We had a fun filled day that started with a monorail ride. It was a grueling 10 minutes to ride the 0.9 miles to downtown from the Space Needle. This seems like a huge effort for such a small distance and only one stop. But it did place us next to Din Tai Fung, a dumpling house that we first experienced in Taipei Taiwan. This location did not quite live up to the original but it still filled our bellies quite nicely. We then walked down to the Seattle Art Museum but we would have to rush through so we decided to leave that for another day. As we crossed the street we saw a tiny shop, Antient Grounds was run by Roland, a raconteur from way back. We stepped inside and there was a velvet rope with a sign notifying the visitor that permission was required to enter. I asked politely, "May we enter your fine establishment"? We exchanged stories with Roland. He wins with his origin story but we have the more intriguing story with regard to our current migratory behavior. He told us that he hitchhiked all across the USA for four years as a young man. He went to all the National Parks, all 50 States and all the major cities and determined that Seattle or Santa Fe were the best locations for him. His store had hundreds of Kimonos and silk jackets from Japan. In addition he had theatrical masks from Japan and masks and art from the first nations. In addition there was a full set of Ninja armor and thousands of time items too numerous and varied to list. I found a new treasure and Leslie found a new silk scarf. My treasure is a pendant made of fossilized walrus tusk and it a carving of a perpetual drunk monk that traditionally made wine and continuously monitored the quality by drinking wine all the time. I had to laugh because a) I like my wine, b) I look like a walrus at times and c) the monk is open mouth and was captured mid sentence which means he too likes to talk.
Monorail drives through the Pop Culture Museum on its way to Stop #1
Colorful exterior of the Pop Culture Museum
Hang on to your seats for a monorail ride
The control panel
Lighthouse is either a bike rack or a fire hydrant
Din Tai Fung for dumplings
Pow! It is true love, Leslie and me!
Lots of folks ready to enter Din Tai Fung
Picking our lunch
Our waiter was familiar with south Florida and we talked travel stories
\A spicy dumpling dish
A dumpling soup
And soup dumplings too!
Cool building and reflection interplay
Hey Seattle we are listening
Big kinetic sculpture three or four stories tall
Ancient Grounds is a go to location for any visitor
Fossilized Walrus tusk carving of the perpetual drunken monk
Hmmm, which one to choose?
My new treasure
Roland the proprietor
A full set of armor
Japanese Theatrical Masks
Fancy obi for a kimono
