To the Lighthouse

(Or my adventure to the Discovery Park West Pt. Lighthouse)

After checking out the Ballard Locks, I headed up to Discover Park. And by up, I mean I walked straight up a giant hill to get to the parking lot that is at the base of the park. Once I got to the parking lot and took a moment to catch my breath, I walked toward the nearest direction marker to decide where to go. While the beaches and bluffs sounded fun, I thought the most interesting place to visit would be the "Historic Area." After climbing up another hill to get to this historic area, I ran into a housing area that I thought might be off limits. I proceeded back down the hill to check the signpost again. Sure enough it pointed me back up the hill, so I went that way again assuming that the area was not in fact off limits. When I'd gotten about 50 yards further than before, a really big dog on a flimsy looking leash started barking at me. I decided that however interesting this historic area might have been, I wasn't going to brave the dog to see it.

Instead I turned back down the hill and onto another trail. From a maker a little further along the trail, I saw a sign for the beach and "Lighthouse." The lighthouse sounded interesting, so I decided to head down that way. And when I say down, I mean down a hill the size of the one I had just walked up. Now, you might ask why I didn't just stay at the bottom and go straight to the lighthouse. Unfortunately, this was not an option. So down the hill I went knowing that I would regret it when I had to climb back up. If you are wondering what the deal with these pictures is, you have to understand that the most interesting scenery was these trees. Plus in this picture, you can kind of see the hill I was climbing down.

Once I made it to the bottom, I was at the beach. Not the real beach, but the beach that's up against the Puget Sound, so I think that is about as good as I get. The beach was pretty nice, the view to the left is what I saw when I looked West over the water. I won't post the pictures of what it looked like to the North (somehow during my walk down, rain clouds had followed about a mile behind, but where I was going, it was clear and bright).

The lighthouse was not far from the bottom of the trail. I had kind of expected something bigger. Exactly what, I'm not sure. But I think it was supposed to be bigger. This lighthouse is no longer operational, but it's really neat that they've kept it up. I really liked this picture because it looks a little like one of the old houses you would see on a puzzle (if you don't look close enough to see the chain link fence).

Once I saw the lighthouse, I wandered around on the beach and tried to take pictures of the sail boats. I think I need a camera with better zoom to get them, but I did an okay job. You can kind of see him out there in the middle. Notice the gloomy skies overhead. That is what I had to look forward to seeing on my walk home. Needless to say, I stuck around and took a LOT of pictures, only some of which I can post here because I'm running out of narrative.

The view of the water from the beach was amazing, and I can't wait to go back when the weather is nicer. It's not exactly an area where you can sunbathe, but it would be nice to enjoy it without grey skies right behind you.

Once I finished up down at the beach, I had to head back up the hill. I still had a good view for a little while, and then back into the trees. At least the view of the water made the climb back up the hill worthwhile. I thought for a while I wasn't going to make it back to the parking lot, but then I saw a guy on a bike struggling up the hill and decided that if he could do it on wheels that looked like they wanted to slide backward, I could do it on foot.

When I made it back to the parking lot, I realized that I still had to walk a mile back home. Thankfully, the weather had turned around and the grey clouds were now at my back (where I had just come from) and the skies over my neighborhood were as blue and clear as they could be.

Needless to say, when I finally made it home I was wiped out, but I did enjoy the walk and the neat view from the beach. I may try to go back again with a map and try to find this historic area, though I'm guessing it's not much to speak of since it was so hard to find.

While Virginia Woolf's novel by the same title was more entertaining I'm sure, I hope you enjoyed all of my picture from my trip To the Lighthouse. And, I made it there before the third book, so I figure I'm one up on her characters. Also, please don't ask about the picture of the seagulls. I like them, and they were walking around like they owned the place, so I took a picture and decided it needed to be included here.

Ballard Locks

The goal for this weekend was to go to Discovery Park in Magnolia. The quickest way to get there on foot is to go over the Ballard Locks, which are about a mile from my apartment. Since I had never been to the locks either, I figured this was as good of a time as any to check them out. Once again, the weather was great, and I couldn't wish for more sun.

