ANCIENT MYSTERIES REVEALED: We went to some stores today. Many, many stores. Seven in four hours, by my count. Have I ever mentioned my disdain for shopping? It still holds true. But we soldiered on, because we had to. One of our stops included Goodwill. There, in the board game section, we found something remarkable. One of the wonders of the world, if you will. Stonehenge.
That's right, the prehistoric monument constructed amidst a dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments and several hundred burial mounds. It was ours, for just $6.99. Miraculous.
We could hardly wait to open the box to "Build Your Own Ancient Wonder." From the kit's description on Amazon, "This kit includes 16 Stonehenge rocks, a landscaped mat, and a 32-page guide capturing the possibilities of this ancient wonder. To this day, no one can explain the mystery and splendor of Stonehenge, but now you can replicate this extraordinary monument!"
It took the kids about 40 seconds to build. And there you see it, in all its glory, above. All jesting aside, fortunately, we got to see the real 'live' Stonehenge ourselves three years ago this month (photos from the site above and below). It truly was wondrous!
ABOUT FACE: Our very first stop today was a grocery store in our neighborhood. We went there looking for a specific bread and some special pickles. However, the shopping list went out the window as soon as we entered the store and saw these. ...
Ziggy Stardust and Labyrinth-inspired masks in the entryway our local *grocery* store?! Unexpected,to say the least. Of course we bought them. As soon as we got home, the kids tried Ziggy on. And as much as I love all things Bowie, I have to admit they weirded me out a bit ...
Love the kids, but I guess I like Bowie's face best on Bowie. Anyway, if you want or need one of your own, the Ziggy masks are the product of a company called Mamelok.
BIG AND SMALL: Yesterday morning we struck out around 10 a.m., destination Hoquiam.
Why Hoquiam?
Where Hoquiam?
Legitimate questions.
The answers date back to a morning last May when I was perusing Facebook on my phone while the kids were in a class. I noticed a post by Grammy winning rapper Macklemore, a Seattle resident, about a super special tour he was doing for a couple of weeks in August.
Though Macklemore plays sold out shows to tens of thousands around the world, he's a Washington state son through and through and works to stay grounded in the Evergreen State. As an homage to the place he calls home, he and producer Ryan Lewis planned a special tour called "The Camping Trip." The abject opposite of enormous arena shows, it was an 8 date tour of small theaters only in Washington.
As soon as I saw the post, I pretty much freaked out. My oh my, we love Macklemore. We've seen him perform before at a couple of Mariners' related events, and at Key Arena during his epic "The Heist" tour.
This was another animal altogether. Not a stadium, not an arena ... he was playing shows in old, tiny theaters around the state. Tickets were limited to just TWO per person, and I knew all the dates would sell out in moments. I was stuck with just my phone to try to make an online purchase, and frantically sent Christian a text message (so we could each buy two tickets). As I was doing this, I could see the 'bigger' cities were selling out - Oly was closed, Spokane and Yakima were gone. Bellingham was sold out. ... It was basically down to Enumclaw and Hoquiam. At the time, I wasn't sure where Enumclaw was (that was before two trips through Eastern Washington on the way to Idaho this summer). I *thought* Hoquiam was somewhere toward the coast. "TRY HOQUIAM!" I told Christian.
Miraculously, we each scored a pair of tickets for a pittance (yay for NO Ticketmaster for this tour).
Fast forward to August 29, and we were headed for the 7th Street Theatre in Hoquiam.
We left home a little after 10 and arrived there via I-5 and Highway 101 a little after noon, not knowing what to expect. All tickets were will call, and we didn't know if there would be a line blocks long already or what.
It turned out to be 'or what.' There were about three dozen people in line already. We decided to go ahead and put our lawn chairs on the sidewalk and get in line for the duration. Welcome to your next 7-plus hours. ...
Fortunately, it wasn't raining. It was in the shade and pretty darn windy, though. "Frigid" is a fair word. Fortunately, we took turns walking around, and sitting in the car and visiting the bathroom. We made friends with our new (sidewalk) neighbors, all friendly people, some locals, some from other points.
After a couple of hours, folks started setting up a Macklemore merchandise tent, and a rumor started spreading that the first 50 people in line would get wristbands to meet Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and get autographs.
Turned out the rumor was true... A little after 5 p.m., a woman came down the line with purple wristbands. The line stretched 'round the block by this point. We were in the lucky group that got 'em.
