A Walk in the Park

Sandi and I have chosen to take walks together on a regular basis to allow us time to spend one on one time away from familiar distractions. Our life strategies are frequently discussed and laid out while walking in the park. Gene Coulon Park is located about a mile south of our home and is about a mile and a half long. The park width varies from less than a hundred feet wide to only a few hundred feet wide at the widest place. The west boundary is Lake Washington and the east side is a seldom used railroad. The south end has apartment buildings with a waterfront path to the Boeing Plant where airplanes are assembled. The north end of the walking path opens onto a driveway that allows owner access to a row of private waterfront houses. We sometimes walk down the driveway to get to the park. The photo below is a view of the walking path at the north end. In nice weather we share the path with other pedestrians. There are quite a few joggers but no bikes or dogs are allowed on the path.

If you go early in the day you only see a few others and often have the path to yourself.

Goal oriented people who walk only to get the miles in, may only see the path ahead. I usually carry my camera because there is so much to see each time we are there. I have hundreds of photos of people, events, playground activities, wildlife, blossoms, boats, etc. but for today I am focused on "The Path".

On fair weather days, if you wait until afternoon you will find lots of other park lovers to share space with. Picnic tables and sheltered picnic areas are in short supply. If you come down here on a rainy winter day you can choose whichever one you like.

The path has several interesting portions, so you don't just walk through trees and grass. After you pass under the tree arch you enter onto the longest bridge in the park.

We call it the zig-zag bridge for obvious reasons. It crosses over a little slough where the railroad and the waterfront are very close together.

Frequently we share the bridge with fishermen. Sometimes they appear to be by themselves and sometimes there are families fishing together. Many of the people who use this park seem to be immigrants or children of immigrants. I sometimes try to have a conversation with folks I meet, and find that many people in the park do not speak English. I believe I have overheard conversations in various Asian, Eastern European, Indian, and African languages. Lots of park goers speak Spanish or Canadian. (Is Canadian a language or an accent?)

The path is paved the entire way for baby strollers and wheel chairs.

If the park is wide enough there are places to choose which way you want to go.

More choices

One of the choices is to walk on a large horse shoe shaped floating bridge that creates a sheltered little bay. The ramped walkway gives clearance for small boats passage.

Inside the walkway are two floating pods with picnic tables. they are a favorite place of children and model boat sailors use them for launching and retrieving.

Fishing, boat moorage, picnics, strolling, and hanging out, occur on the floating walkway.

There are cafes in the park and many people arrive by boat for a snack.

The boat launch area has room for 4 at a time. Sometimes it is a long wait for your turn.

Another floating walkway surrounds the swimming area with a large playground at the end of the walk.

A small bridge takes you to an island. A gate on the bridge is closed to protect bird habitat during critical parts of the year. Boeing is at the end of the walkway.

The fence at Boeing is the half way point where we ceremonially kick the dog and turn around.

There is so much to see in this park. We go there because of the path, but we enjoy it because of the beauty and changing nature of the place.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Sara called a while back and asked me if I would like to go to a Mariners Game with Shawn and Caleb. I had been to a game before and found that Seattle has a beautiful stadium and every seat is a good seat. I like spending time with Shawn and what Grandpa wouldn't go to a ball game with his Grandson.
The roof was rolled back on a cool overcast day. The weather was perfect for comfort.

The photo below shows the Stadium from my vantage point when the radio reported that Edgar Martinez (Retired Mariner) threw the ceremonial first pitch for Latin American Baseball day.
It also shows the traffic jam that I endured for 45 minutes. It is a long story about the public bus system failure that ended up with me arriving at my seat at the beginng of the second inning.
When I arrived, the Twins were taking the field. The score was still 0-0
Caleb noticed lots of interesting and colorful stuff for sale.

Caleb got most of it into his mouth, and only a little on his shirt.

Ken Griffey Jr. had a good afternoon at designated hitter.

I don't think Caleb has had salted peanuts in the shell before.

Shawn was able to eat a few peanuts and still stay focused on the game.

Classic Ichiro stance. I think he got a hit every time at bat.

Seventh inning stretch time with Latin entertainment on the duggout roof.

The Hawkers kept Caleb's attention.

An impatient seagull just wanted everyone to go away so he could see what was left to eat.

Griffey got a hit in the ninth so Ichiro could score the winning run. (It was just like in the story book endings)

There were crowds of state fairgoers outside the stadium.

It was a long walk to the ferry terminal and a short time to get there before the hourly sailing. Shawn and Caleb had come to the game on the Bremerton - Seattle Ferry.

Those who chose not to walk probably made it on time.

People use all possible forms of transportation to get around.

It takes time to get your ticket. We saw the ferry pulling out about two minutes before we got to the ticket counter.

At least there is always a McDonalds nearby to provide comfort while you wait an hour for the next ferry.

There was another ferry loading but had a different destination. No help for just waiting it out. The ferry ride to Bremerton takes an hour and there are lots of interesting sights so it is worth the wait.

Signs of Winter?

Last February we moved in to a condo near Lake Washington. The top left corner apartment is "Home Sweet Home." This photo was made during colder weather as evidenced by the lack of leaves on the trees.

You can see the lake from our window which is considered a plus.

During the nice spring weather we are having lately, you can see a variety of boats cruising back and forth and every sunset is different than the previous one.

The view out the back door is also pleasant.

Occasionally wild life passes by the "out in back".

On this day there were three traveling together, with the mother attentively watching. We live 44 steps above ground level and she never looked up our way.

This one kept straying away and frequently looking back like he was testing to see what he could get away with. Actually with no yard work etc. this life is pretty idyllic. Well it was until.....

May 29th we came home after dark, after a warm walk in the park to find;

The next morning after sleeping all night with the window open we went out and found,

The ground is not supposed to turn white this time of year when the leaves are on the trees unless,

you live next to a large grove of cottonwoods that shed millions of white floaty seeds. This plague apparently will last for a while as evidenced by the large puffs of white stuff growing in the tops of a hundred cottonwoods growing right outside our window.