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12/17/23 - Christmas Trip to Seattle

We took a quick trip into Seattle for a bit of urban life. The ferries were their usual mess. We found out that one of the Bainbridge ferries was out only at the toll booth. We made it into town a bit late but with plenty of time to explore. We scooted up to Volunteer Park to see the Christmas display and back to our hotel in time for check in. There had been a convention going on last time, but this time the lobby was much quieter.

We did some shopping down at Pikes Place Market loading up on holiday cheeses at Delaurenti and admiring the fish and vegetables at Sosio's and Pure Food Fish respectively. There was a beautiful sunset over the sound. We had dinner at Nishino for the first time in a few years and were pleased to see that the food was as good as ever. We even had our usual corner table and really enjoyed our omakase dinner.


Mount Rainier as seen from the ferry

At the Volunteer Park Conservatory

Winter flowers

Is someone hungry?

A bit of Christmas color

Orchids

The Christmas village

The Christmas tree

More Christmas color

And some more

And yet more, with nutcrackers

The view from our room

A Christmas tree downtown

Seattle sunset

Sosio's

The Market

The market again

Downtown Seattle, under the monorail

A bit of city life

Across from Nishino

Nishino

A night view

And more night

Keywords: christmas, seattle


11/16/23 - Fog on the Hood Canal Bridge

We've crossed the Hood Canal Bridge on our way to Seattle many times now, but this time the fog was thick. Cars and trucks seemed to appear out of nowhere.



Keywords: seattle


10/31/23 - Seattle Morning

The next morning, we were up early. We had a great view of the morning sunrise and Mount Rainier.

Mount Rainier

Seattle view

Not quite full daylight

Three antennae

Bluer sky

Cranes: it must be Seattle.

Still early light

View from a window

Another view

Framed view

Mount Rainier aain

Almost day light

Day light

Keywords: mount rainier, seattle


10/29/23 - Seattle Evening

We made a quick overnight trip into Seattle. Our hotel room had a great view, and there is definitely something about city lights at night.

View from our room

Another view

Evening in the city

Guess where we ate.

More city night

Quiet streets at this hour

Buses still running

More night in the city

More lights

Another street

So much to see

From our room after dark

City view at night - It has to be Seattle. Note the construction crane.

Keywords: seattle


04/20/23 - Seattle Downtown

Seattle is much quieter than we remember it. Granted, we were wandering about early in the day, but downtown is no longer as bustling. Perhaps it was the cold, dank weather and a spring that has been all too slow in coming. Perhaps it was COVID and people working from home. Perhaps it isn't cruise season yet.

We checked out Pike Place Market which was still quiet. We bought some ramps and frisee. Ramps are a type of wild onion and special spring treat. There are signs of spring, out in the country and in town.


A Seattle street

Light traffic and careless framing

Another quiet street

Pike Place Market, still setting up

Sosio's is on the left.

The market, still calm

Sosio's always has a great display.

Another view

Pure Food Fish

Early morning

Another quiet corridor, but this was is almost always quiet.

The Public Market sign

Westlake Center

Keywords: seattle, spring, weather


04/19/23 - Seattle View

On our last trip into Seattle, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency for the first time. It's a relatively new hotel near the convention center. It met our basic requirements of cold, dark and quiet. The HVAC worked properly. The room was quiet. It was dark at night. Our room was well layed out and very comfortable. It also had an amazing view of Seattle, Lake Union and the Cascade Mountains.

Bustling Seattle, still building

Towards dusk

Even darker

Much darker; Note the three cranes in this view.

Full night

The next morning

The Cascades

Early light

Eerie light

Seattle has lots of antenna triplets.

Later in the morning

Daylight

Another look

Keywords: seattle


04/04/23 - Signs of Spring - Cherry Blossoms at UW

This has been a long, cold, rough winter, so we've been seeking out signs of spring. We checked the UW web site and saw that the cherry blossoms were at peak bloom. There was no way we could resist. We drove into Seattle and explored the Quad. It was full of cherry blossoms and people marveling at them. We had thought that selfie sticks had gone out of style, but the Quad was full of them. Even better, it was full of dark gnarly trees with clouds of pale pink flowers.

It seems like spring is finally coming even as a cold wind still blows now and then. It was worth driving into town for a taste of the still incoming season. We're in less of a hurry now, but we're still seeking out signs of spring.




















Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring


11/14/22 - Autumn at the Arboretum

We had an errand to run in Seattle. We left lots of extra time, but we lucked out with no Hood Canal Bridge closing, ferries running on time with lots of free spaces and minimal traffic, so we stopped and explored the Seattle Arboretum. They have a great winter garden, but we were a bit early for that. The witch hazels were still in waiting, but there was a lot of great fall color.

Fall color

More color

Even more color

The have a great collection of trees.