No photos were allowed during the signing, but let me assured you it happened.
And then the *real* good stuff happened.
There never were any physical tickets. We were checked into the theater old school - names on a list. But you know what? It worked! (Take that, Ticketmaster!)
We buzzed our way right up to the front left. For the next three or so hours, we were buffered by three seats in front of us, and four behind us. As the crowd behind abandoned their seats and pressed forward, the space became our fortress.
Meanwhile, a big ol' dance party erupted all around.
I'll let the kids tell you a little more about it. Annabelle's up first.
Seeing Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at the 7th Street Theatre was a fun and interesting experience. We got to the theater at around noon, because we wanted to be close to the front of the line. After waiting until about 5:00, they started a line for signing. We got our hats and shirts signed (very efficiently, might I add) and headed into the theater shortly after. We ended up “sitting” in the second row, which was great, because the chairs acted as bumpers against the standing people crowded around our seats. The concert itself was very fun, with a couple of warm up acts such as Xperience, who was also a hip hop artist from Seattle, before Macklemore actually came up on stage. Macklemore played many of his hit songs, like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love”, but he also played some I hadn’t previously heard such as “White Privilege” I really enjoyed the show and I hope I get to see another of his concerts!
And here's CJ's take ...
Ah, Hoquiam, Washington, the "friendliest city". My family very recently visited this small town in southwest Washington for a reason other than what you might expect: Back in May, Macklemore, a popular local rapper, unexpectedly announced "The Camping Trip", which would be an 8-stop tour across Washington in Spokane, Yakima, Walla Walla, Enumclaw, Olympia, Hoquiam (the one we attended), Bremerton, and Bellingham. Most of those towns are places away from where Macklemore usually plays, in larger cities, so Macklemore did this tour so that people living in or around those smaller cities could have a chance to see him live.
According to The News Tribune, the entire tour sold out within 2 hours of the tour's announcement on May 20. This likely had to do with the fact that tickets were $20. We happened to be lucky enough to get 4 tickets for my family to visit the Hoquiam concert. We came to the parking lot of the venue at about noon, and we spent *7* hours in line. At one point, we decided to buy some merchandise from the merch stand nearby. We got an exclusive Hoquiam T-shirt, a Camping Trip hat, and a physical copy of "This Unruly Mess I've Made", Macklemore's new album that he was promoting in this tour (the copies they were selling here came complete with Mr. Haggerty's rant about being afraid of your art). Soon enough, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis arrived at the side of the merch stand, ready to sign any merchandise presented to him by the next 50 people in line. Fortunately, we arrived relatively early, so we got the wristbands that proved that we were among the first 50 people in line, and could get one piece of merch per person signed. I'm really glad that we got our merch signed by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
I found a YouTube video where Macklemore talks about the tour and what it means to him, and what's going on in our country right now. (The guy who filmed it was way behind and somewhat to the right of us.) The video also includes Macklemore's performance of the powerful song "Same Love."
And here's a snippet of the finale, "Downtown," that Christian captured on his cellphone.
All in all, it was huge fun and a rare opportunity.
MORNING STROLL: If you believe local weather forecasts, this week is Summer's last stand. Wanting to capitalize on that fact, we headed down to the western shore of Puget Sound this morning for a good long walk. We 'put in' down by the former Amgen campus and very near the Louis Dreyfus terminal A bit south of there, there's a lovely rose garden. There was a surprising number of roses still (or again) in bloom today Also, we admired many enormous rose hips. Also, we spied dozens of big, juicy hops on a trellis in the rose garden. We've been coming to this park for years, and this is our first hops spotting, which makes me think they're new. I wonder if some beer loving soul brought a cutting down months ago and implanted it.
The kids enjoyed playing along the shoreline.
We got to watch some Coast Guard drills during our outing.
And, of course, there was some Pokemon GO business to attend to. I love this photo of Annabelle (below), battling to take over the 'gym' atop this art installation (yes, really, it's not just big boulders). See the woman on the bench in the background? Yeah, she came out on the short end. Go #TeamMystic.
We also captured a Pokemon Gym at the famous sculpture, Echo. Go Team Mystic!
AMUSING; Monday, we were up with the early birds and made a five-hour road trip to western Idaho, destination Silverwood Theme Park. We'd been there once before, earlier this summer, but it was a working visit, so this go 'round was just for fun, and much fun was had! We arrived just a couple minutes after the gates opened at 11 a.m., and Christian and CJ were riding in the front car of the Corkscrew just a few minutes later.
