Buses, Ferries, and Monorails (aka Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Planned months in advance, a group of almost 60, headed to Seattle for the King Tut exhibit last week at the Pacific Science Center. Our day started early in the morning in an effort to catch the 845 ferry. We awoke to gourgeous sunshine which one learns never to expect in the Pacific Northwest, but we love it when it happens.  It was a beautiful day for a day away and even my Graduate who is working so much was able to come with us!



Early AM ferry with Seattle skyline in background.
Space Needle is tiny speck to far left of skyline-our destination area.

Part of our group drove onto the ferry and part walked on. Those who walked then took the bus or walked to the monorail station. We chose to walk as we normally just take the bus. It was less than a mile and allowed us to visit with one another and stop at our leisure. 



Our group posing at Pike Place Market
before enjoying mini donuts.

The Fish market and fish "throwing and catching" is world famous
so we paused for a moment to watch.

We eventually reached the monorail station. Although we were almost to the Seattle Center and could have walked the remaining distance, we boarded for a new experience. It was fun and FAST. We got there in no time at all. Too fast to really enjoy it very much.

Farmer Girl posing with her young friends.

Others posing with one another.

She wanted her picture with the space needle.
This is the best I could do!

Once we arrived, I checked us in since I was the trip coordinator. Handing out tickets, maps, and chaperone stickers, whilst eating lunch, the early morning flew by and it was soon time to line up in our designated line. Once we entered the center, we had a few moments to mill around before "queuing" up for the IMAX, "The Mummies of Ancient Egypt".

Waiting in line with friends.

Farmer Girl's friend and driving partner for Driver's ed.

Apparently, this was their "mug" shot pose in the "line-up"

Further silliness, less seriousness.

Farmer Girl's unique perspective on the world
 and Seattle's famous landmark.

After the IMAX movie which was new and different than expected or anticipated, we had a few moments to grab a snack or drink. We hung out and about enjoying more glorious sunshine and warmth! The movie was interesting although the mummies were a bit scary for little ones perhaps and some of the Pharoah's wives were a wee bit more scantily clad than I would have liked to have seen......definitely not homeschool appropriate :)

Catching a friend moment.

Somehow in the waiting to line up, we were separated from our group and found ourselves at the back of the line. They allowed 60 at a time in every 6 minutes, but we never really caught up entirely with them as we wanted to enjoy the exhibit at our leisure. These artifacts were over 3,000 years old! I had to keep reminding myself of this as it is easy to forget as you walk around admiring the craftmanship and workmanship. 

The Bust of Ramses the Great.

The New Kingdom.

The girls and I studied Egypt in depth many years ago and it was one of our favorite time periods. It was fun to relive what we learned and be reminded of the names and history of this civilization. Some of the names are so fun to say like Hatshepsut or Shabti or Atentuckhaem (sp?)........


This piece of furniture really captured my eye. I loved the blue color on it.
It had the cartouche of Amenhotep III painted on it.

The guide explained that blue quartz crystals were ground down and made into a paste. Then they were painted on with acid to make this pottery like appearance.

Egyptians loved their cats and wanted them with them in the after life.
This is a cat sarcophagus (another fun word to say) which is kind of like a coffin. 

Colossal statue of Amenhotep IV

The Golden Mask of Psusennes I.
This is kind of the picture that comes to my mind when I think of Egyptian times.
I took it sideways for an unexpected change.

There were guides/guards all through out the exhibit for answering questions and explaining items of interest. They were also quick to run when an alarm went off which happened once or twice while there. It happened when you touched the glass or touched anything you weren't supposed to touch. Most of the items were in glass cases and we found that they were also surrounded by an infrared or ultraviolet flashing blue light. I am not sure exactly what it was. Perhaps it was an electrical current or motion sensor or pressure sensitive alarm? 
We learned alot about Howard Carter who found King Tut's tomb. It took him over 10 years to find, catalog, photograph, and identify the over 5,000 items found in the tomb!!!! There were pictures of the items as they were found in the tomb and then numbered as they laid stacked in their discovered positions.

This was some kind of oil container.
The intricacy of the work was simply amazing.

A bed. We couldn't belive that the woven mat inside the bedframe was still intact
and preserved.

Behind the above picture, you can see a photo like I mentioned above. They were the tomb's contents as they found them including the bed shown in the case. You could see what made the hole in the bed frame in the lower righthand corner based on it's position of storage.

Ornate and colorful jewelry..

Another intricate vase or storage container. Wish I had sought out information on what they were made of.
Ivory?

Intact chair.

The intricate top of a fan.

The last shot of the exhibit wall. I don't know what that item in the middle is.......

Outside, we found waiting friends playing with this water ball or with the water guns or the hamster wheel. It was hot so very refreshing to play in the water! I just enjoyed sitting down for a brief respite and enjoying the warmth of the sun and friends.

Creating water power or hydropower. This was a favorite!

Going horizontal!

After relaxing a bit and contemplating the benefits of caffeine, we exited the museum and headed for the nearest Starbuck's (did you know that Seattle is home to the original Starbuck's so they are on nearly EVERY street corner!) I had an iced mocha although not my favorite (I prefer hot or blended), but it was too hot for hot and the iced drinks have more caffeine, so I opted for that. Caffeine was definitely in order at this point in the day.
Walking the short distance to the bus stop, some of the group climbed on the EMP (Experimental Music Project) windows as below.

Hanging out at the EMP (Experimental Music Project)

Walking the short distance to the bus stop, we boarded the #16 bus and had an uneventful bus ride to the ferry terminal. Destination: Ivar's for clam chowder, hands down, the best I have ever tasted. We have fond memories of eating here when the girls were little after trips to the Seattle Children's Theatre for The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe or Disney's High School Musical or others. Often we would bring old bread to feed the seagulls or feed them our leftover fries. It has been a few years since we did this, so we enjoyed the walk down memory lane as well as the clam chowder as good as I remembered. Num yummy as one of my friends would say! 
It was a great day spent with great people!
Thanks for reading, Ellie~