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May 2 - Canada: Vancouver, British Columbia

It was raining this morning when we woke up, so we bagged the runs.  Instead, we said good-bye to Mel and Ken and began to pack up the car.  We hit the road by 10:30, and planned to spend an hour or two at the Experience Music Project in downtown Seattle.  

Boy were we in for a surprise.

Experience Music Project

The Experience Music Project (EMP) was built a few years ago with funds donated by Paul Allen (of Microsoft fame and fortune).  The building was designed by Frank Gehry and so received a great deal of press and media attention.  It has also recently been placed on Forbes.com "10 Ugliest Buildings of the World" list.  Mostly because it looks like a mangled car yard.

Experience Music Project (EMP)

Of course, we didn't care because we just wanted to see what was inside.  So we paid the exorbitant fees of $20 per person and walked inside.  Music was blaring and the entire lobby was lit up in crazy lights.  The people at the entrance told us that "the Funk Rhythm Ride is loading" and that we could get in line for it if we wanted to do it.  We had no idea what we were in for, but figured why the hell not?

The "ride" started with us sitting in a lobby on benches and watching a documentary sort of thing about the reunion of James Brown's original group.  There were a bunch of "funk legends", none of whose names meant anything to us of course.  But we were jazzed about the ride anyway and followed our "host" to the next level.  The next level was a spiral ramp which circled around a giant-size platform boot.  There, we watched another part of the documentary which crossed into a silly story about two kids who wanted to learn how to "get the funk on".  There were also snatches of performances by Chaka Khan and some other performers.  Then, we danced our way into the final part of the ride which was one of those virtual roller coasters.  We were seated and buckled in and then took off on the ride.  It was pretty cool because the seat section moved back and forth and up and down and left and right with the different effects on the screen in front of us.  The short movie included a James Brown performance and a bunch of dancers in crazy outfits.  It was actually a great show and we really enjoyed the ride aspect.  So much that when - about three minutes later - the lights came up and Jon and I looked at each other and said, "What?  That's IT??!?!?!"

So we left the ride and continued on to the rest of the Project.  First, we had to get outfitted with our MEG devices.  The MEG (Music Experience Guides) are these crazy hand-held devices attached to a hard drive which is worn strapped over the shoulder.  Each time we got to an exhibit, we could "load" the audio and video surrounding that exhibit from the hard drive to the hand-held.  So in addition to reading the text on the exhibit and listening to the TV videos, we could also listen to accompanying narratives, songs, and music videos.  It was incredibly high-tech and very, very impressive.  It also bordered on information overload.  There is NO WAY we could possibly consume all this information in one day.  In fact, I don't think we could consume it in one week.  Obviously, the $20 per person admission charge is needed to pay for all the gadgets and toys.  But it was definitely worth it.

We spent a good amount of time in the Guitar Room, which went into great detail about the history of guitar making.  Each guitar had a number we could select on our MEG to hear what it sounds like.  After that, we went into the "Northern Corridor" which demonstrated the development of the music scene in the Seattle area.  This began with the underground jazz scene in the 40s and continued to the grunge scene of the 90s.  The next exhibit was the very enlightening "Jimi Hendrix Room".  I had no idea that Jimi Hendrix was from Seattle, nor did I realize that London was such a big part of his musical development.  But I listened to his Woodstock rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" and got chills a few times.  I'll just chalk that up to getting caught up in the moment.  The final exhibit was the "Memories" exhibit, which touched on the major musical movements and individual artists that shaped the music industry.

Jon In Front of the Center Guitar "Sculpture" with his MEG 

The final stop was the Hands-On Room, where we could learn to play various instruments through an interactive on-screen tutorial.  I spent a very frustrating and hysterical 10 minutes in the drum room, and now have a grudging respect for drummers everywhere.  Their talent is to do something much like patting their head and rubbing their tummy at the same time - only more complicated.  Needless to say, I have no hidden drumming skills.  I also learned to play "Louie Louie" on the electric guitar.  I was so happy with my quick learning, that I moved up the difficulty and tried to learn Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".  Then I thought my fingers would fall off because of the bizarre finger positions.  So I haven't missed my calling as a musician, that's for sure.

But I Looked Damn Good! 

So.  FOUR HOURS later, we left EMP and got into the car just in time for the parking meter to expire.

We were starving, so we decided to stop by Subway for some sandwiches.  Then we headed out of town.  But of course, we got distracted again.

REI Flagship Store

Just on the way to Highway 5, we passed REI's Flagship Store.  This was something Jon wanted to see and do while we were in Seattle because - as members of REI - we'd heard that it was the epitome of outdoor stores.  Complete with a rock-scaling wall.  So we decided to stop and have a look around.  The wait for the rock-climbing wall was about 1/2 hour.  Just enough time to browse the store and climb a wall.

I changed into the climbing shoes and harnessed myself up to the belayor named Dan.  Because I've never scaled a wall before, I opted to climb the "easier" route.  It quickly became apparent that the "easier" route was incredibly difficult.  I had to manage my balance, the weight leveled on my arms and legs, and my fear of heights.  This rock-climbing wall, by the way, is the tallest in the US.  Lucky me.  And while I knew it was absolutely safe because Dan had me completely supported, that didn't stop my hands from sweating and my legs from shaking from the effort.

After about 10 minutes I made it to the top and - instead of looking out the windows at the view - I rappelled down immediately because all I wanted was to get back on the ground.

 

Heidi Rock Climbing

Then Jon went up and had a go at it.  He was doing really well and made it past the difficult overhang about 2/3 up the wall when he decided to bag and come back down.  This was actually a smart decision because he's running a marathon in three days and shouldn't be straining himself like this.  Good choice.

Jon On His Climb

Vancouver, Canada

Then we headed to Vancouver, where we checked into the hotel Jon had reserved for us when he decided to run the marathon.  The Travelodge we're staying in is next to the airport and surrounded by Vancouver's "New Chinatown".  The entire area has stores with signs both in English and Chinese.  I suppose that this makes sense, given Canada's generous immigrant policies and Vancouver's accessibility from China.  All the better for us, though, because Jon was in the mood for steamed chicken and I was craving beef with broccoli.  We had a late dinner at a Chinese place called "Han's" that really reminded us of China - between the poor service and the good food and being just about the only westerners in the restaurant.  But at least they had menus in English!

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