Annabelle wasn't feeling the big bad rides, so we stuck to a (super drenching) raft ride, bumper boats, and air-cushioned bumper cars. Below is Bee going in for the kill vs. CJ. Too funny.
On our way home on Tuesday, we stopped by the awesome Moses Lake Surf and Slide water park. It was our second visit there, and it was every bit as much fun as the first.
Annabelle shares her impressions of Silverwood and Surf and Slide following. ...
My most memorable moment from Boulder Beach (at Silvewood) would be when we were on the Ricochet Rapids slide, in a large tube. There was a drop about a quarter of the way through the slide, and it was kinda scary! We managed to survive, though.
The most memorable thing from the theme park portion of Silverwood for me was probably the bumper cars. They went surprisingly fast, and it was my first time on those bumper cars. It was fun to bump into other cars and spin in circles.
And lastly, my most memorable moment from Surf N’ Slide in Moses Lake is probably a spectacular wipeout I had on the bodyboarding wave simulator. At first, it was just a normal wipeout where I got to calmer waters and my board stopped moving. But then I stood up in the whitewater and I was immediately knocked down! It was pretty funny.
CJ has impressions to share, as well.
My family recently went on a trip through Washington and into Idaho to visit the Silverwood Theme Park. Silverwood is divided into 2 parts: "Silverwood," which is inspired by conventional amusement parks and is land based, and "Boulder Beach," a jumbo-sized water park with several slides and attractions.On the way back home, we visited the Surf 'N Slide Water Park in Moses Lake, WA, where there is an artificial wave. In this report, I will detail what my most memorable moment at all three locations was.
In Silverwood, the ride I remember the most was probably the "Tremors" ride. Tremors is one of two wooden rollercoasters at the theme park, with the other being the "Timber Terror" ride, which I also went on. Tremors is arguably the most popular rollercoaster at Silverwood, as the lines for it got pretty long. Before you go on the ride, there are several warnings about keeping safe on the ride, as Tremors is very fast-paced and there are several shallow caves. While I was riding on Tremors, I constantly felt like I was going to be decapitated, because my head appeared to get very close to the top of the various caves on the ride.
In Boulder Beach, the ride I remembered most was one of the slides on "Rumble Falls", an attraction which included 4 slides. Before going on one of the Rumble Falls slides, you would get a single-person or two-person tube from a pile next to the line. Once you got to the top of the ride tower, you would pick one of the 4 slides you wanted to ride on. I chose the open slide, as I often feel trapped in closed-tube slides. It was a nice experience going down one of the Rumble Falls slides, and I would do it again if we went to Boulder Beach again.
In the Surf 'N Slide Water Park, over in Moses Lake, I especially remember their cruise-ship style wave bodyboarding and surfing simulator, as I don't know any other water parks that have one. At Surf 'N Slide's bodyboarding simulator, the lifeguard will mount a bodyboard for you shortly in front of the wave. Once you get on and nudge the board enough, you get shot onto the wave simulator, which is very exciting and fun. Nine times out of ten, your ride will end by wiping out, usually with a smile on your face. Occasionally, your ride will end by you drifting to the landing area, so you can give the bodyboard to the next person in line.
Above, CJ waves from the top of a slide in Moses Lake. Below, he rethinks jumping off the high dive.
He chose to return to the ground and rethink it once. But to his credit, he got back up there and jumped off - multiple times!
He also enjoyed the drop off slide multiple times. :)
Between Silverwood and Moses Lake, we stayed the night in Spokane at a cool motel called Ruby2. If you're OK with occasional train noise, this place is terrific. Super cool artwork, a nice room, and a good price.
Just to the left of the frame above, they had a silent movie showing on the side of the building after dusk. Neat-o.
CAMP OUT: Thursday, Annabelle finished her "Cool Girls in Aerospace" camp up north. The four-day camp was a great opportunity for 10 girls her age to get a firsthand look, and some hands on experience, at trades and technical job opportunities in fields in which women are typically underrepresented.
Cool Girls in Aerospace was a 4-day camp I attended in Mukilteo (WA).