The gardens around the locks were really neat, and I'm sure really pretty in the spring and summer when everything is in bloom. The locks themselves were pretty interesting as well. I didn't get to see any big ships go through, but I did see some little sailboats pass.

All in all, the sight was fairly interesting. I wish I had more to say about the locks, but I think they are pretty self-explanatory. I really just wanted an excuse to post my pictures.

Gasworks Park

Gasworks Park was another area in Seattle where I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. So what, it used to be the home of the gas company and now it's a park. In fact, isn't that kind of disgusting? This used to be basically a power plant! But everyone kept talking about it, and saying how neat it was. Mom even sent me an article from her AARP magazine that mentioned it.

Since Gasworks is only about a mile away from Fremont, we decided to head that way after seeing all of the sights that Fremont had to offer. I'd have to say, Gasworks was BEAUTIFUL. It's funny how structures such as tanks and pipes can become works of art (if you will) after they have outlived their useful life.

The first thing we came upon was a play barn for kids that was put together out of old parts from the original setup. This thing was massive. It was full of gears and pipes and all sorts of other giant pieces of metal. And everything was painted some sort of bright color. The strangest thing was that as we walked into the play barn, it looked like a modeling photo shoot was taking place in there. I suppose there's nothing sexier than a 15 foot gear...

Past the play barn was a bunch of green, grassy open space with occasional structures from the original gasworks company here and there. Just a little further south was Lake Union. What we didn't know about Gasworks before we went is that the park looks south across the water with the most amazing view of Seattle skyline. We watched for a while and got to see boats and even some kayackers float on by. It amazed me how much different this view of downtown was from the view I see every day while taking the bus to work.

After poking around Gasworks for a while, it was time to head back to Fremont (truth is, we were hungry, and had discovered that there was a McMenamin's in Fremont). Once again, we couldn't have picked a better day to explore a new park. And as an added benefit, since it was still the middle of winter, the park wasn't over crowded, though you could see people throwing a frisbee or studying out in the sun.

Fremont

I've lived in Seattle for about six months now, and people keep telling me that I have to go and visit Fremont. I didn't see what all the fuss was about, really. So what, they have some odd statues and stuff. Well, we went this weekend and it was AWESOME. First off, it was the nicest day we've seen since maybe last summer. Second Fremont is a really cool neighborhood.

I decided that since Fremont isn't too far from my house that I would walk to meet the girls there. My not so far walk was probably closer to two miles, but the sun was shining what what did I care. Anyway, once in Fremont, the first thing we had to find was the signpost (how else would we know where we were going?). The best thing about the signpost is that it gives clear directions to the center of the universe - straight down.

From the signpost, we were able to locate the Fremont Rocket. Yes, that's right, a rocket. It was apparently a piece of space surplus/scrap or something of that sort. Anyway, the thing is attached to a building at one of the street corners. The rumor is, that this is the rocket that brought the original inhabitants of Fremont here from outer-space. Makes sense with all of the quirky shops and art around. When this rocket was first brought to Fremont, it was painted purple. It has since been cleaned up, which I thought was a bit of a bummer. All the same, it's a rocket attached to a building.

From the rocket, we headed north to a "larger than life" statue of Lenin. Not the Beatles star, the Communist dictator. And they were not kidding when they described the statue as larger than life. It is huge. The story goes, this statue was being sold for scrap in a former soviet country after the USSR fell apart. Because the value of the metal was so much greater than the price it was being sold for, a man bought it in hopes of selling it for the metal. Unfortunately, shortly after getting the statue back to the states, the man died leaving his family with this giant statue of Lenin. The family in turn donated the statue to the city of Fremont. A little odd, once again, but the statue is just so big it's hard to believe it ever would have been scrapped.

After seeing Lenin, we went off in search of the Troll (the real reason we'd come to Fremont in the first place). He wasn't hard to find, as the signpost pointed us in the right direction. When we got there it looked like some film students were setting up for a project so we had to take pictures fast. The students were kind of milling around him though, so they were in all of my shots (just in case you were wondering who the boys were). The Troll wasn't nearly what I had expected - I kept picturing the illustrated trolls from children's stories like the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Instead what we saw was a much rougher, and a little bit scarier version (note the one eye...). He was still a unique and fun sight - notice the VW bug he is crushing?

