August 15 #30 Marsh and Foster Islands

The hottest day of the year, so far. I have a confession: we already tried to do this walk once, but ran into a bit of a challenge. It seems the level of Lake Washington varies a couple of feet over the course of the year. It is highest in June, when the run-off from the mountains is at the maximum, and it is lower in fall, just as the run-off runs out and before the rains really start in. Our previous attempt was in May. Much of the trail was pretty soaked from the Lake, so we bailed before getting off of Marsh Island. Today we are prepared with sandals and we have a big towel in the car. Well prepared, but it wasn't needed as the 8 inches or so that the Lake has fallen since our last attempt makes all the difference. It is pretty solid now, with no danger to shoes.

The walk starts near MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry). If you want to see this, get there soon, because the new 520 bridge will require its removal. It will probably resurface somewhere else, but its current venue is a pretty nice location, with several Seattle memorabilia (like a Ben Bridge Street Clock and a gun from an old battleship).

We followed the walk out to Marsh and Foster Islands, skirting along the edge of Lake Washington where it flows into the Montlake Cut:

The millfoil is severe. It's pretty bad in the calmer sections of water, but at least the flowers are pretty.

This is another instance of a locale that we really should have visited before this; we've been in Seattle how many years and this is our first (well, second, but a couple of months ago didn't really count) time enjoying these islands? It was a really nice stroll on the trail through the dense foliage. We crossed the second bridge from Marsh to Foster Island and made our way out to the point on the north side. Lots of people were enjoying kayaking, sailing, rowing, picnicing.

We continued on the walk passing under 520 and then going through some more marshland, finally making our way to the Arboretum's Visitor Center. (They were setting up for a wedding, but happily it hadn't started so we were able to enjoy several gulps of cold water.) We briefly visited the botanical garden before turning back West to enter the Arboretum proper, crossing over Lake Washington Boulevard:
We continued on, exited the Park, then walked several more blocks through the quiet Montlake neighborhood (except where it is near 520 or 23rd Avenue). A great walk on a hot day.

July 25 #29 Magnuson Park

Finally, some really good weather! Our next walk takes us to Northeast Seattle, to the former Air Base, Magnuson Park. We parked just outside the entrance to the park:

I never realized how popular this boat launch is! After heading due east on NE 65th Street for quite a while, we came upon a boat back-up. There must have been 20 trucks towing boats that the owners were anxiously waiting to put into the Lake. It must be serious fun for anyone to want to wait hours to get to it!

This walk circumnavigates the park. After walking east, we did a quick jog to the south and then followed the shore line mostly north. Just at the shoreline, we came upon a really interesting bit of Useful Art:
This “art” can be used to calibrate ones location equipment! You can sight through the holes you see in the various slabs. Each slab is separated from the next by a distance that increases by a factor of two for each slab. (Memories of Civil Engineering students being tortured at University.)

We continued along the shore and enjoyed the cool coming off the water. A very faint Mt. Rainier can be seen in the distance.

When we got a little separated from the shore, it was pretty warm. Lots of people enjoying picnics and barbecues. After making it all the north to the Dog Run, we headed inland. Interesting structures reflected this land’s former use as a Naval Base; lots of bomb-proof shelters where munitions and other equipment must have been stored. Lots of walkways to nowhere and ladders to the top of a very small shelter. One must use the imagination to remove overgrow trees to imagine what it was like 60 years ago.

Some more walking found us near the end of a fund-raiser (Cancer Awareness) and a friendly game of Football (not the American version).
Really nice facilities. Lots of children’s playground equipment, as well. We continued West to Sand Point Way and headed south back to the car. Along this part of the walk, we got a call from our daughter Sarah and had a very nice conversation planning what we would all do when she visited us next week. Good Times. Hot. Enjoyable Summer Day!

July 24 #18 Chittendon Locks to Discovery Park

An absolutely beautiful day! This summer has been atypical, with good weather on the weekends and lots of overcast during the week. We parked in Discovery Park (the end point of the walk) and walked across the locks to start the walk from the proper point. Getting to the start required us to pass along Commodore Way through the north Magnolia - it is a very nice section of Seattle; the yards and houses are well-kept, clean and pretty. We had a nice, short stroll to the beginning.

