{"id":2225,"date":"2012-01-28T13:22:35","date_gmt":"2012-01-28T21:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/?p=2225"},"modified":"2012-02-01T13:27:53","modified_gmt":"2012-02-01T21:27:53","slug":"seattle-8f-trip-day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/?p=2225","title":{"rendered":"Seattle 8F trip day 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Late last year Byron and I began working on a business together. \u00a0That business will be revealed to the world very shortly, but before that happens we needed to meet in person to work out some of the kinks. \u00a0Sam was aware of this as she has a small role in one of the functions of the business. \u00a0Since some of our employees will be based in Seattle, we felt it was appropriate to meet in person. \u00a0Sam made this meeting easier by making the trip a Christmas gift to me so I could see my best friend. \u00a0It didn’t hurt that she’d never been to Seattle before and this was a great way to kill three birds with one stone (business meeting + see new city + \u00a0Christmas gift).<\/p>\n

The blogs that follow our journey do not mention the business meetings, but the entire trip was a constant flow of discussion about the business between Byron and myself and by the end of the trip we were able to work out some key issues (vendor relations, accounting structure, etc.) that needed addressing.<\/p>\n

On Thursday night Sam and I hopped a Virgin America flight to Seattle after work. \u00a0Our flight was actually delayed by an hour and so when we arrived we chatted for a bit with our hosts, Byron and Christine, but quickly got to bed. \u00a0 In the morning when we awoke we found this note. \u00a0Earlier in the week they had asked us what type of tea we liked in the morning and we had said “orange juice.”<\/p>\n

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We drank the juice, dressed and headed off to what we thought was our first destination. \u00a0Sam had never been to Seattle before, so I was trying to fit in all the touristy spots for her. \u00a0We thought we’d probably sleep in and then just go straight to the Farmer’s Market to have lunch with Byron. \u00a0However, as we started walking around 10:30 we realized that the Space Needle was actually not that far from Byron and Christine’s apartment. \u00a0We stopped at one of the many Starbucks on the route and grabbed chocolate smoothies to drink on our walk to the needle.<\/p>\n

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On a Friday morning in January there really aren’t any tourists at the Needle. \u00a0When I visited in August of 2009 Byron and I had to wait in a line that\u00a0spiraled\u00a0around the building. \u00a0On this day there was no wait at all.<\/p>\n

\"DSC06616.jpg\"\"P1270257.JPG\"\"P1270256.JPG\"\"DSC06629.jpg\"\"DSC06621.jpg\"\"DSC06613.jpg\"<\/p>\n

After leaving the needle we took the monorail to the Farmer’s Market. \u00a0I can’t think of “monorail” without starting the song from the Simpsons.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/jF_yLodI1CQ<\/p>\n

Byron actually took the rest of the day off and met us for lunch. \u00a0This was the first of three trips for me to Beecher’s<\/a> in four days for mac and cheese. \u00a0I like cheese.<\/p>\n

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After lunch we boarded the monorail with Byron and headed back to the Space Needle.<\/p>\n

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We went to the Pacific Science Museum, stopping first to have some fun with the waterworks.<\/p>\n

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Inside we were greeted with several sensory tests set up to be “fun” for children, but it only succeeded in reminding Byron that he’s color blind, Sam that her eyesight isn’t perfect and that my sense of smell is all but dead. \u00a0We were all too happy to proceed to the giant rubik’s cube.<\/p>\n

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And then to my favorite future pet, the\u00a0axolotl.<\/p>\n

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We stopped by the\u00a0sea anemone touching area. \u00a0I was the only one brave enough to touch any of them.<\/p>\n

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Then we stopped by the bug area.<\/p>\n

\"DSC06655.jpg\"\"DSC06705.jpg\"<\/p>\n

We spent most of our time in the bug area in the Butterfly Room.<\/p>\n

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\"P1270304.JPG\"\"DSC06678.jpg\"\"DSC06686.jpg\"\"DSC06690.jpg\"<\/p>\n

\"DSC06694.jpg\"Next we visited the Dinosaur display. \u00a0This was \u00a0quick walk through for Byron and Sam, but I lingered longer to appreciate the artistry that went into making these monsters. \u00a0They were hardly “life-like,” but still had to take thousands of hours of craft to produce.
\n\"DSC06708.jpg\"\"DSC06709.jpg\"<\/div>\n

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Outside again we walked over to the Experience Music Project and Sci-Fi Museum.<\/p>\n

\"DSC06713.jpg\"\"DSC06719.jpg\"<\/p>\n

The first thing we checked out was the Avatar Exhibit.<\/p>\n