Pacific North Wonderland: Seattle Day Two

When I was looking for places to stay in Seattle there were tons of fun options! I was really leaning towards staying on a boat, but was worried about how cold it would be. The weather ended up being GREAT but I'm glad we decided to stay in this yurt! It was in the backyard of a natural healing center, and so cool!

I should have taken a photo before our luggage got strewn around, but oh well. Isn't it neat? We loved that four poster bed too. We called it the Ebenezer Scrooge bed, and slept with the curtains closed. The ceiling has a skylight so it was filled with beautiful natural light during the day. It was heated with a little gas stove.

And there was a kitty in the backyard! Bonus!

One our second morning in Seattle we had breakfast at Silence Heart Nest. Isn't that the weirdest name for a restaurant? There had been a lot of indulgence in the previous week so we started with some fresh juice.

And finished with pancakes and biscuits and gravy. Ha! Well it is all about balance I guess. 

We were in Freemont so we walked a few blocks to pay our respects to the Freemont Troll. 

Our big event of the day was a visit to the EMP Museum. That stands for Experience Music Project. They had a horror movie exhibit, which we really wanted to see. Sadly we were a few weeks too early for the Hello Kitty one!

While we were sitting out front we saw this girl trying really hard to get a selfie with her dog. I've been there.

To get to the horror exit, which was called "Can't Look Away" you walked down this creepy red lit staircase surrounded by screaming faces. Awesome!

They had all kinds of cool props, like the axe from The Shining and the Xenomorph costume from Alien! Ah!

They had Mr. Pointy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer! And the Book of Ascension. I think we need to watch the whole series again.

They also had a Critter! The cover of Critters used to scare me so bad as a kid! I always saw it at Blockbuster when I was there with my dad. I've always been a chicken. 

They had a scream booth too, that took your photo. We learned after doing it that it was NOT sound proof.

I really loved these little booths they had to watch short films about some of the most influential horror movies. It looked like you were trapped in some dark woods, and they had a scary horror soundtrack going. It was amazing.

The horror section gave way to a Science Fiction exhibit. Woah! They had a fake star ship bridge (it was so crowded we never got to get to it) and cool props from stuff like Ghostbusters and Alien and Star Wars (and Trek!)

I'll take this little guy for my personal collection, thanks!

I loved this big display case of alien and space weapons. So cool!

The EMP just kept getting cooler. We went upstairs to the indie gaming exhibit next. 

It was full of all kinds of interesting games! People sit and play FOREVER though. The only ones open seemed to be broken in some way. I stood waiting for this cool linx game for probably 20 minutes but never got a chance to try. Bummer.

The one game we did get to play was Binding of Issac, which was so fun and weird!

There was a Fantasy exhibit too. They had weapons from Lord of the Rings, David Bowie's goblin king stretch pants, and Sirius Black's coat! They had lots of stuff from The Princess Bride, including Buttercup's beautiful wedding gown. I loved the felt aplique on the guard's costume from the Wizard of Oz. And did you know the Cowardly Lion's costume was made from real lion pelts? The sign said it was almost unbearably hot under the stage lights. 

We spent over four hours at the EMP! Highly recommend if you are in town! It is right next to the Space Needle. We didn't end up going up, but it was so cool looking!

Johnny Cash and the Drive In!

Travis and I have been meaning to check out the Johnny Cash Museum in downtown Nashville for a while. Last Saturday we were both off with no plans so we made a day of it!

Young Cash was pretty dashing. I learned that his given name was actually JR! When he joined the military they wouldn't let him use initials on his official id so he picked the first name John.

The museum was pretty good. I always want to see more  and outfits but there was a good selection of old posters and merch and embroidered shirts.

There is one dark room with a large screen showing all kinds of old video. We saw this clip while we were there and I LOVED it so much. I feel like you can SEE how much Johnny and June Carter love each other whenever they perform together. And I love how June sings the little "Weeeeeellllll" part after Johnny calls her a saucy mare. And her booty shaking of course.

Here is a valentine Johnny gave June. That is the kind of stuff I want to see! Though I realize most people are more interested in the guitars and hand written lyrics and things.

One interesting display was about how Johnny Cash is one of the one (if not THE only) artist to have released singles on pretty much every kind of media from records to mp3s.

All in all it was a great look at his career and life. Though I do feel like the 15 dollar admission is a little steep for the size of the museum. I could also be spoiled by pretty recent trips to the Motown Museum and Graceland, which are both excellent!

