{ Seattle Vacation - Space Needle } Day 2 of 8

Day 2 of our Seattle vacation had us heading downtown on the 358 again to Seattle Center and the Space Needle. As we exited the bus, it was soon very clear to us, if we expected to see anything from atop the tower, we would have to wait until the fog cleared.  So what did we do? Why we were in Seattle so of course we stopped at a coffee shop. And for the life of me, I don’t know why I didn’t photograph this. But this coffee shop was actually inside a parking garage. There were no doors to enter the parking garage. You just simply walked straight into the parking garage through a nonexistent wall.

We then headed to EMP (Experience the Music Project). It was by far the darkest museum I have ever been in. And by dark, I mean low-lit. One of the coolest things at the EMP was a tower of guitars that actually played music that one could listen to on head phones that surrounded the sculpture.

The featured exhibit at the EMP was a room containing the actual apparel of the Supremes. They had quite the attire.

The girls’ favorite part of the EMP was the Sound Lab. They played drums, keyboards, scratched records, and sang in their very own studio. I’m thinking they probably, most definitely have a career in music.

Connected to the EMP is the Science Fiction museum. I maintain that the Sci-Fi museum had to be connected to the EMP. Otherwise, no one would visit it. But then again, I’m not a sci-fi fan at all. I’ve never seen all of Star Wars. *Gasp* But the guys really seem to enjoy it. I’m just glad it consisted of two rooms, and the complete tour was over in 15 or 20 minutes.

After the EMP and the Science Fiction Museum, we headed outdoors where we discovered the fog had dissipated, and the sun was out in full bright force. 

The guys stood in line to buy the tickets to the Space Needle. The tickets didn’t take too long to buy, but the line to actually get up into the Space Needle was forever long. So while the guys stood in line, we took the kids to an adorable little carnival located beneath the Space Needle. The girls had a blast riding this car ride.

While the girls were squealing with glee with each circle around the tracks, we received a call from the guys informing us that they were very near the entrance into the ascent into the Needle. So we took some disappointed girls away from the ride and went to stand in line to go up. The girls, at this point, were getting a little tired and were not thrilled about standing in line for even a moment. So we entertained them by pretending we were on a Dora show. “We are going to go through the long line, across the short bridge, and up the big elevator to get to the tall tower.”

This huge Starbucks coffee cup was located near the elevator. Miss A loved it. She loved it so much in fact that nearly the whole time we were at the top of the Space Needle she said, “I want to go back to the Starbucks cup!”

Finally it was our turn to cram ourselves into a ginormous elevator with 40 other people. And off we were up the tall tower. The view atop of the tower is very much like that of being up in the Empire State building in New York. But as a true St. Louisan would say, it sure doesn’t beat the Arch. Seattle is a beautiful city. And the Space Needle provided lovely views.

The wall of the Space Needle at the top was a lovely green color. I tried to do a mini-shoot of Miss A. But she wasn’t having it. Instead I got this lovely shot of her pretending to be a pirate. ARGHHHHH!!

We took a moment to chill inside atop the tower and to take in the view.

 Then back down the elevator we went.

I took this shot of the Space Needle directly after exiting. It was while I was taking this picture that I realized. It is no where near the height of  the St. Louis Arch. It kind of looked puny to me from this angle.

We took two very excited girls back to the Carnival. Where some of the rides they opted to ride, needed an adult to ride with them. So….guess who rode. Not me!! Oh Mandy and I did have a good laugh over this. What a good daddy!

And then they both wanted to ride this swinging boat. The expressions on their faces are priceless.

Then both dads shared father/daughter moments riding the carousel. So sweet.

And for their last ride, they wanted to ride the cars again.

We walked from Seattle Center down to the Sculpture Park. While we were somewhat admiring the first sculpture, we noted the signs that said, “Do not touch the art.” But we didn’t realize how serious they were until we heard this over the loud speaker, “Do not touch the art. … SIR!”

I don’t know, given the choice, I think I would have opted to sit in the empty chair.

The trail through Sculpture park deposited us out right at The Old Spaghetti Factory so we had a little din-din.

Then we headed back up to the bus stop, enjoying the view of the Space Needle along the way.

Our bus stop just happened to be right at this big pink elephant sign. The girls loved this sign and pointed it out each day when we passed it on the bus. It truly was a highlight for them every single day.

The day was fun but passed by in a blur. So long Seattle Center.