It was directed towards young teenage girls, to inspire them to become
part of the aeronautics field. Most of
our time in camp was spent at the Washington Aeronautics Training and Research,
or WATR, center. We made our very own name plates and even got to use things
like rivet guns, drills, and carbon fiber! It was fun seeing how all of these
techniques are used in making airplanes. The camp was also very informative, as
we learned what tools the real people in the airplane industry use. It was very
fun and I hope they keep doing it!
Annabelle tells me that the photo below is of her plate in a vise, hold it while she drilled holes in it.
The photo was taken at Washington Aerospace Training & Research (WATR) Center, which is managed by Edmonds Community College through an operating agreement with the Aerospace Futures Alliance (AFA). Located at the Paine Field airport in Snohomish County, WATR opened in 2010, as an educational resource for career pathways in the aerospace and manufacturing industry. While Annabelle was in class, CJ and I had a little time to kill. One morning, we checked out a park near Paine Field. There, CJ was nearly beamed up to the mother ship.
The park also had a unique spinning feature. This whole feature rotated, like a merry go round.
WALK-IN MOVIE: Friday night, we decided to take our chances in heading down to the stadium district despite a nearly sold-out Mariners game going on next door. Uncharacteristically, we weren't headed to the game, but rather an outdoor courtyard, Occidental Square, for an outdoor movie.
The square was much nice than we expected it to be. There were dozens of tables and chairs, and even Foosball tables, an over-sized chess set, an enormous Jenga game and a big Connect-Four type game. There was even a popcorn stand, with boxes just a dollar apiece.
About 9 p.m. the movie started. CJ was kind enough to write a lengthy review of the movie.
The First Movie (what I'll call it from this point on) is basically what happened when the executives behind the anime got dollar signs in their eyes and decided that their cash cow needed some time on the silver screen.
An unknown amount of time later, Mewtwo's body has matured inside the capsule. Mewtwo's power has also increased, and he has become aware of the fact that he's in a capsule. Mewtwo hears the voices of the scientists talking outside the capsule, and, in his grand hissy fit, forcefully breaks the capsule open, to the surprise of the scientists. Mewtwo asks the scientists some questions ("Who am I?" "Am I a clone?"), and, upon discovering that he is a clone, proceeds to destroy the laboratory, and presumably kills most of the scientists. The rest of the movie from this point on chronicles Ash and friends' predictable journey, where they learn about the mysteries behind Mewtwo.
Here are some positive things I have to say about The First Movie: The animators, at points, evidently tried to make a good anime film. There are moments of genuine charm, humor, and, near the beginning and end, actually getting a little emotional. At least one of the songs made for the dub, "Brother My Brother", by the Blessid Union of Souls, is actually pretty nice, it's just too bad that the context the song is used in is pretty ridiculous.
Now here are some less positive things about The First Movie:
I didn't say they actually made a *very good* anime film.
Near the end of the movie, Mewtwo suffers from a case of what I call "Darth Vader Redemption Syndrome". Basically put, Darth Vader Redemption Syndrome is when a character that had crossed the Moral Event Horizon (the point by which you become irredeemably evil) previously is dubiously "redeemed", usually accompanied by the character promptly leaving. In The First Movie's case, at the end, Mewtwo supposedly learns that "fighting is bad", a moral that contradicts the very premise of the franchise. Mewtwo, having supposedly learned his lesson, is suddenly forgiven by everybody, and, for the purposes of the plot, makes sure everybody forgets the events of this movie (too bad he can't do that to the audience).
In general, The First Movie is pretty mediocre, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you have some pretty thick nostalgia goggles.
Christian and I sat toward the rear of the square for the show. CJ and Annabelle chose to go to the front row, and stayed through the final credits.
FILL'ER UP: Friday, the temps pushed upwards of 93 degrees. Thank heavens it happened to be a 'bring your own cup' to 7-11 day for a big, icy Slurpee.
CJ and Annabelle went with the trusty ol' owl vase we have. They chose a mix of birthday cake and Coca Cola (shudder) Slurpees. They thought it was delightful.
LONG STEM: Annabelle's four-day aerospace/STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) class continues this week. Today, she was in a machine shop. She emailed me these photos, explaining, that the picture below is of a water cutter. "This was used to cut my name (in metal) by shooting water and garnet shards at the metal."
And below, "A plaque made from fiberglass and carbon fiber for the mayor being 'cooked.' "
Bet it doesn't smell like chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven. Tomorrow is Annabelle's 'graduation' from the program. I have no doubt it has already made a lasting impression on her.