This is one of the top 5 destinations in Seattle on a nice day. This is where the river meets the sea. Boats go in and out, birds fly looking for fish, fish struggle to get up the ladder.

After getting in the gate, we visited the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens. Quite lovely, quite relaxing. Getting to the canal side of the gardens, we get a fine view of the locks.
We then moved down to the locks, proper. It’s fun to watch the boat crews get into the lock, tie up and prepare for the rising water (most were heading up to the lake today). It’s also fun to see the spillway and the waters heading to the sound. The salmon are jumping today, you can see a jump every half minute or so, and you can see swarms of salmon lining up to head into the ladder.
After a couple of minutes watching the activity, we moved along to the fish ladder to watch the salmon heading up to the lake. The number of salmon going through is about back to what it was when we first arrived in Seattle (1983). They really tapered off around 1990 or so, but they seem to have bounced back.

The ladder viewing room is very dark, so I wasn’t able to get any good pictures. However on top of that room there is a pretty cool sculpture:

After a couple more minutes enjoying the views of the fish, we headed back up Commodore Way to Discovery Park and the car. It was a most enjoyable walk.

July 11 #41 Seward Park

Today finds us in search of something a little different. We have been to Seward Park a few times, but have never circumnavigated the peninsula, so that is what we are doing today.

This is a nice walk around a unique setting on Lake Washington. This venue is quite remote from our house, so takes some effort to get to. The weather is decent, but not spectacular. There are lots of people here and lots of boats on the lake enjoying a lazy Sunday.

The walk is straight-forward; just a loop around the outer edge of the peninsula. One looks to the right to see water, and to the left to see foliage. I was surprised at the amount of poison oak here. At least it is well marked!

Our first picture is from the north point of the park, looking west into Seattle. You can just see where I-90 goes into the Mt. Baker tunnel at the right edge of the frame.


We continued around, coming on the area where there seem to be some fishing opportunities, not to mention a calm area for boat enthusiasts to laze in the sun.


On the left edge is where Seward Park connects to the mainland.

We finished off the walk by passing the headquarters building. A nice walk, even if there wasn’t a whole lot to talk about.

July 5 #15 Magnolia

Seattle continues to be doomed to an unusually cool summer. Despite the weather, this walk got off to a good start with lunch at Serendipity, a rather family-friendly eatery on West McGraw. Yum.

I have to be honest; I’ve never been really keen on Magnolia. It’s a long way from anywhere else, rather isolated. It reminds me of growing up in the ‘burbs. That said, it is a pretty neighborhood. The Magnolia “downtown” (called the Village) has some interesting shops, including the Magnolia Bookstore. Some good restaurants, too, including Szmania’s, as well as the bistro where we just ate.

Being satisfied, food-wise, we ventured forth on the walk. It was a lazy Sunday, especially so being the day after Independence Day. We headed SW, then NW through a residential area. The houses are large, well-kept and the gardens are, mostly, enviable. My wife and I had a nice talk along the way and were not distracted by the scenary until we turned the corner onto Magnolia Boulevard West. Ah, this is why people live here!

This is the view of Elliott Bay from the south-facing bluffs of Magnolia:

We continued on, completely enjoying the uninterrupted views. (There wasn’t much traffic, either, which made it quite pleasant.) The story goes that the earliest non-indigenous visitors mistook the madrone trees for magnolias, so this area got mis-named. There is a section of Seattle called Madrona, over on the east side of the city, overlooking Lake Washington. Perhaps it’s a good thing that this area was named Magnolia, because two neighborhoods both named Madrona would have been very confusing.

We continued on, curving with Magnolia Blvd and turning into Magnolia Park (the upper portion).


There were a couple of people out playing with their dog, and one or two other small groups, but it was not at all crowded. We turned around, heading back to the north, past the tennis courts (where no one was playing), and were very soon back to the Village. We enjoyed the walk because of the quiet and the outstanding views. A great way to pass a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.

