Museum

Since I got laid off on Tuesday, I've been working out religiously and trying to enjoy my time more. I watched the first two seasons of The League, which was hilarious, and dedicated my Thursday to museums!

I started off at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), and it was actually much more interesting than I was expecting it to be. The Now & Then exhibit in the gallery was my favorite! There is just something about a set of old and new photos that really gets my noodle going. It was amazing to see the same street or the same bend of water captured a centuries apart. A lot of times I felt like I preferred the "then" pictures because it all seemed so simple before, and less cluttered. I was happy to see that many of the buildings in Seattle are actually restored buildings from long ago!

There were also other exhibits that were very interesting, like the Rainier beer exhibit. I had always thought that Rainier was just a local inexpensive beer but little did I know there is so much historical significance! The strangest thing I saw today was probably Eddie Bauer's taxidermied cougar. Very odd.

It only took about an hour to get through the whole museum, it was rather small. I stopped for a pastrami sandwich on The Ave before heading down south to the Museum of Flight. Traffic was starting up and I'm definitely glad I got there early! The free portion of the day started at 5:00 but at 4:45 I could already see the parking lot filling up with eager families.

The Museum of Flight was absolutely amazing, as I thought it would be. Technology is so intriguing for me, and the idea of flight is still out of this world conceptually. Even the small planes are SO BIG! And then the huge Blackbird -- WOW. The cut-outs of the engines were so very cool, you could see the huge pistons and other components so clearly. They even had planes where you could sit inside of the cockpit! Just being there made me smile. I love airplanes and I surely love that museum! I felt like a kid again, in a library full of all of my favorite books.

Today was simply wonderful. Going to the museums alone was great because I got to see everything that I wanted to see and I didn't feel rushed or have to wait anyone else. The downside? No one to take pictures for me! I asked a few strangers who were kind enough to help me, but the patrons could not quite figure out how to focus on a digital camera. Oy vey.