We went to eat at a place called Taco Mamacita that I have been meaning to try out. They have a whole separate vegan/vegetarian menu which was intriguing to me! I'm not realizing we went to eat first, because Travis got his haircut before we went to the museum. So that explains his different looks if you were wondering. Oops.

I got the vegan jerk tacos and OMG they were AMAZING. They are plantain with beans and cabbage slaw. I wasn't sure what to expect but they blew me away when we came! My only complaint about the place is they charge for chips and salsa, which is just lame. And the fresh salsa we got wasn't very good. So next time I'll skip that and just get the tacos. Mmmm I didn't know plantains could be so good in a taco!

Then we decided to drive out to Watertown and go to the drive in! We used to go a lot when we lived in Murfreesboro or Columbia but now it is about a forty minute job to the closest one. But I think it's worth it! Look, $7.50 for a double feature!

We went to the Star Dust drive in, which we hadn't been to before. It was surprising that they had a digital projector so the picture looked perfect! And in between movies they showed about 10 minutes of vintage snack bar ads which I LOVED!

Look at that menu! And they have a veggie burger! 

We shared some potato wedges, Travis ate a huge pickle, and I drank so much sweet tea I felt terrible the next day! Oh, and we ate Dots too. So much junk, so delicious! We saw a double feature of The Other Woman (pretty funny and fun to watch) and Divergent (I didn't love it, but it also didn't make us want to leave). The only thing that sucks in the movies don't start until it gets dark (duh) which is about 8, so after the second movie it was after 1 am. Then we had a 40 minute drive home.

Something we loved was they play the national anthem before the movies start, complete with clips of America and waving flags. People were standing on their cars saluting which was a little bizarre for before a movie.

We'll be back this summer for sure! We hoped they'd be playing Neighbors this week so we'd have an excuse to go back! But no, so maybe later this month.

The Henry Ford Museum!

The Henry Ford Museum was another suggestion for our trip. I wasn't so sure I wanted to go, because it was 17 bucks (and I am cheap!) but Travis wanted to go so we did. And boy am I glad! I shouldn't have doubted a blog reader recommendation! It was totally awesome!

The museum has lots of exhibits about innovation and technology as it changed through the ages. Which sounds kind of boring but it was heaven for a vintage lover! And the first thing you see when you go in is this wienermobile! What I wouldn't give to have this car as my main vehicle!

 Self portrait with a hot dog chair.

 Travis is cute.

 How much do you love this "Partio". It is a cart that has a stove on one side, and a barbecue and rotissory on the other side! This one was owned by Eisenhower and was in his Palm Springs home!

Here is the Dymaxion House! It was a concept home, that was meant to be pre fabricated and sold to the public. There were only two made and this one is made with parts from both. It was pretty cute inside.  

 There was a little Eames exhibit in a larger exhibit about furniture. How cute are they in that picture!

 There is a Model T in the museum that they take apart every night and then assemble every day! The woman working the exhibit was REALLY aggressive about us helping. It was weird. But also neat. I screwed in some kind of bolt. Here is Travis screwing in another bolt.

There was a section with technology from the 1900's through today. I loved all the records. There was a case about the 90's. It was funny to see things in a museum that I used as a kid, like an old game boy with Dr. Mario in it! And furbys!

 There was a green screen where you could dance in front of an 80's video. Here is Travis grooving to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"

 Oh to be a 1950's teen. 

 How much do you love that little rock and roll hat? 

And a case full of movie memerobilia! I took so many pictures in this place! There was cool stuff around every corner!

 Look at that beautiful neon!

 There was even a working diner in the car section! How cute is that! 

 Since it was the Henry Ford museum there was a large section devoted to cars and how the have changed. There were some beautiful ones there! That pink and black one!

 There was an exhibit about the evolution of roadside stuff and hotels. You know I loved that! They had some cute campers on display too!

 I am kind of obsessed with that little travel clothes line kit! 

 Here we are listening to the War of the Worlds broadcast. I wish I had taken a picture further back. They had it set up like a 1940's living room. The Henry Ford really was awesome! I wish we had more time to see it all and take the factory tour! We headed from there straight to the airport.

 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I will always have a soft spot in my heart for those dudes. I used to wish on my green skittles that Raphael would come to life and be my boyfriend! Haha!

 I loved this long tiger!

 Look at that cute Caesar on top of the sign! 

 Did you know Faygo is from Detroit? It was included in our little welcome bag from my cousin. We had a great time in Detroit! Thanks for all the suggestions! We'll be back sometime, to see my cousin's house and swim in her pool! My only regret is we didn't check "see one of the great lakes " off of our 30 before 30 list! We were so close!