An unusual color

More trees as one would expect in an arboretum

The path

Autumn color - thank you, thesaurus

And more

And yet more

And even more

There was quite a show.

A mix of colors

Another great tree

Some of the first wItch hazel to bloom

Keywords: seattle, winter


07/29/22 - Hazy Day Flight From Seattle

It was a hot hazy day. It seems like it is a hot hazy day every time we head into Seattle. This time we flew, and we took some pictures of the Olympic Mountains on our way back. Yes, they are hazy.









Keywords: flying, seattle


03/29/22 - Cherry Blossoms at the University of Washington

We try to see the cherry blossoms at the University of Washington every year. We missed a year because of COVID, and we almost missed this year because of the ferry staffing shortage. Usually, the ferries run frequently with waits less than an hour, but, this year, they are often and unpredictably running on half scheduling meaning that the time between ferries is nearly two hours.

We watched the schedule and the webcams carefully, and then we made our plans. We arrived early for the Kingston to Edmonds ferry and made our way to UW. The cherry blossoms were beautiful. There was the usual crowd of tourists, couples, friends and families taking in the scene. We made our circuit pausing to admire this view and that tree in the brilliant sunlight.

We had timed our ferries well, but we hadn't timed the weather. By the time we had finished our circuit the skies had darkened and a light rain had started. The crowds vanished leaving us and few other die hards. Raincoats are wonderful things. We wandered around some more. The trees and their flowers were as wonderful as ever.

Then, we headed off. We made a quick stop at Din Tai Fung at U Village to grab a load of dumplings and scooted down to the Bainbridge ferry which was running on full schedule. We made the first boat and ate our dumplings on the crossing. Our lightning trip had worked out perfectly. In this part of the world, one can't afford to let rain be a spoiler.


Our wake on the way over

The cherry blossoms

More cherry flowers

Another view of the cherry trees

A cloud of cherry - thesaurus, please - blooms

A view down the aisle

No caption needed here

It is sort of magical under the trees

More magic

Even more magic

Dark twisted old branches

Graying skies

See, the blossoms are still beautiful.

The quad starts to empty.

Looking upward

Looking across

Even emptier

A raindrop, captured on camera

The wet quad

Keywords: flowers, seattle, weather


02/16/22 - Flight to Seattle

We had to take a quick flight into Seattle, so we took some pictures of our flight. We flew with Rite Brothers. They offer scenic flights with great views of the Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains and distant volcanoes. We just flew a charter into Boeing Field, but we got the scenery anyway.

Mountains and clouds

Mount Baker

The Olympic Mountains

Mount Rainier

One of the great mountains

More mountains and clouds

Our local mountains again

Hood Canal

Seattle

Flowers in bloom in Seattle

Seattle again

Keywords: flying, seattle, mount rainier


02/19/20 - Seattle Winter

We took a short trip into Seattle for the SIFF Noir City Film Festival. We took our usual trip up to Ballard Locks where the water was running at full force. The fish ladder was closed for repairs as was one of the locks, but the winter and early spring flowers were already in bloom. As a bonus, there was a tree full of nesting herons. We've never seen them there before, but this time there were at least six and possibly more.

Seattle in the evening

Daphnes in bloom

Early crocuses

Water at full flow

A more distant view

Herons in the tree

More herons and their nests

Herons and nests from a distance

Frothing water

An empty lock

The view downstream

Edgeworthia chrysantha with a wonderful scent

Berries

Evening in Seattle

Another evening view

Post Alley at night

Pike Place Market at night

Another market view

Seattle streets

Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring, winter

Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring, winter


12/25/19 - Back Home Summary - Thanksgiving and Christmas

We went to New York City for a wedding in October, then to Ethiopia in November, but we still had Thanksgiving and Christmas and a trip to Seattle. This is in case you are wondering what we've been up to.

We returned from Ethiopia on Sunday, so we had four full days to Thanksgiving. We were doing Thanksgiving for about a dozen people, so we had to work quickly. Luckily, the turkey we had ordered arrived on time on Tuesday, so the rest of the time was spent shopping, cooking and recovering from jet lag. We had roast turkey, stuffing, kale salad, fennel salad, turnips with vanilla, delicata squash with oysters, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts hash, parmesan potatoes and cranberry chutney. Dessert was pumpkin pie, pecan pie, pecan brittle (just pecan pie filling) and our own dried apples with butter, sugar, and spices. It was a big success.

We chose a tree over the weekend and went into Seattle do some shopping for our Christmas party and to see the lights and sights. As usual, we checked out the gingerbread cookie sculptures on display at the Sheraton and Pike Place Market.

Our trees arrived the day after, and our party was that weekend. We set to with the lights, electric and candle, and started cooking. We soon had both trees under control and a cassoulet in the oven. We lit the candles on the cookie tree, and everyone tried to remember the words to O Christmas Tree. To our credit, no one tried to look them up online while the candles were lit.

