A Weekend in the City: Part II

After breakfast the group headed out in two cars Ruby and Myrtle in one, Mungo, Olo, and Mereyann in the other. They were headed to meet up with Bramblerose who was staying in Baby Rube's dorm. There was a brief moment of panic when the car with Myrtle and Ruby made a premature turn, taking them through the heart of the city. Myrtle expertly maneuvered her way through using familiar landmarks, and lost little time in meeting the others at the proper destination. Ruby was impressed.

The EMP building has unusual architecture. Rather than a box, it seems to pour out onto the street in a free-form, almost liquid-looking fashion.

Unusual Architecture



Mungo entering the building


There were exhibits of costumes once worn by Jerry Lee Lewis, KISS, Elton John, Michael Jackson and so forth. They went up stairs to an exhibit that actually allowed you to play various instruments. Mungo, of course found a booth with a guitar, and Olo found one with a base. Ruby and Mereyann shared a booth with keyboards, and Mereyann taught Ruby the 'heart' part of 'Heart and Soul' while Mereyann played the 'soul' part. They went through an extensive exhibit dedicated to Jimi Hendrix before breaking for lunch.

They brought sandwiches and they ate them while seated by a large nearby fountain. The weather was beautiful and an unexpected bonus for the weekend.

Lunch by the fountain



They lingered for a while, soaking up the sun, and then continued their exploration of the EMP. As they walked into a room playing Beatles music, Ruby felt like she was 14 again. She slowly took in the exhibit and quite enjoyed it, nearly swooning when she saw a recorded version of them as then appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. She wrote in the guest book "I still (heart) Paul" .

Ruby related the story of attending a concert as a 15-year-old girl. How thankful she was to her mother for not only allowing her to go, but driving her there with her little brother and 3 of her grlfriends, and waiting in the parking lot while they enjoyed the concert, in order to drive them home. What a cool Mom!

There was a large exhibit showing the northwest's contribution to the rock scene. Most of the groups were not familiar to Ruby, as she is not really interested in hard rock, or grunge. However, there was an exhibit of earlier artists, including Willie Nelson (what a surprise), Ray Charles (REALLY?) , not to mention The Ventures, The Kingsmen, and Paul Revere and the Raiders.

There was huge exhibit on guitars that took the observer to the earliest version, through various updates to current guitar technology. Ruby enjoyed this exhibit, but she really enjoyed watching Mungo. He was truly in his element and it showed.

They topped off their EMP tour with a film of Jimi Hendrix in concert. There is a high degree of respect out their for Jimi Hendrix. "I really don't get Jimi Hendrix," said Ruby. "But I am not a guitarist so I will profess ignorance and let it go at that." The performance , to Ruby, was mostly a lesson in what happens when you do drugs!

The family had one more adventure ahead of them, Indian Cuisine. Ruby has always been a little apprehensive of the food from this culture group, but was willing to try. It took some encouraging to convince everyone, but Olo and Mereyann were persistent. Ruby had chicken coconut curry, and she quite liked it. She also enjoyed the Chai Tea that was refilled like cups of coffee in an American Restaurant.

Indian Cuisine



"Thank you for taking me here." she said to Olo and Mereyann as they left, and she meant it sincerely. She would have never gone there on her own.