July 07, 2013

Visitors from Wyoming | Chihuly Glass Museum | Fremont | Vegan Iron Chef cookbook


It's been so sunny and pleasant here that I forgot to write a blog post — I just want to be outdoors enjoying the perfect weather. Most of the days have been  sunny and in the 70s, but we had a couple of very hot days, too, and on the hottest day so far, Laurie (otherwise known as Laloofa, author of Mehitable Days) and her husband BW breezed through town and spent some time with us. They had a list of places they wanted to see, so we worked through their list, and added a couple of things, and had a lovely time touring Seattle. There wasn't enough time to see much — you need more than part of a day to visit all the attractions in Seattle, but we managed a few.


We started with the Dale Chihuly Glass Museum down at the Seattle Center. Ken and I had never been to the museum, which opened in May 2012, so we were touring it for the first time, too. There were photographers wandering around offering to take our photo, and although I declined the first offer, I said OK to the second, and am glad I did, since I'm the one taking pictures and never usually appear in any of the photos.


I'm just going to post all my photos without much explanation so you can get an idea what the museum is like.





What you're seeing here and in the next two photos is the ceiling in what was my favorite room. It was gorgeous, with fantastic colors and shapes.



Even as I review my photos, I still love the ceiling images the best. I spent so much time looking up at the ceiling I started to get a stiff neck.


There are both indoor and outdoor components to the exhibit, and although there are many exciting aspects to the gardens, I preferred the indoor rooms. I've seen photographs of other spectacular outdoor installations, and was actually kind of disappointed with this one.



I really liked the glass 'shrub' that dominated the outdoor space, and I think it was my favorite garden piece. I wanted one for my garden at home.


Here it is from a different direction.


Here's a photo of Laurie blending in with the glass exhibit.


We were with a couple of tourists, one of whom just wouldn't stop taking pictures.


After we left the museum, we were walking through the Seattle Center complex when we came upon something that was almost better than the museum. At the fountain we viewed one of the most joyful sights I've seen in a long time. Dozens of small children cavorted around the huge water spewing mound as it went from almost no spray through a succession of intensifying fountains — all set to exciting music — culminating in an explosive blast that shot 120 feet in the air, sending the little ones running and screaming away from the water monster.


I'm sorry I didn't get a shot of the super tower of water, but I was laughing and shreiking along with the kids, some of whom got pounded by an incredible amount of liquid.



When we were finally able to tear ourselves away from the vicarious thrills provided by the fountain, we headed to nearby Kerry Park where Laurie and BW wanted to get photos of the Seattle skyline. Our access was a little limited as there was a wedding party having their photos taken, but we did our best to capture the view.


Next stop was lunch. From a long list of suitable dining spots I provided, our guests had chosen a vegan Thai restaurant because they don't have access to much Thai food in Wyoming. Arraya's has an all-you-can-eat vegan lunch buffet, and although they had planned to order from the menu, the buffet was too beguiling to pass up. Even though it wasn't the plan, we all ate a little more than perhaps we should have. Oh well.


We had originally planned to tour a fair trade chocolate factory in Fremont, but had to eliminate the tour due to time constraints, so we did a little jaunt through the Fremont neighborhood instead. (You may recall a recent post where I covered the Fremont Solstice Parade and the nude bicyclists.) No tour of Fremont would be complete without a photo with the controversial Lenin statue, and here's BW taking full advantage of the photo op. This is a genuine Soviet sculpture that was originally installed in Poprad, Slovakia in 1988. It was removed after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, and found lying face down in a scrapyard by a Washington resident named Lewis E. Carpenter. Carpenter financed the purchase and transport of the statue by mortgaging his house. You can read more details by following the link I've provided.


After viewing Lenin, one must also see the troll under the bridge. Although you can't see it behind the models, the troll holds a real Volkswagen beetle in its hand.


And there is also the Waiting for the Interurban statue to consider. Citizens are allowed to dress the statue for one week at a time, then must remove the statues' attire so the next outfits can be applied. I don't believe I've ever seen the statue naked, so to speak.


One last sight I'd like to leave you with is the sign that we found on a telephone pole not far from where we had lunch. All the little tear strips at the bottom were gone.

We had a lovely time with our visitors and hope they will consider staying a bit longer next time.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Vegan Iron Chef e-cookbook - free download

If you've read this far, I've got a special treat for you — a link to the Vegan Iron Chef e-cookbook that you can download for free. And guess who has a recipe inside! (No, I'm not a vegan iron chef but yes, I do have a recipe in the collection!) It looks like a great little book. I just want to give you a heads-up that the page numbering is a bit off because in a PDF the automatic numbers start with the cover, and in this case the recipes start on page 4. So, if a recipe is supposed to be on page 18, it's really on page 22. Follow this link to the e-cookbook, and enjoy!