We were home. We were out on the street when Santa came by on his illuminated firetruck, and we were all set for the big day.


Thanksgiving

Seattle sunset - Look, no viaduct!

Gingerbread village

Gingerbread city

Pike Place market

Another view of the market

Near the market

Back home in the grove

Our tree as yet unadorned, no Hanukah candles either

Illuminated

Ready to illuminate

Party night

Godzilla, his nuclear fires lit, admires the party spread

The pièce de résistance

Something to wash it down

Candles lit

All lit up

Santa is coming

The Christmas firetruck

Keywords: port angeles, seattle, christmas, thanksgiving


10/16/19 - A Rare Sighting

In Seattle, they use any excuse to close the sidewalks, sometimes even for years. It seems impossible to even sweep a sidewalk without closing it down and putting up fencing and jersey barriers to block pedestrians. In New York City, this is a rarity. Builders are expected to maintain sidewalk access by erecting what is legally known as a sidewalk shed but is just a wood and steel construct that keeps the sidewalk open and keeps things falling from the construction site from landing on passersby. Since these usually have a broad open face which can be leased to advertisers, builders will set up their "shed" as soon as they can often keep it up for years after construction is complete. The sidewalk, however, is rarely closed, but, here, in front of the Farley Post Office Building across from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden - which is nowhere near Madison Square - the sidewalk was closed. It was a little touch of Seattle thousands of miles from home.

A touch of Seattle

Keywords: new york city, seattle


10/07/19 - The Ballard Locks and Lake Union

We checked out the fish channel at the Ballard Locks, but there were no salmon to be seen. We explored the locks and gardens a bit, then we made our way to Stoneburner for dinner. The fennel sausage pizza was wonderful, and we really enjoyed the pasta dishes. The hit was, as usual, the charcuterie and cheese plate. The we walked back via the Fremont Bridge and along the South Lake Union waterfront.

The Ballard Locks

The big lock - There is also a smaller lock that is used more often.

Another view with a dramatic sky

Ballard in the evening

More Ballard

Waterfront

Toward Fremont

From the Fremont Bridge

Across South Lake Union

Keywords: salmon, seattle


09/09/19 - Foster Island and the Arboretum

We were in Seattle for a short trip and took a walk from the UW light rail station to the Japanese Garden. We headed south across The Cut and took a hard left then headed down the steps towards the water. We followed the trail through scrub forest and along causeways to Foster Island and then south, under the highway, to the Arboretum. Usually, we give up around here, but this time we continued south and made our way to the Japanese Garden. The trees were still green, so we'll be back later in the fall for some proper leaf viewing.

Down the steps

Into the woods

There were still some water lilies in bloom.

More of the trail

Following the trail

They could do a great Halloween Haunted Trail here.

More trail

The Arboretum

Some flowers still in bloom

Keywords: seattle


08/10/19 - Sunset in Seattle

Some friends of ours were celebrating their anniversary on the top floor of one of the Insignia Towers. These two 40+ floor towers had been holes in the ground quite recently, but now they were full of homes, offices and amenities. One of the amenities was a roof top dog walk. Another was the party room where we celebrated our friends' anniversary. Yet another was a roof top lounge where we took these pictures of the setting sun.

An iconic Seattle scene

South Lake Union

The Olympic Mountains

The harbor

South a bit to downtown - You can tell it is Seattle because of the crane visible near the left edge.

Keywords: seattle


08/08/19 - Seattle Walks

We were in Seattle recently, and we did what we always like doing when we are in a big city, we walked and walked. One day we walked back from Ballard to Fremont to South Lake Union. This isn't the most photogenic walk, but we did get a close up of a heron perhaps six feet from us on the footpath. The other day, we walked along Alki Beach in West Seattle and soaked up the beach town ambience with big city views. We saw another heron, and we saw a wild tomato plant of all things.

Aurora Bridge

Fremont Bridge too

That heron, unperturbed

Seattle still has a working harbor close to downtown.

Alki Beach

That beach town ambience

More ambience

A bit further east

A wild tomato plant

Another heron

A view of Seattle

Keywords: seattle


06/30/19 - Day Trip to Seattle

We took a quick day trip to Seattle and made it home before dark. Granted, it stays light until ten o'clock this time of year. The Seattle waterfront has really changed. The viaduct is almost gone except for the piece that goes over the Marion Street walkway. Presumably, that section's days are numbered, and there will be all kinds of confusion while the ramp is closed for the demolition.

One last piece of the viaduct

The waterfront is almost unrecognizable.

That last piece of the viaduct

Construction at the ferry terminal

West Seattle

The Seattle skyline - It has been changing too.

Mount Rainier

Keywords: seattle, mount rainier


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