. This was the sort of thing that had caused Bill to put off getting on the ferry on the Port Angeles side until the very last minute, but it was an unavoidable delay. They needed to get everyone inside the fence and through customs before we could drive aboard the ferry. It was not fun.

From Port Angeles we turned left and headed towards Seattle. Though some travel books touted this area as a wonderful place to visit, we didn’t see much wonderful as we drove along the main road to the Bainbridge Ferry. It took longer than we had anticipated, so we rolled into the boarding area moments before the 3:30 cutoff. And then we waited, because the ferry was running late.

No adventures, yet, but I was feeling quite clever. I’d purchased Orca Cards for getting around Seattle and as seniors, that made it free for us to travel on the ferry. We had to pay for the car, but being a senior citizen has its perks.

The Artic Club Hotel

Praises to the Black Ball Ferry Line, our hotel in Seattle was one I paid for with them and got a significant discount. The hotel is a doozy. When Seattle was a stopping off point for the Klondike, gentlemen who returned rich could join the Artic Club, a magnificent building on Cherry Street, around the corner from Pioneer Square. What made it particularly attractive to us, was the light rail station across the street.

We’d chosen it for location, location, location, but it was a stunning edifice. A small reception area with a bell hop station fronted the generous lobby where rich gold miners once held court. Close observation reveals many ties to its days honoring the bounty of the Klondike – like the walrus staircase.

Our arrival and initial visit was brief. We got our keys, unloaded our rental car and headed back to the airport, but it was hard to leave the large, well-appointed room we’d be staying in.

The Transportation Game Plan

So, our goal was to return the car to the rental company at SeaTac, take the light rail train to the Cherry Street Station and then walk across the street to our hotel. Everything went well until we were a few stops away from Cherry Street and suddenly we were inundated with a raucous crowd. They’d just left a sporting event and to say they were rowdy would have been an understatement. We couldn’t hear the announcements of the stops and soon realized we’d traveled too far.

So, we got off at the next station, made our way to the other side of the tracks and caught the next train heading back to Cherry Street. We were tired and hungry so this didn’t feel like an adventure. It was more like torture by transportation.

Beautiful Hotel, Mediocre Food & Beverage Services

Safely returned to our hotel, we decided to have a light supper there at the hotel, in spite of the fact that it was a bit pricey. We discovered it was worse than pricey, it was also sub-par. Initially, I was ready to give them a break. A crowd had just left the lobby bar for a concert in the auditorium of the hotel, reportedly a grand souvenir left over from the hotel’s days as the Artic Club. The previous patrons had left quite a mess and it seemed as if the wait staff might have gone to the concert with the patrons.

Once a waitperson did arrive, it became obvious the chef had definitely departed. It took forever to get our food and it wasn’t exactly gourmet. The server seemed to resent the fact we’d shown up at all and certainly didn’t think we deserved anything more than poor service. I assumed it had to do with the concern crowd.

However, as our stay continued things didn’t get any better. There was a free breakfast in a venue downstairs. The food was adequate. The service was not. The service was also bad the afternoon I went down to have a glass of wine while Bill took a nap. So, the Saturday concert crowd aftermath was not an unfortunate fluke. The Artic Club Hotel just needs a new Food & Beverages Manager!

Poor food & beverage service aside, we loved staying there for four nights and we absolutely loved our room. It was so large it felt more like an apartment, especially the generous bathroom. Come back next week and let’s see Seattle.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, International, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL

More Victoria Sightseeing

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING: Castles, Culture and Canadian Charm

There was still a lot of day left after we left Butchart Gardens and grabbed a late lunch. I had a long list of things I wanted to see, so we started knocking them off the list. Come along and enjoy the afternoon with us.

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Thursday evenings are free at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, so since it was a Thursday, this venue was high on my wish list. Only we got there before the free started, so Bill wanted to go back to the hotel for his afternoon coffee break. This was not on my list, but after his fussy morning at the garden, I thought maybe some coffee and a quick nap would help his attitude.

It did and when we went back to the Gallery, we found it quite interesting. Its galleries are a mixed bag of art for sale, permanent collection, special exhibitions and classes. The backyard is some kind of temple. It’s a really mixed bag, but who can argue with free, right?

Government House Gardens

Government House is the Official Victoria Residence of the Governor of British Columbia. You don’t actually visit the interior of the Residence without some kind of official invitation, but the Garden is open for viewing by the general public pretty much all the time.

Huge gates with the official seal were wide open for our visit. It was a lovely experience. The house itself, though stately, wasn’t my cup of tea, but the gardens around it are spectacular.

We first wandered off to the right where there was sort of a natural garden. It was certainly well tended, but instead of the trimmed boxwoods and fountains you might think of with an official residence, the gardens were more like what you might find behind a garden gate in the Cotswold.

Behind the Residence the ground fell away to a valley and great rock walled terraces filled with greenery took up the back side of the house. That’s where we ran into a really nice lady who was out walking her very large cat. In fact, it was the largest domestic cat I think we’d ever seen. It was a long haired tabby, like Bill’s Mesh Mesh had been, and when she let him hold the feline, I wondered if he was actually going to give it back to the nice lady or would cut and run. He did finally return the beloved pet, but remembers holding it as one of the highlights of the trip.

As we came around the other side of the house, we found row after row of irises. Irises are one of my favorite flowers, but no one loves irises as much as my best friend, so I had to take lots of photos for her. I texted them to her to let her know she was on my mind.

In front of the Residence was a large water feature with many unique rock formations. It’s amazing they allow the general public to just come hang out, but it was a marvelous experience.

Craigdarroch Castle

Thrilled we’d seen both the Gallery and the Residence, I was quite satisfied, but then I realized Craigdarroch Castle was nearby. It was so late we couldn’t get a tour, but we were able to wander around outside. On the front lawn folks were gathering for the performance of a Shakespeare play and we stayed for the opening speeches.

There’s a mistake on the photo book page above. We did enjoy a meal at Wind Cries Mary, but it was the next day, not this one. I worked on my photo album during an online crop and was so intent on earning badges and completing challenges that I didn’t do any fact checking. I keep a detailed journal of all my trips, but I’d taken the trip just a couple of months before and thought I remembered everything the way it happened. Obviously, I didn’t! In reality, my fast food loving husband had gone to Wendy’s for breakfast. Then we’d had a late lunch at Red Robin. After the castle he stopped back by Wendy’s for a light supper.

So, next week, we’ll be visiting the Parliament Building, going to Fisherman’s Wharf and having dinner at Wind Cries Mary. Come back and go with us.