TREK TO THE PARK: Sunday evening we make our annual trek to Blanche Lavizzo Park in Seattle's Central district. There, there's an amphitheater, and for a few weekends each summer, it's the site of an amazing Outdoor Trek production. We love it for so many reasons, one being the diversity of the cast. Though they stick faithfully to the original script from the original Star Trek episode that they're performing, the actors are very diverse. In this version, Spock and Kirk are both played by women, as was the powerful Khan. It might sound weird, but it totally works!
I'll let CJ tell you a bit more about it.
For over 5 years by this point, Hello Earth Productions has been performing versions of various episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. The episodes they have performed include "Devil in the Dark", "Amok Time", and, most recently, "Space Seed".
For most of Hello Earth's performances, known as "Outdoor Trek", they have used the same crew of actors that they started out with, though not always playing the same role. For this year, Hello Earth did Space Seed, which is one of the most iconic episodes of the original series.
The event was held and Blanche Lavizzo park, an outdoor amphitheater with several seats (and a small stage). Before the performance, there was a speech by James E. Brooks, a writer who worked on some episodes of The Next Generation, a sequel series to The Original Series. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand most of what he was saying, so I can't really write about him here.
At the beginning of the performance, the crew of the Starship Enterprise discovers a floating, seemingly abandoned ship is space. Upon closer inspection, the crew discovers the ship to be the S.S. Botany Bay, which was launched roughly 200 years before the start of the Enterprise's mission. As it turns out, there are 84 cryogenically frozen humans, all having been frozen in the 1990s (and donning common clothing from that era, such as Nirvana or Almost Live T-shirts.)
The crew of the Enterprise discovers that the 72 people (12 of them died during the re-awakening process) aboard the ship are all genetically engineered, to the point where they are nearly superhuman, and likely fought in Earth's Eugenics Wars during the 1990s. The crew identifies the leader of the Botany Bay, "Khan Noonien Singh", who, upon being awakened, asks "How long?" The crew of the Enterprise tells Khan that he has been asleep for about 200 years, but he quickly fell unconscious. The crew brings the bodies of the Botany Bay crew aboard the Enterprise, to revive and research them, but they discover the less-than-savory goals of the Botany Bay crew.
If they have enough funds to do another performance, I look forward to seeing Outdoor Trek again.
Above, Khan awakens. Below, the enterprise's history officer Lt. Marla McGivers contemplates powerful warriors from centuries past.
Khan started causing trouble shortly after arriving in sick bay.
Fortunately, Khan decided not to kill McCoy.
Below, Lt. Sulu navigates the Enterprise from what looks like an Office Depot Chair. :)
At one point, Lt. McGivers broke out into song. Specifically, R.E.M.'s losing my religion.
It might sound absurd, but it totally worked with the script. Toward the end of the episode, Kirk had to bust out of a decompression chamber.
Then he and Khan battled, hand to hand. You know who won.
Before the program, writer James E. Brooks told the crowd about his experiences writing for "Star Trek, The Next Generation." His other writing credits include an X-Files magazine.
Annabelle, with two sci-fi books to her name already, went down to get his autograph. He was pretty flattered. :) If there's a Star Trek anything, you *know* there are going to be Klingons. Yesterday was no exception.
COOL GIRLS: This morning was the first of four days of a neat-o camp Annabelle is attending this week. Called "Cool Girls in Aerospace," it's an amazing opportunity for 10 local girls to learn about education and career tracks in the aerospace industry. The greater Seattle area is a hub for such opportunities, and over the next four days they'll be learning more about possible pathways to the future. Here's a short video about the program.
And here's what Annabelle has to say about her first day.
Today, my first day of Cool Girls in Aerospace was an
interesting experience. It was held in Mukilteo City Hall. We started by
introducing ourselves and what we wanted to learn about. Then we were talked to
by a couple of experts in engineering fields, such as Shannon Deacon, who
worked 12 years at Boeing; Lurelee Lorenzen, who joined Boeing via an
apprenticeship program, which allows a person to try multiple jobs at Boeing
before deciding on one, and it doesn’t even require a college degree! We also heard from Chris Phillips, who was a Navy pilot. He told us mostly about himself. It was very interesting to listen
to the speakers today, and I look forward to the rest of the Cool Girls in
Aerospace camp!
