Today was also the first day of Jon and Colleen's two days with the Go Seattle card. (You pay a flat rate and then can use it as much as you want (mostly between the hours of 9 and 5:30) on that day and however many days you have the card for. Colleen and Jon had thought about going with a 3 day one (the more days, the cheaper the rate per day, although it is more expensive overall). Fortunately we didn't do that because of that whole airplane delay thing.
After the free hot breakfast at the hotel and trying to figure out the composting system, Jon and Colleen walked over to the Space Needle. When Colleen arrived yesterday around 10:45 a.m., there was no line, compared to a big line at 12:05 when she walked by a second time. Jon and Colleen got there about 10:15 and there wasn't a line. Unlike the Sears (make that Willis) Tower, you could actually go out on the observation deck. And there was a nice little overhead fence holding you in. They also were fortunate enough to have a woman give a tour at three spots from around the "O Deck" (that's what the Go Seattle Card says they call it). She said she'd talk for 5 minutes at each spot but it was more like 10. But it was informative and we found out that the locals like to go to "B.C." and all the neighborhoods where our guide's friends lived.
Then it was off to the joint museum space of the Science Fiction Museum Hall of Fame and the Experience Music Project. Again, this was right across the way from the Space Needle, on the same side of the street. Colleen was a bit disappointed in the Science Fiction Museum part, which seemed to be more about books and playing JFK's museum speech on a 90 second loop than anything else. Say it with me now: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." Who gets through an exhibit in 90 seconds? No wonder the other side of the museum was more popular and the employees didn't look so bored. At least Jon and Colleen got to see an animatronic Donatello from one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, although she always partial to Michelangelo.
The Experience Music Project part of the museum was much more interesting. Here Colleen learned Jimi Hendrix, Heart (Barracuda) and Sir Mixalot (apparently "Baby Got Back" is just one in a "string of hits") were all from Seattle. The area that let you remix Jimi Hendrix songs was fun, the guitar gallery was interesting and the showcase on Northwest musicians was very well put together, but the video clips with musicians were REALLY cool. (Push in zoom on Sir Mixalot's aquarium.) Also watched clips with Doug E. Fresh, Ice-T and Alan Menken talking about songs that didn't make it into "Little Shop." Upstairs a thing with an iPod that was supposed to have something to do with ... something ... was drowned out by ANOTHER JFK clip. (What is this? Boston West?)
After the museums it was back to the hotel to get sunscreen and waters for the boat ride. Donald, our tour guide, told us about the differences between houseboats and floating houses (floating houses don't move -- houseboats do), where Frasier would have lived had he been a real person (Queen Anne Hill - and watch for the Space Needle to take different positions in his window), and that the University area has really been cleaned up in recent years. Of course, there have been those incidents the last couple weeks or so... WHAT??? But Donald did offer less unsettling gems, like that the University of Washington's waterfront stadium
is the only other place other than the University of Tennessee where you can take a boat to the game and everything in 
Bill Gates' house knows what you want before you want it. (Seventy-two degrees, madame? And a little "Baby Got Back" on the stereo?") He pointed out the CEO of Amazon.com to Jon (apparently several big company execs have asked Argosy Cruises not to reveal where they live ... unless they are off the mic). Donald also continued the tradition of tour guides telling us the neighborhoods where they lived. At the end of the tour, Jon and Colleen took a glance at the preboarding photo and it was actually pretty good, so they broke one of those unwritten rules to not buy the forced upon photo and bought it. We also enjoyed the tour so much we decided to also try for a Harbor Tour (that covers a different area - along the Waterfront) tomorrow.By this time (5:30 p.m.), the free breakfast was starting to wear off,
but with our Go Seattle Card we could also get a free 1-hour rowboat rental at the nearby Center for Wooden Boats until 8 p.m., so we headed over there.
This also put us near several restaurants on the water, although the best-looking menu award ("the most succulent chicken we'd ever taste") and over eager hostess award went to "Joeys" - a restaurant overlooking the water from a story up that Colleen had actually spotted from the Lakes Cruise. They didn't have any outdoor seating so Jon and Colleen said they'd wait. Our eager-to-please hostess asked if we wanted waters, then the last of their hors d'oeuvres. The hostess was also the only one too who missed the blonde hair and black dress memo that everyone else seemed to get (she was wearing black and white). (Colleen didn't think they hired men for the first 90 minutes she was there.) When we finally did get outside, we were treated
to a great view of what can only be described as a sailboat ballet, a TV in the men's bathroom (Colleen will take Jon's word for it - there was nothing in the men's room) and great food. (Colleen went with the chicken and crusted mashed potatoes - yum, yum. And the chocolate lava cake with the recommended maple ice cream was to die for.) Plus when Jon and Colleen were done, the waitress let us get up from our high top table and try out the practically sink in your chair, Vegas-style table. It was also here that Colleen and Jon discovered that unlike orbs and spectres, the 
Space Needle photographed ... despite the fact it's lit ... cannot be up.On our Lakes Cruise, Donald mentioned how we could see a fountain choreographed to music to the right of the Space Needle. Jon and Colleen went in search of it, only to find it next to the "if we don't mention it, they won't realize the Sonics have left" Key Center ... looking nothing like the picture on the picture map, all shooting stuff and all. Instead, we had a dark orb, and couples in various states of embrace.
Colleen and Jon then headed back for a night of Seattle television surfing of the breaking news: that a man's body had been found burning ... in the University district. Donald???
Space Needle: A-
Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame: B-
Experience Music Project: A
Lakes Cruise: A
Rowboat: C
Joeys: A
International Fountain at night: F
--POSTED BY COLLEEN
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