Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

Another great plan for today and another last-minute change of plans for the day. We are starting to get used to that. We were originally going to go up the Seattle Space Needle to check out the city from high above, then go on the Underground tour to check out the city from far below and then pop into the Maritime museum before catching the ferry to Bainbridge Island to visit a friend. With our usual speedy morning action we manage to make it downtown by 11:00! Yes, we’re pathetic. Anyway, as if that wasn’t bad enough, as I exit the car I realize that I forgot my camera. Those of you who have spent any time with me since I got my first digital camera know that I can barely go to the bathroom without my camera. So I definitely can’t head up the tower in Seattle and experience magnificent views without my camera in tow. That would almost be like torture. So we had to come up with a plan B and we had to come up with it quick. We then noticed that we were standing right beside the Experience Music Project (EMP) building. We had heard (no pun intended) a lot about this place and it sounded like a cool, fun thing to do with the kids. And then, when we inquired about this we also found out that the Science Fiction Museum (SFM) was located right beside it too. A-P seemed very interested in seeing the SFM, and since we could get a deal if we went to both, we decided to got to both. In a convenient twist of fate, it turned out that neither of these museums allowed cameras. So I suddenly felt not so bad about leaving mine behind. The SFM was way better than I expected so I am glad I got talked into that one. They had movie and TV memorabilia as well as books. Everything from the expected Star Trek and Star Wars to ET and Lost in Space. They had suits, costumes and models from these actual shows, much of which had been donated from the Paul Allen family. You know, one of the original Microsoft founders. One of the things I enjoyed most was a time line that showed many of the main events from each year that likely had an effect on the type of science fiction that was being written at the time. Then it was off to the Experience Music Project. The EMP was good and the kids and Chantal thought it was great but I was not as impressed. I needed to spend more time there to get the most out of it as we ran out of time before we made our way all the way through. We wanted to catch the 3:00 ferry to Bainbridge Island. Why the strict schedule? We were heading over to see a friend of mine with whom I worked in the past. We caught the ferry with 30 seconds to spare. Isn’t it great when you don’t waste any time? After a short, but scenery-filled and relaxing, ferry ride where we not only took int the Seattle skyline but also caught views of Mount Baker and Mount Ranier, we met Mike at the terminal and he brought us back to his place. Both Mike and I have sons who are named Morgan. These two sons also happen to be coeval with each other so that certainly worked in our favour. We went for a walk down to the beach to hang out a bit and were treated to a view of the ferry coming in. Mike gave us a tour of his house which he is in the process of renovating all on his own. I have a huge amount of respect for someone who has the guts to attempt such a feat and the fortitude to follow through on it. It is looking good so far, Mike. It was also very nice to finally meet Mike’s wife, Sarah, and we were treated to a wonderful dinner. We discussed all sort of things over a bottle of wine and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I know the boys had a good time too as we didn’t really hear from them all evening. I did feel a little sorry for poor little Meagan who seemed to be left out of all the fun. Mike and Sarah got us back to the ferry just in time and were treated to a world-class view of the night-time Seattle skyline punctuated by a romantic sliver of a moon. I have many blurry photos to prove it! (FYI, it is not a good idea to try to take night photos on a floating vessel) And once in our car on our way home I managed to get myself thrown into the express lanes just in time to miss our exit. So I got A-P to fire up the GPS and amazingly it lead us through a tangle of residential streets to finally dump us onto the highway that we needed to be on. It is this kind of performance that generally re-establishes my faith in technology. Typically I find that technology tends not to work when you need it most however, tonight was a different story …. Yessssssss!

Today’s word:

coeval \koh-EE-vuhl\,

adjective: Of the same age; originating or existing during the same period of time -- usually followed by 'with'.
noun: One of the same age; a contemporary.