29 comments:

  1. What a great time!! I loved everything in this post and am extremely jealous that you not only got to spend the day with such great people but all of those sights! And the food!! This is all stuff I would definitely want to see while visiting, especially the Chihuly museum and the troll under the bridge. Sounds like a perfect place to eat, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When you get your Airstream, you can plan out a vacation in the PNW! You would love Fremont.

      Delete
    2. If my work ever allows me more than a week off, we definitely will!

      Delete
  2. Love your recipe in Vegan Iron Chefs cookbook! It reminds me of a dish that I had in Costa Rica. Great contribution.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Amanda. I'm looking forward to trying the other recipes in the e-book.

      Delete
  3. Those glass museum pictures are incredible! Very impressive.

    Congrats on being a vegan iron chef! I am excited to download the e-book and find your recipe :-)

    Courtney

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The glass museum was certainly a good place to take photos. I can't wait to see the ones Laurie took. As for the cookbook, I'm definitely not an iron chef — more of an ironic chef. :)

      Delete
  4. Wow, I looove Chihuly - thank you for posting the photos! (Including the one of yrself.) The pics that you said were from yr favorite room are great - they look like jellyfish! I'd love to eventually get to Seattle and see them in person. (As well as a ton of other things.)
    The skyline shot is great.
    Why, though, is there a statue of Lenin in Seattle??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope if you get to Seattle you'll consider seeing me, too! As for Lenin, it's a long story and I'm going to add a Roadside America link to the post for the curious. And why wouldn't one be curious about such a strange situation. I keep trying to answer your question in some detail and blogger keeps deleting it, so here's a link: http://bit.ly/pUkCYN

      Delete
  5. That museum looks amazing! Thank you for sharing; that goes on my things-to-do-in-Seattle list right behind Mighty-O.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha. Behind Mighty-O. Mighty-O is just a short walk from my house. With all the access you have to amazing vegan baked goods, I wonder how Mighty-O would stack up.

      Delete
    2. I love Mighty-O! I was lucky enough to try them in Portland and they're fantastic. Totally different from my other fave donuts from Vegan Treats and Cinnamon Snail. If I lived that close I'd have donuts for breakfast every day.

      Delete
  6. Wow, I'll have to see if I can pull up that cookbook and see your recipe - congratulations! How fun with another blogger. Who knew Seattle was cahrazy? I know what you mean about being the photog and not in any photos. By the way, I've walked by the real Lenin! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should be able to download and save the cookbook to your computer by following the link.

      Yeah, I'm almost never in any photos, but being camera shy, I don't usually care.

      What do you mean by "the real Lenin?"

      Delete
    2. They have his body preserved and on display in Red Square, at least they did in 1992 when I was there. There was a very long line that took at least an hour to get to the front. Inside one of the buildings, his body is lying in state, but in plain view, heavily guarded, and the line slowly walks by. People had several seconds to look at him before they were out the door - he is within ten feet or so of the line, if I remember right. It was fascinating to me. I had a double minor in college of Russian language and Soviet Studies, and my heritage is part Russian, so this was a big deal to me. :-)

      Delete
    3. Why did I say 1992? I meant 1990. I met G in 1992! :-)

      Delete
    4. Whoa. That was something I hadn't considered. I know about the body on display, I just didn't connect that you had seen it in Russia. Yikes, that must have been ... intense. I, too, have Russian heritage, but I've never been to Russia.

      Delete
  7. What a fun day! Sometimes it's nice to play tourist in your own city and visit places you wouldn't normally go. The Glass Museum looks amazing, love all those pics! I don't see vegan buffets all that often, and I can't pass up Thai food. No doubt I would have overeaten too. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always enjoy playing tour guide/tourist — it gives me a push to see new places and revisit old favorites. Plus, I get to spend time with friends.

      I always promise myself that I won't overeat, and I take lots of salad to fill the plate, but what can I say? I'm weak. :)

      Delete
  8. Chiluhly's work is so inspiring...and I've only ever seen pictures. You get around, lady!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It only took a year, and a visit from friends to get us to the museum!

      Delete
  9. I love Chiuhly's stuff! There've been a couple of little exhibits in London over the last few years - so good. I'd definitely pop down there too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was definitely an unusual exhibit - very colorful!

