Out and About in Seattle

I had a list even way back when I was planning to pass by Seattle. Majority of these were Museums. But of course with 1 exception that wasn't initially planned...the Underground Tours. That's when I met Hannah in room 208 of the Tortoise. Originally from Australia, she's been traveling around and will be watching the Coachella with a friend of hers. Eventually will go on a 2 month trip in South America. We decided to go together to the Underground Tours and then to the EMP Museum on the Monday.

Pioneer Underground Tours

 It is known to be the "Bill Speidel's Underground Tour", a local citizen, Bill Speidel thought of leveraging on the ruins of the old Seattle and offer tours around. This eventually has been part of the must sees in Seattle.

The old Seattle was made of wood and in 1889 the said Great Seattle Fire happened, burning the town. The council then had to make a strategic decision to rebuild the city. That's when they decided to put up the new city between 12 to 30 feet above the old city.

For more information, visit Bill's site http://www.undergroundtour.com/

Museum of Flight

Located a little bit further away from the main city is the MOF (Museum of Flight). I took a bus from Pike St. & 3rd avenue and got to have a chat with a fellow Filipino. He was driving the bus halfway and was so nice to allow me on the bus for a free ride :)

I arrived at MOF and got blown away with all of the displays and the magnitude of the museum. Not only was it covering the history of aviation, but also Boeing had it's own section, then a section of war planes, bush flying history and also a separate building for NASA and space items.

 They also had a big parking lot at the back where a real Concorde was open for viewing , the first few Boeing's and also a few more planes which were now apparently decommissioned but worth taking note of with respect to aviation.

I had a chat with a few gentlemen who lingered around ready to answer anyone's questions. Apparently they were war veterans and volunteering to talk to people. Awesome stuff. And they also explained to me the concept of landing with skis in Alaska :) woot!

I went home smiling and so high with everything I saw and read. It was amazing!!!! A MUST SEE!

On thursday nights, they offer free entrance to everyone. BUT, please take heed, I'd recommend going to this museum first thing in the morning. Coz I felt like I can stay a whole day just reading and getting mesmerized by the interesting facts. :)

For more information check out http://www.museumofflight.org/

Future of Flight, Boeing Factory

 This was something that was on my MUST list to see in Seattle. Not only is Seattle known for the music scene and history, but also, it's the base for the Boeing Factory. Also known as Future of Flight, this is known to be the largest building by volume.

We had to ride a bus and be transported to the different buildings so we can view the phases of building a jet plane. So the way they named jet planes are on the 7 digit. Thus the 737, 747, 777 and so on and so forth.
Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed which was understandable. There was a small display in the information centre, but other than that, everything was learned and viewed on the tour.

For more information visit http://www.futureofflight.org/

After  all of the tours in these museums, it had me thinkin' if I wanted to go back to flight training. At least I already had 15 hours of flight and had the foundation of flight.. But yeah that's something I'd need to really contemplate on most especially money is a big factor for such endeavor.

EMP Museum 

This was one of the highlights of my visit in Seattle. OH yeah!! Of course, anyone who knows me, anything to do with Music makes me high. :) woot woot!

After the underground tours, we walked several blocks and found our way to the EMP Museum. This stands for Experience Music Project. It is important to note though that this museum is not just about music. It also covers exhibits about Science Fiction and the likes.

In the month of April of 2013, they covered the history of Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana. 2 sections were for Jimi and another section was dedicated for Nirvana and the pop culture that started in Seattle and in the surrounding areas. Seattle actually has a big big music scene and even when you read its history, so many well known and successful musicians emerged from this scene.

Another section was dedicated for the history of Guitars, and also displaying the variety of designs through the early ages of Yamaha, Gibson and Martin. I could take photos so many times just to cover each explanation of statocasters, bass guitars, etc. it was AWESOME.

One of the areas that blew my mind was the SOUNDLAB where different booths had a musical instrument available for playing. There was even a place where you can stay to jam as if you're in a band. It was so much fun. Hannah and I had fun and stayed for a while there. :)