seattle pics

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Evening Magazine Seaplane Aloft

I was standing on a hillside at sunset when TV's King 5 Evening Magazine seaplane flew past. Seaplanes are a common everyday sight in Seattle skies, and throughout the Pacific Northwest's Puget Sound region and especially up in Alaska. I remember being quite amazed the first time I noticed these years ago. My college roommate's dad took us all to dinner at a Lake Union restaurant, and a seaplane landed on the lake at sunset, drove right up to the restaurant's dock, and a couple got out and came in the restaurant to eat. . . Pretty exotic stuff to me at the time. I thought this sighting of something commonplace here might seem similarly exotic to some outside the region. Evening Magazine is a long-running and popular local television program, and this plane is a prominent feature. ' "Maggie", our Kenmore Air Seaplane, allows us to expand our daily destinations to a 300 mile radius. Once a week [host] John Curley flies off to spectacular locations. . .'
Well, I don't know if that is John the host looking out the window with a hand shielding his eyes, but I was thrilled to be able to see someone looking back my way so clearly on a beautiful evening.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Twenty In Three Hours?

The "happy hour" at Twist bar on 2nd Ave. in Belltown is apparently 3 hours long. So, if you can get 20 Heineken beers for two dollars a piece during "happy hour," does that mean you have to drink them all within the 3 hours? ;^) Seattlites love their brews, but unless your whole posse is with you, I don't think this offer is one many can take advantage of.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Ballard Annexed to Seattle 100 Years Ago Today

And not everybody is happy about that! You can see bumper stickers and t-shirs that read "FREE BALLARD," or "Visualize Ballard." All in good fun, though. This bust of Leif Erikson sits in front of the Sons of Norway's Leif Erikson Hall in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle , Ballard was an independent city just over the northern border of Seattle until it was annexed to Seattle in 1907. Those that settled Ballard were primarily northern Europeans who made their livelihood from the fishing and boat building industries. One can still hear Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish spoken in the streets and in shops. The flags of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland all fly throughout the neighborhood, and the Nordic Heritage Museum is located there. Ballard has seen rapid gentrification of it's historic shopping district in the past few years. There are several music clubs and lots of restaurants and specialty bars that make it a very popular destination for nightlife. But most of Ballard is made up of quiet residential streets, parks, and schools. There are a couple of exotic dance places on the main avenue that cuts through the area and there are taverns and chili dives to counter balance the fine cuisine of it's famed seafood restaurants near the large marina at Shilshole Bay. The Chittendon Locks take boats from the Puget Sound to the level of Salmon Bay and Lake Union, linking the salt and fresh water bodies through the long ship canal that forms Ballard's southern border. Puget Sound is on the west and north, and Phinney Ridge forms the eastern edge of this neighborhood.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Bus Shelter Paintings

You may recall that Seattle's bus shelters are decorated by people in the neighborhoods in which they stand. Musical instruments and flowers in orange, yellow, red and green on a purple background adorn this First Hill bus shelter interior. I loved the vivid colors and the artistic yet folksy feel of the paintings in this shelter. For a view of the entire shelter, see my More Seattle Stuff page. This Memorial Day weekend, Seattle's popular Folklife Festival is taking place. Musicians, artists, caftspeople, entertainers, and food abound.

Today in the USA we observe Memorial Day in honor of those who have died in military service. Schools and businesses are closed, and this weekend is often thought of as the kickoff for the summer months.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Orca

A painted mural on the north face of a Western Ave. building of a killer whale leaping. Recently an orca had disappeared from the T pod and researchers were worried for her fate. Rightfully so, as her severed dorsal fin was found a couple days ago and she is presumed killed, probably by an unfortunate collision with a ship. When people are out in boats on the Puget Sound they know to keep a healthy distance when observing the pods, and that distance will now become a law, as I understand it. But even so the whales will approach boats and swim under and very near them, which is thrilling for the boaters, but probably not all that safe for them or the pod members.
I love the proportions of this building and all the giant ducts it has.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Lovely Setting on first Hill

The Gainsborough Condominiums (a 1930s 14 story apartment high rise) sits on a quiet tree lined street on First Hill. It is full of period charm. A large one bedroom recently sold for $305,000, and a two bedroom plus den with a custom remodeled kitchen went for $555,000.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Cafe Palma Seating

I liked the textures and patterns of the Sorento Hotel's Cafe Palma sidewalk seating. It seemed a very pleasant setting in the quiet First Hill neighborhood to relax over lunch or coffee and enjoy the warm sunny day. For a larger view of the cafe and of the hotel, see my More Seattle Stuff page.