June 6 #7 First Avenue

We live on First Avenue North. This walk is through the section of our street south of us. First Avenue covers about 30 blocks in the Downtown area, the at Denny Way, turns into First Avenue North. (We live about 25 blocks north of Denny.)

After spending an hour in the Market, then heading outside, we became aware that the weather was not really that good. It was warm, but rather gray and dismal.

There are some fairly expansive views of Elliott Bay at the intersections of this walk.

As we proceeded on our walk, we discovered that one of our favorite restaurants, The Flying Fish, has closed its First Avenue location! Whew - they just moved to Westlake Avenue North. We do not generally walk in this area, we mostly just drive through on our way to someplace else, so it was good to see all of the shops and restaurants here. Still, it is not an especially interesting area, architecture-wise. We walked up First, turned left onto Bell, and continued across the bridge over Alaskan Way. The walk called for us to enjoy the view from the Bell Street Pier observation deck. Alas, when a cruise ship is docked at this pier the dock is closed - security. We were nonetheless able to enjoy the view south along Alaskan Way.

These were a good pair of walks to do together; most enjoyable despite the overcast.

June 6 #6 Pike Place Market

(Ach, I'm over 3 months behind! We've been walking, I've just taken the summer off WRT posting about it.)

Today the goal is the second most iconic location in Seattle, the Pike Place Market.

This walk starts on Pike This walk starts on Pike and First Avenue, but we parked on Alaskan Way and walked to the Pike Place Hill Climb (the end of the walk) so that we could lunch at El Puerco Lloron. Yum; the best Mexican food in Seattle. With full stomachs, we headed up the Climb to pay homage to the Pig:

Though well attended, the market was, happily, not too crowded. This really is great fun. We stopped in at Sur La Table, shopped for vegetables, bought cheese at Beecher's, and watched the fishmongers toss salmon. We hit all the usual favorites, but having just eaten, we avoided both the Chocolate Shop and Le Panier.

The flower stalls were unusually pretty today.

We also walked around Victor Steinbrueck Park and enjoyed the views of the Sound and West Seattle. We completed a fairly leisurely tour of ther market, then proceeded immediately to another walk ...

May 15 #22 Phinney Ridge

Another lovely weekend in Seattle. Today we visit the area just north of Woodland Park, Phinney Ridge. What a happy coincidence; there is an Art Walk event in progress today! We started near the Red Mill around NW 67th and Phinney Ave. N. We got a late start, 1:00 PM so we’re thinking lunch, but we can wait – we’re barbecuing tonight and perhaps there is some cuisine a bit farther away.

Phinney Ridge is the least photogenic neighborhood we have encountered so far. On the other hand, it has the funkiest shops, even more than Fremont. Three separate independent book sellers, two game stores, lots of restaurants. This neighborhood is interesting!

We were particularly interested in the restuarants; we checked out each, but the thought of going inside on such a spectacular day just turned us off. We did cruise through some of the shops and we checked out the abundant art. But generally, we just enjoyed the gentle walk up to NW 87th and back. No murals, like West Seattle. No great views. The most visually interesting aspect was the names of the shops. New’s Noodles, Olive You (sadly a victim of the arsonist last fall, but soon to reopen), The Chocolate Shoebox, Pillager’s Pub, Tasty, Slum City Hot Dogs.





We didn’t find a solution to our lunch plans and ended up back at the Red Mill. The stars aligned to make the line short, so we ordered up some burgers, fries and drinks. We took the short drive to Green Lake to enjoy our lunch alfresco.Phinney Ridge is a nice neighborhood, but this walk was not that special.

May 8 #24 Green Lake

A spectacular spring day, so what would be better than a walk around Green Lake? A walk around Green Lake after a Sounders win over the Galaxy! Alas, the Galaxy has it going on and brought their A game while our Sounders are not quite there. Ach, I’ve got to just let it go! So it is out to another Seattle neighborhood for one of the longer walks in the City Walks deck.

We parked near Spuds and then worked our way to the start on the eastern side of the lake. After several more blocks we entered the path around the lake.



