SEATTLE:
SPACE NEEDLE: Here we will have brunch, sort of a late breakfast/early lunch that is very popular on the weekends here. We will also have time to take beauty shots of the city from the top of the "needle". It was built for the 1962 Worlds Fair held in Seattle.
SUSAN BLAKE: She went to Mercer Island High School and graduated in 1960, with Obama's mother, a young Stanley Ann Dunham. She will be able to recall what it was like knowing her. Soon after graduation, Stanley Ann returned to Hawaii where she had a baby, Barack Obama. That next year, Stanley Ann returned to Seattle and me again with Susan Blake, who will recall "changing a young Obama's" diapers! I spoke to her and she has some vivid memories We will try and do the interview in an outside area if the weather is good. The Mercer Island High School has been rebuilt many times since 1960, and nothing of the original building exists. This weekend, September 10, 2010, is Susan's 50th anniversary of her graduation. She will also try and get another classmate of Stanley Ann, a guy, Chip Wall, who she will invite to join us.
SEATTLE-SURABAYA SISTER CITY LUNCH: We will meet with some of the S-S Sister City group at the Indo Café in north Seattle. They can explain what they do to foster goodwill between the two cities. One of them, Greg Dwidjaya, is also a Boeing engineer, who we will meet the next day while at Boeing.
SCENIC SHOOTING: Seattle is a port city and surrounded by water. Lake Washington on the east and the Puget Sound on the west. The city is a long, skinny piece of hilly land in the middle. If we are lucky, and the weather is clear, we might get to see the snowy top of Mount Rainer, about 160 kms away. It is about 3,500 meters high and is covered in snow all year. Because it creates its own weather, it is often clouded over. We will visit some of the more popular places that make Seattle the special place that it is. For example, the Pike Place Market, where the original Starbucks Coffee store is located. Beside Microsoft and Boeing, Seattle is also the home of Starbucks and Nordstrom's Department store. Please check out the Websites list for more information about Seattle.
MICROSOFT: Not originally part of our program, but Microsoft Asia "invited" the GTers to visit their campus in Redmond, Washington, a Seattle suburb. We will spend the morning there looking at some of their plans for the homes of the future! Some Indo engineers may join us for lunch there. We will have a chance to visit the Microsoft Store before leaving for Boeing.
BOEING: Since we were starting our trip in Seattle, I wanted to find some other things to do, to make it worthwhile being there. I arranged for a visit to the Everett, Washington assembly plant, just north of Seattle. Here we will see 737's, 747's and 777's being built. We might get a glimpse of the new 787's, but since it is still not released, don't think we will see much of it. They can talk about it. Ironically, Greg Dwidjaya, from the Seattle-Surabaya Sister City Committee, is a Boeing engineer and will join us along with some other Indonesian working at Boeign.
INDONESIAN GOLDEN TICKET/RCTI PROJECT: NARRATIVE
WASHINGTON, DC.
NEWSEUM: A very unique museum in Washington, only a few years old. It is designed to celebrate our First Amendment rights and will be interesting as there are very many "hands on" exhibits and a real history of journalism and freedom of the press in the US featured. They have some permanent exhibits, like part of the transmitting tower that was on top of the World Trade Center in NY, as well as some seasonal exhibits. Very visual, and very entertaining.
VOA INDONESIAN SERVICE: This visit was requested by one of the GTers, Baban, I think. We will go to the studios of VOA and talk to some folks involved in the Indonesian Service. Not sure who will be around that day who you might know. The broadcaster requested by Dimas or Baban, will not be there that day, but others will be.