      Delete
  10. I love it when bloggers I "know" get together. I don't know why it's so exciting for me, but it is! :) I'm glad you had a nice day. So much to see and do. It's nice sometimes to see your own city through the eyes of a tourist. Of course, all of the tear strips were gone. That's funny.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wouldn't it be even more exciting if you were one of the bloggers? (hint, hint) I never get tired of visiting favorite spots and showing them to guests. Maybe I should be a tour guide. :)

      Delete
  11. What fun! I bet that you and Laurie had the best time! David and I went to Seattle for our one year wedding anniversary, and Fremont was our favorite area. I loved the pictures from the glass museum. The ceiling reminds me of the ceiling at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. So beautiful!

    Congrats on being included in the Iron Chef cookbook! Very cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had a fun day with Laurie and BW, and although it was a long day, it was far too short!

      Next time you come to Seattle, perhaps you can spend some time with us, too!

      Delete
  12. Hi Andrea!

    I visited this post when you mentioned it in your email, but never had time to peck out a comment on the iPad's tedious keypad so have waited till I got home. Where I am suffering from serious vacation withdrawal! It's true our Seattle sojourn was far too short, but so were our stays in all our other destinations (even our week at Someday Farm was too brief! We really loved every bit of our visit to the beautiful PNW). It didn't help our cause that we got stuck in all the traffic coming through Snohomish Pass, lopping 2-3 hours off our limited time in Seattle the day before. :-( But hey, at least we brought our Wyoming weather with us, right? (Sorry it was several degrees hotter than I'd ordered from the National Weather Service - you just can't count on the gubmint!) :-)

    Chihuly was everything I'd hoped and imagined it would be and then some (the fact it was at the base of the Space Needle was a bonus!) And your photos are gorgeous! They're every bit as good as mine, and in many cases better. That ceiling was really something, wasn't it? Funny Cadry would mention that it reminds her of the one at the Bellagio, because it was seeing online photos of the Bellagio ceiling last year that first acquainted me with the name Chihuly and his beautiful, unique work. So when I found out about this exhibit in Seattle, I knew I had to see it! Sure was wonderful! As was our foray into fun & funky Fremont (the troll under the bridge was my favorite!) and our visit to "Veganville." :-) Haven't had a chance to try the soy curls yet, but will let you know when we do! Thank you again for the mung bean noodles, which we are also eager to try. (I haven't cooked a thing since we got home very late Saturday night, as our neighbor brought us dinner last night - we're so spoiled!) Speaking of food, your photos of lunch made me wish I had about a dozen of those delicious spring rolls! We were glad we chose their all-you-can eat buffet - we were hungry! :-)

    That fountain was amazing (great pics!!), and I loved how we'd all paused to look at it when it was just sitting there doing nothing, and you guys commented on how odd it was because usually it was spewing lots of water and then WOOSH! As if on command! It sure was fun to watch and listen to - and like you I wish we could have joined all those kids in it! I haven't watched any of the videos I took of it yet, but sure hope to have at least one that's blog-worthy, because that was another highlight of our day.

    As was getting to see your charming, lovely home and pretty neighborhood! We just loved it! And I thought the wedding party really added to the enjoyment of Kerry Park (sure beats a drive-by shooting!!) The views from there were indeed great for photo-taking!

    Thank you again for driving us around and suggesting Fremont! Next time we promise we'll stay longer, and we'll finally visit Theo's. :-)

    And last but not least, congratulations on being in the Vegan Iron Chef cookbook!! Am off to download it now (for when I finally get over my vacation-induced slothfulness and resume cooking!) :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After a vacation like yours, I'd be suffering from vacation withdrawal, too. As it is, we're in Wisconsin, and while we see lots of friends and go out to dinner (and lunch!), it doesn't quite feel like a vacation. Too much work on the house — sorting and packing and attending to things. Even some spackling, painting and calking to add to the fun.

      Hope all was well when you returned home and the pups were in good health and happy to see you.

      Delete

Thanks for visiting Andrea's easy vegan cooking. I love, and read, all of your comments! Please share your thoughts.

There are a few Amazon links in the posts. Thanks in advance if you click on one.

Note: ALL THE IMAGES FROM THIS BLOG WERE ACCIDENTALLY DELETED ON 1-21-12. I'M RESTORING THEM, POST BY POST, BUT IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME. Recipe pages you visit may be missing photos, but all the text in intact. If you find a post without images, let me know so I can fix it. Thanks!