Green Lake was really hopping! It’s been quite a while since we’ve taken this walk. It is later in the day than we usually walk it. Two observations: many more boats in the lake, fewer bicycles on the path.
Green Lake is an urban oasis. This has got to be one of the top 5 or 10 walks in the deck. Walking near water is so calming, especially on such a lovely day.We enjoyed the first third of the circuit of the lake, arriving at the Bathhouse Theatre. We’ve seen a couple of really fun plays here over the years, including an excellent production of one of my favorites, The Fantasticks, about 20 years ago.



This is the area we usually start our walks, since the nearby parking lot is so convenient for us coming from Queen Anne. It was interesting to pass through this area in the middle of the walk instead of having it the start or end point. We carried along a few hundred more meters and came upon a site we have not seen here before.



Yes, in the middle of Seattle, Turtles! And not just one or two! Happily for the turtles, the logs they were sunning themselves on were a good 20 feet from the shore; there were a lot of hungry-looking dogs that seemed anxious to get to those logs, but not so anxious that they were willing to get wet.

We carried along past the southern extremity, the Boathouse.



Amy wanted me to share that this was here favorite walk when she was pregnant. There is a bathroom every ½ mile or so. We continued past the pitch and putt and uneventfully finished the loop near the Community Center. A fine walk for a fine spring day.

April 24 #11 Gasworks Park

This is an only-in-Seattle kind of park. Many moons ago, to satisfy our energy needs, the City Fathers had Gas Works constructed in a conveniently central location. Sadly, that central location was on the shores of a lake that was part of the northern border of the Downtown area. Science being what it was when the Gas Works were constructed, there are all kinds of noxious chemicals in the ground in this area. Don’t even think of passing by those chain-link fences separating the usable areas of the park from the forbidden – It Is For Your Own Good! Still, a lot of the park is usable and we have spent several enjoyable days here (especially the one when we were able to listen to Eliot's Funk Band.)

It’s surgery plus 22 days. I’ve stopped using the cane, but I still must be careful. Walking is not as easy as it was 2 months ago! (I hope I remember this in the months ahead, it will make life much more enjoyable!) We again wanted to stick close to home. We originally thought about Green Lake, but I didn’t feel up to it. Green Lake will have to wait for stronger knees.

The Gasworks Park area is on the northern shore of Lake Union, which is just north of downtown. Lake Union sites between I-5 and Capitol Hill on the east, and Queen Anne on the west. It’s a natural border. On a good day, we could walk to this walk, but my knee being in the condition it is in, we drove to N. 35th and Densmore Ave. N. (The walk starts and ends a little up the hill from the park.) Our first sight was Essential Baking. We’ve lived in Seattle for 25 years and not been in this place, though we have enjoyed its bread at various venues.

We continued along the walk to Densmore, turning right to go down to the park, but stopping first to enjoy some urban art:

We continued down the hill, encountering the Pool (not sure that’s its actual title, but it is halfway down the stairs in the last block of Wallingford). This is a really cool joint venture of local elementary students and older artists. Check it out!



A short hop, skip and jump across the Burke-Gilman trail and into the Park proper. We wandered up the hill. It was quite a blustery day, so about 2 dozen people were atop Kite Hill flying their various works of art. There were even a couple of fellows flying remote-controlled gliders. I don’t know how they kept them from turning tail and flying away to the north. But back to Kite Hill, when you get to the top, make sure to check out the Sundial (where You are the vertical piece whose shadow shows what time it is).

Great views of the city from atop Kite Hill:



And finally we were able to see some eponymous structures:



It was absolutely wonderful to walk through this park with so many people enjoying the experience. One more picture – make sure that when you take this walk, you check out the various shorelines. All are covered by houseboats.



We left the park, recrossing the Burke Gilman, back up the stairs and across N. 34th Street. Another enjoyable Seattle walk.

April 18 #11 Seattle Center

I'm on the road to recovery, but I still can’t do a lot on my legs. We decided to keep it close to home by combining a visit to the Intiman Theatre with the Seattle Center walk. This walk could easily take 10 hours if you took all of the opportunities at the interesting places along the way. We decided to just walk, so it only took a breezy hour.