From the Troll, we headed toward the water to try to find the statue of folks waiting for the Inter-Urban - the old transit system in Seattle. On our way there, we ran into a museum, outside of which was a really interesting collection of stuff from a fire engine to some gears (yes, of course mom, I took a picture of the gears). Even the gate around the museum was a work of art. Because we had headed out so early, the museum was not open when we went by. (Who, knowing me, would have thought that I would have been out and about before the museum opened?)

Since we couldn't go into the museum, we continued on our way to find the Inter-Urban statue. It was a pretty interesting sculpture too. What better than a group of statues to keep you company while you wait for the bus? Apparently people in the neighborhood dress the statues up for special occasions (Husky games and whatnot). There is even a website with rules on how the statues can be decorated.

After the Inter-urban, we wandered down to Gasworks Park (see next blog) and then back to Fremont for lunch. For all of you McMenamin's fans out there, lunch was at McMenamin's (yes, they are in Seattle too).

After lunch there was one more site in Fremont to see - Jurassic Park. That's right. Dinosaurs right in the middle of Seattle - well topiary ones at least. When I read that there were topiary dinosaurs, I expected them to be fairly small and carved out of bushes. What we found instead were ivies that had grown around a wire cage. There was one big dinosaur and another much smaller one. Unfortunately we went exploring in the middle of winter, so the big dinosaur was not much to see, but the small dinosaur on the other hand was fully grown in. Another unique piece of art for a unique neighborhood.

We really could not have picked a nicer day to go exploring in Fremont. First the we went on the first nice day in months, and second, Fremont is situated right along the canal so we got to see beautiful blue water, sun, and lots and lots of green.

Visiting Seattle

I realize that I actually live in Seattle now, but I've never actually visited the city. Today I went out to do all of the tourist things that I never did before moving up here. First we went to the Market. I'd been through it before, and couldn't see what all the fuss was about. Apparently it's because I took a wrong turn somewhere and only saw the backs of buildings. Today we saw the guys throw fish at the entrance to the market, checked out all of cool vendors and their wares, and got coffee at the first Starbucks. We also went down to Pioneer Square and went on the Underground Tour.

The guys throwing the fish really startled me. They just start yelling and then throw the fish to each other. Ginny told me they wouldn't throw them at the people standing and watching, but then they launched one at an onlooker. Turns out the fish was stuffed, and the guy they threw it at got to yell and throw it back at them.

I was amazed at all of the interesting items that vendors were selling in the Market. There was food, flowers, figurines made out of volcanic ash, matted art, and other crafts. We didn't buy anything, but I know where I'm going to get everyone's birthday and Christmas gifts this year! I was really impressed by how many booths were open, and how many unique items were on display.

Seeing the original Starbucks was really exciting. We spend so much time at work focusing on how the business is now, that we lose track of where the business started. Amazingly enough, the store was fairly empty so we were able to see all of the Pike's Place merchandise and check out the store. We walked by a little bit later and the store was packed. It looked like the line was coming out the door.

The underground tour was pretty interesting. The tour guide was full of trivia about the city around the turn of the city. Unfortunately we were one the family friendly tour, and they had to clean up some parts. It looks like they have another tour that tells a little more about the dark side of the early underground. I think the girls at work are planning on going on it when it opens up again.

All in all, my adventure in Seattle was a lot of fun. I can't wait to explore more of the city!

It's Official!

I am now officially a Washington resident. After much arm twisting, and lots of stalling on my part, I finally got a Washington driver's license and license plates. It only took me four hours at the DOL (here apparently they do not have a DMV and you have to go to two separate agencies to get your license and plates). It was really sad taking the Oregon plates off and having them punch a hole in my Oregon driver's license. I guess there'll be no more getting out of paying sales tax now. Anyway, it's official now. I'm here for the time being, and had better get used to it. Enjoy the pictures of the conversion. *Notice the subtle plug for good ol' Oregon in the license plate cover...