I left the dry heat of Phoenix, boarded a plane, and was greeted by the windy cool air of Seattle, Wa (shington). Getting into town was easy enough. I wasn't staying with anyone, but my friend Joey was able to join me for Seattle festivities! We stayed at these two sweet hostels and were keen on exploring what makes Seattle great. We did SO MUCH, too!Mariners: Joey and I hit up the Mariners game, which was a lot of fun, even though there was no air-conditioning OR value food items. No matter what baseball game I go to, I usually want to cheer for Ichiro, so it's good that he's on the team.
Aquarium, Pike Place Market and the Piers: Walking around Seattle is really nice. At Pike Place, there are little markets with food and crafts and flowers everywhere - everyone is out and about. We walked along Alaskan Way and visited the aquarium, Ivar's (a seafood restaurant), cute little shops and piers. The view was fantastic. Going up the Space Needle was nice as well; the sound is gorgeous at night.
Seattle Art Museum: I was excited about this museum, because there was an exhibit on display called "Target Practice: Painting Under Attack 1949-78". It was basically a survey of the history of painting, most notably physical "attacks" made upon it. From Flavin's altogether removal of the canvas and Yoko Ono's irreverence to high untouchable art, to the extreme case of "oxidation" paintings, where Warhol and others urinated on canvases, the Seattle Art Museum was meticulous and thorough. They even had an audio tour, telling the visitors about artists like Jasper Johns, Bruce Nauman (who I have an all-time superstar teen crush on), and Paul McCarthy. Aside from this exhibition, there were a lot of other nice things in the permanent collection, like Do Ho Suh's "Some/One" and Cai Guo Qiang's car installation, "Inopportune: Stage One"... and I really really dug the place.Fremont: On one of the days, Joey and I attempted to walk to the Fremont district, self-proclaimed center of the universe. Little did we know that the map was foreshortened, and it was really really far. Several miles of walking later, we were walking across the Aurora Bridge and could see Mount Rainier in the distance. We ate at a nice little burger joint and walked around the quaint neighborhood. We climbed up on the Fremont Troll and enjoyed the vibe of the area.