Day three...

Much like the previous two days, I woke up far too early, only to go back to sleep for an hour and then wake up far too early again. It had this whole Groundhog Day (the movie, not the actual day) effect to it, except I was only reliving a few hours and they all involved sleeping and looking around the room at everyone else sleeping.

The room was cold. Not that I'm complaining now that I'm back in 100 degree temperatures and a house that is just as hot. The window was open, and for perhaps the first time ever, I woke up to the sounds of cars and music and the traditional downtown city sounds. It was great.

This was my last full day in Seattle and the day that I had chose to pack the most into. A monorail ride to the Seattle Center, home of such things as the Space Needle and the EMP, essentially a Seattle music museum. And that night, a concert by Rachael Yamagata at the Crocodile Cafe, which was just seven blocks down the same street I was staying on.

The hostel had a deal in which you could purchase a monorail pass and admission to the Space Needle and the EMP for just $29. The normal value of this is about $35, so it wouldn't save me much, but $6 would be enough to buy me lunch. (Jason pauses to point out that lunch at the same place would cost $1.50 less in Salt Lake. Damn you Seattle for being so expensive!) Unfortunately, when I approached the desk and asked about it, I was told that the monorail wasn't running, and that I could only buy the EMP ticket for $14 (which still saved me $6 since it's usually $20). They did have a free shuttle running from the monorail stop to the Seattle Center, which I took. Sure, it's nice to ride on a big bus, but not as fun as the monorail would be. I really should add a smiling and frowning face to the monorail picture and the bus picture, both below.

After arriving, I went to the EMP, which wasn't as cool as I thought it'd be. Essentially it was a museum just of Seattle artists. Not a bad thing, but not what I expected. In the lobby were outfits/costumes that artists/celebrities wore from the Batman/Superman/Robin outfits and the Terminator suit (up close those bullet plates look so fake. Seriously, they look like styrofoam) to KISS Army outfits, a Notorious BIG suit to the shirt Kurt Cobain wore in the Smells Like Teen Spirit video. On the main floor, there was a room for grunge and a room for Hendrix (which was cool because it had handwritten letters and paintings of his) and a room for the new wave of Seattle music. Other than that, there was a room devoted to The Beatles, one to the earliest electric guitars ever made and a new room for TRL and MTV, complete with handwritten lyrics of everyone's favorite crybaby, Chris Carrabba and Britney and Christina's pants from a couple of their videos. Upstairs was a room devoted to how the music is made from writing to mixing and producing. It had this whole Schoolhouse Rock feel to it. Sing along: "Then you have producing, it's where the music's made, and finally producing which is where your song is made!" Next to this room was what may have been my favorite. It had handwritten lyrics from many modern artists (David Garza, Kathleen Edwards, Rosie Thomas, Ben Kweller, Rhett Miller, Mystic) that I listen to constantly. Some of them were even my favorite songs of theirs. Everywhere there were signs telling you not to take pictures or video, but I, being the rulebreaker did so anyway.

The massive guitar sculpture in the lobby:

Grunge and Beatles rooms:

Ottawa, Ontario's own Kathleen Edwards lyrics to "Hockey Skates" (early draft, I believe)

And after a trip to the gift shop for an overpriced pen and a cool pair of earplugs that came in a case and a keychain, it was off to the Space Needle.

Downtown from atop the needle:

Downtown from safely inside the needle:

Mount Rainier:

Cascades, schmascades. I miss my Utah mountains!

Overlooking the water:

Things to look for:

Interesting facts:

I left the needle, boarded the bus and realized that the building that it drops you off at is the mall. So I decided to go inside and grab something to eat.

One of the exits leads you to the bus terminal that looks almost like a subway. I really can't describe it other than to say it looks really cool.

I headed back to the hostel after eating. I hung around there for a hour or so before leaving to the concert. Unfortunately, the time of the show had been delayed, so I headed back toward the hostel to do a little shopping. I ended up buying a shirt just as the store was closing for the night.

When I went back inside the hostel to drop it off, I noticed a lot of people in the common room. It was then that I remembered that that night was free dinner night. I talked to Jesper and Louis (and the cute Russian girl he had become friends with) for a few minutes and as dinner was announced, I headed out the door to the concert.

I'll spare everyone the details of the concert, other than to say it was wonderful. Rachael signed autographs after the show, and once everyone left, I began to chat with her. I told her that I had essentially planned my trip around her two shows and that I had talked to her in Salt Lake. She was grateful, and with that, I headed back to the hostel.

Jesper and James were there when I got back. I talked a bit about the concert, and found out that they had spent the night across the street at a bar offering $1 beers. "Something only in America" they said.

Talking to them again was a treat. Jesper had just come from Vancouver (he backpacked his way across Canada) and he told me that it was like Seattle but better. Everyone at the table seemed to agree: Vancouver was the place to be. "The people are more open-minded in Canada. And it's beautiful." Jesper told me. In fact, all those who had visited Canada that weren't from North America preferred Canada to America. It really made me think that I need to visit Canada someday.

There were a whole lot of, "you had to be there" jokes told that kept us laughing for hours. But just like the night before, when 3:00 rolled around, we all parted and headed to sleep.

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