First stop is the Space Needle. We have seen this often in past walks, but this is an up-close and personal view. Amy likes to remind folks that it is more of a Space Pin than a Needle. (Get it?) The line was a little long, so we skipped the trip to the top. My recommendation to all visitors is that this is on the top 3 list.

Next up was the EMP/Science Fiction Museum:



This is also a good place to while away some time. Make sure you wait outside so you can catch sight of the Monorail going through the building. (The black horizontal bar in the left half of the above picture is the rail.)

Passing by EMP, we got our first look at the liberated Fun Forest space. The Kiddie Forest is still operating, but the Log Flume, Pirate Ship and other rides for larger folk are now all gone. The area between EMP and the Center House is now ready for something else, and passing by it or through it is a much more pleasant experience without the noises. There is talk of erecting a Museum of Glass on this space. I hope they find some use for this space more open and more conducive to community.

A short distance past the Center House brought us to the International Fountain. This is my second favorite spot on the whole grounds (after the top of the Pin). When the weather is nice, there are kids (of all ages) playing in the basin. Music is coordinated with the varying jets of water. It’s a great spot to enjoy a lunch or even just a few minutes doing nothing.



Next we went past McCaw Hall (the Opera House), a short block on Mercer, then back between Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Intiman Theatre. If you find yourself in this stretch, make sure to check out the “wrong-way” fountain, in which instead of the water swirling clockwise as it goes down the drain, it goes counter-clockwise. This fountain is on the Intiman side of the alley, about 1/3 of the way from Mercer to the Fountain Grass. It was then back to the main grounds, past Key Arena and up to the Charlotte Martin Theatre (home of Seattle Children’s Theatre). The architect of this building was a fellow named Garth. Check out the Garth-goyles (I am not making this up).



A right turn at the Center House (home of the Children’s Museum), past the Mural Amphitheatre, and a left turn at the Pacific Science Center. What with the EMP, The Children’s Museum, the Science Center, not to mention at least 4 Fine Arts venues, yes, one really can spend hours and hours here.



This walk was a fun way to spend the hour. The Center Grounds are quite photogenic. This was a lot more fun than the play we saw after the walk. (Odets’ Paradise Lost – but yes, I’m still glad we saw it.)

April 4 #13 Queen Anne: The Counterbalance

It has been a while since we have been able to take a walk. Seems my left knee decided to fail me by getting a good tear in its meniscus. I either got the tear, or aggravated it, at a work morale event (bowling!) on March 17th. Two days ago I had surgery (an outpatient arthroscopy that we can all thank the NFL for funding the development of). I’ve been semi-loopy with being confined to the horizontal and could not wait to get outside, so we decided to take the closest walk to our house, The Counterbalance. I dispute the title of this walk as I think of the counterbalance is the stretch of Queen Anne from Roy up to Galer. This walk actually starts at the top. But that's OK, because the counterbalance is a chore to walk up and in my diminished capacity, I would not have been able to do it.

It was a fine April day; we got out early enough to catch some sun, though it was by no means warm. This walk is one that we take at least once almost every weekend. We are usually attending to business at one of the shops on the Ave or eating at one of the many fine local eateries. On this outing, the walk gave us time to consider our neighborhood.

We have lived in this area for 27 years and have seen many changes, but none have been as drastic as the last year or so. We had time to think and talk about it as my pace was very slow (leaning heavily on my new cane, purchased at the Bartell’s in the middle of the walk). We started in the middle of the walk, as we live on the “other” end of it. Just a quick hobble down and back, but I certainly enjoyed getting out. However, I did get pretty tired about half way through; it was weird to be telling Amy that we were going too fast.

Taking this walk made us think about QA Ave in the context of other Seattle neighborhoods. I’ll stack the shops and restaurants against any in the city, but I must admit that it isn’t the most scenic of walks. The previous “Crown” walk is much more scenic and memorable. There are, however, many good restaurants that we regularly patronize, including Flow, Sorrentino, Chinoise, Five Spot, Betty, and, Foody’s rejoice, How to Cook a Wolf. The good shops include Communique (great for stationary and sundry gifts), Blue Highway Games and Queen Anne Avenue Books. As the City Walk card says, this last is a must-visit for book lovers.



One thing I noticed was the effect of the recession. There used to be a Countrywide Finance office. It was taken over by Bank of America and once the paint dried on the new signs, it was closed. Communique Toys closed down a couple of years ago, as did Hilltop Knitting and Yarn. The corner at Boston and QA used to have 3 different coffee places, but Tully’s and Pete’s both closed recently. Teacup has moved from its smaller shop in the middle of the street to the Tully’s corner, but the Pete’s remains closed. Last summer the Blockbuster closed down. My wife would want me to mention that its closure is not strictly related to the recession, but more a sign of the times with people getting their media through the cable and internet rather than a brick and mortar store. Finally, at the end of the block is a totally Seattle change; instead of the venerable WaMu, there is a Chase!

But though the recession has affected the local restaurants, most seem to be weathering the storm and staying open. Eat Local, a shop to pick up gourmet frozen and/or prepared dinners made from local ingredients, is still open. And, happy day, Chocolopolis seems to be going strong. If you want a fun time with 6-8 friends or family members, you should look into doing a tasting there. We have done so twice and enjoyed ourselves very much.

One more plug: The Five Spot remains a special place in our hearts. Our son played on the Little League team they sponsored and often wore this cute cap. We have had some wonderful dinners there. There are two aspects to the menu, with standards that are always available and a regional American cuisine that varies every 3 or 4 months. It is always hopping on the weekend for brunch, so if you want to experience that, bring some friends for conversation or maybe something to read.

That’s a little more than I had planned on saying. The walk wasn’t particularly special or memorable, but our neighborhood is.

Mar. 14 #43 Georgetown

This weekend’s sojourn is to the area of Seattle just north of Boeing Field (AKA King County International Airport). The reason we chose this one is a little involved – our friend Betty told us of seeing a Big Red Hat from the airplane when she last landed at SeaTac. This triggered a faint memory of the Hat and Boots buildings that used to house a Texaco Gas Station in the area. Recently, the buildings were moved to Seattle Park property. A quick Internet Search (both Bing and Google) showed us information about the buildings, but nothing recent showing a Red Hat. One article mentioned that the boots had been renovated but the hat would be finished in Fall of ’09. The web is great, whenever it is current! Anyway, our interest was piqued so we decided to use this week’s walk to check out the situation.

We got a late start due to the Springing Forward. We also found out fairly quickly that Sunday is NOT a good day to do Georgetown. This may be an up and coming Bohemian Industrial area, but it definitely does not do Sunday; most of the non-Coffeehouses were closed. (And most of the bars/eateries opened mid afternoon.)

We started out on Airport Way and S. Lucile. The shops were interesting, but unattainable; we’ll have to come back here some Saturday. After about a third of the walk, we stepped into Calamity Jane’s. I was glad that the sun was up, because this place might be a little intimidating at night; signs boasted the power of women and warned that one should not be anxious to mess with them. Seriously, though, we stopped in and had a great, full breakfast. Amy had the Corn Cakes and I had the Calamity Plate – loaded with meat (some of which I happily shared with Amy). Calamity Jane’s is right across the street from the original Rainier Brewery, which is now Lofts, Artist Spaces, and so on.



After breakfast, we enjoyed the rest of the walk, taking in the many funky shops. This walk was interesting, but Georgetown has a lot more to offer than what is on this short bit. At the end of the official walk, we headed up Bailey, turning left onto Corson to Oxbow Park. Here, we met up with the renovated Hat (and Boots).



Thanks Betty!

In this neighborhood, we also passed by several beautifully decorated houses, including The Castle.



Georgetown does have something good going on. All in all, though, this was the first City Walk that was more or less ho-hum. I don’t recommend it for casual Seattle visitors unless you have some connection to the area or specific special interest. If you do go, I suggest you pick up a Georgetown Public Art & Culture Walking Tour Map of the area so that you can check out the larger area. It was a positive experience for us because we have never really explored this area; we did enjoy it.

Hey, we are finally caught up! We're almost reporting in real time! Thanks for your patience; subsequent posts will be more aligned with the reported post date!

Mar. 6, #49 Bainbridge Island - Winslow

When we planned the weekend, we heard that only Sunday would be nice, but early Saturday morning showed it to be such a beautiful day, we decided not to wait. This was a good choice as Saturday was a spectacular day! (And Sunday, not so much.)

We didn’t get an early start, but got out of the house before noon. We parked south of the Ferry Terminal on Alaskan Way and walked the ½ mile or so. About 5 minutes before we got to the terminal, we noticed a ferry leaving. Ah well, we’re not late, we’re early for the next one! To kill a little time we walked up to First Avenue and up the street to the Harbor Steps. Strange – no artwork was on display. The fountains were in fine shape, very pretty. We walked back to the terminal and sat and rested until the Winslow Ferry was ready for boarding (about 30 minutes).

The ride was, as usual, relaxing. I don’t know what it is about getting onto a Washington State Ferry that makes time slow down and the world so serene. Thirty-five minutes later we were pulling into Winslow and ready to debark.



The day was cool, but the sun was shining brightly. Winslow is a pretty little town. We have been through here before many times, but together have never spent any time wandering around (Amy came over here with co-workers many months ago).



It being after 1:00, our first order of business was lunch. We checked out the Streamliner Diner, but settled on Café Nola. There was a little wait, but it was worth it. I had the Crab Melt, Amy had a Hamburger. Both were excellent. There were several other options for lunch; we’ll have to come back.

After lunch, we set out again to follow the City Walk. We took a quick loop through Waterfront Park where we witnessed an unfortunate occurrence. While we walked up Bjune Drive, an elderly lady came out the back parking lot entrance to the Town & Country Market. She placed her cane on a metal grate and it slipped; she toppled over. Another couple was closer to her and they were calling 911 by the time we got there. The lady complained that her hip hurt, but then said it felt better and wanted to try to get up. We tried to comfort her as much as possible, but kept her on the ground until the Ambulance and Fire Engine came. Once the EMTs were on the job, we weren’t needed, so got out of the way. We saw from afar that they took her away in the ambulance. She was 89 years old and living by herself. She had gone the Store to get some things for her daughter who was very ill. I thought of my Mother, who isn’t quite so old, but does live by herself.

We got back to our walk, proceeding to and along the water’s edge and then back up Madison Avenue. Along the water, we enjoyed the rock sculptures.



We stopped in at a Fudge Shop, bought some truffles, taffy and chocolate-covered raisins. Continuing, we passed BICycle (Bainbridge Island Cycle – clever, no?) We checked out a neat Toy/Game store. Besides having a above-average wares, it had a great sign near some demo items out front: “Children left unattended in this area better have a very large allowance.”

We also checked out the Eagle Harbor Book Store. This is a most excellent independent book seller and I encourage anyone who finds her- or himself wandering around Winslow (say you have some time to kill before the next ferry), check it out!

About this time, we were running out of energy, so we just headed back to the Ferry for the return trip to Seattle. A ferry coming into Seattle on a sunny day has the best views of downtown Seattle. We walked a total of 5.5 miles while spending 4 hours walking, waiting and eating. A most enjoyable trip. I'm really happy we are doing taking this opportunity to get really close to all these wonderful Seattle neighborhoods/areas.

Feb. 28, #13 Crown of Queen Anne

Sunday turned out to be better than Saturday, so we decided to get out again and maybe catch up a little on our walks. The one we decided to do was the second closest walk to our house - the Crown of Queen Anne. The walk is actually an abbreviated version of the Crown, which Amy runs every weekend day (and I do, too, on the 3 or 4 nice days of the year that we get outside the summer). We didn't expect to see much new on this one, but that didn't matter, as the views from this walk are among the most wonderful in the city. We don't have a lot to say about this walk - we just have pictures.

From 7th Avenue West, looking west over Interbay:



From Betty Bowen Viewpoint toward Elliott Bay and West Seattle:



Mt. Rainier and Downtown from Kerry Park:



Oh, and Happy Birthday, Eliot (tomorrow)!