Seattle

This blog remains in hibernation (see previous post), but I thought it would be a good place to let a few longtime followers know about an upcoming adventure.

These photos are from last week's three day ride from Portland to Seattle.

In two weeks, I will fly back to Brunswick, Maine, and then I plan to ride my bike back to Seattle.  The idea is that I will be back across the Cascades by mid-October and bad weather. I suppose this will be a little different than the normal road trip - much longer, with more time for introspection and less opportunity for side trips.

I won't be posting here, but I will be documenting the trip on both Instagram and Tumblr, which are both much easier when on the road with nothing but a smart phone.

Instagram is for sharing photos and brief notes. It offers very little structure, but it's easy for me to post and it facilitates interaction for those who want it. By the way, I love knowing people are watching, but I tend not to acknowledge or reciprocate very well.
Instagram (Hugh@gravelbeach)

Tumblr. Hopefully, I can produce an interesting record of the trip. There will probably be too much information for some folks; too little for others. And I have no idea whether I can maintain any consistency over the course of the trip. But the focus will be primarily on daily updates (as best I can) and photos.
BikeTrip2019: Backroads and Bikepaths

I may or may not continue to stay active on the other Tumblr blogs (see links in sidebar). The main focus for almost two months will be on safely completing the bike trip and while I want to document it and to share it, I don't want those tasks to diminish the experience.

Seattle

Observant followers of this blog may have noted that the last post was back in November and it's now almost February. It's not that there haven't been things to post. Rather, the author (also editor, proofreader, publisher, and photographer) has been struggling with some existential questions (about the blog's existence, not the author's) and has sort of decided, by indecision and inaction, to put it on hold for a while, until he can figure out whether it has a future.

Meanwhile, I'm posting pictures on my Tumblr blogs, which is much easier and focuses more on the photos than on the rambling backstory.

Places on the Path (Just that)
Views from the Path (Visual trivia without context)
Strandline (Beaches and shorelines)
Emerald City Coffee (Sort of obvious)

And, of course, I will continue to add to my beach collection over on Gravel Beach.

The 971 posts on this blog will still be here for those looking for ideas for places to visit. Maybe if I'm bored, I'll add some sort of map. And maybe some more posts. I don't know.

Woodland Park Zoo

It was a significant birthday and worth taking the day off. I lingered over coffee, multiple times, puttered around the house, and then spent the afternoon wandering around the zoo.

Some of the more charismatic fauna (grizzlies, tigers) were hiding, but many were not, and I wasn't counting. I still find it neat to know that such a range of critters live within less than a mile of our house (but also happy that they aren't allowed to range too freely).

Seattle Center

From 2000 until 2011, the strange building (Frank Gehry) below the Space Needle housed the Experience Music Project. But then EMP became MoPOP (The Museum of POP Culture), which I guess reflected the fact that its theme was broader than just music.

But EMP or MoPOP, we had never gone. Maybe we were locals too cheap to buy tickets to a major Seattle tourist attraction. Or just middle-aged folks out of touch or unengaged with either music or anything related to popular culture.

But last week, we joined a large crowd inspired by a viral Facebook promotion that offered free admission. We had to pay extra to see the Marvel exhibit, but Pearl Jam and Frodo's sword came with the deal.

Dad wasn't too pleased when I came home one day with comic books bought with my allowance (apparently financial independence had to wait a couple of years until middle school and a paper route). Maybe I never would have gotten interested in comic books anyway (I guess I watched TV versions of some of them). I was middle-aged when Marvel got rediscovered by the modern movie business and I just wasn't really paying attention. A couple of years ago, I began watching Jessica Jones on Netflix, but most of what I know about Marvel characters I learn from overheard conversations among 20-something baristas

I doubt I'm going to go out and start buying comic books, but I think I need to go back and pick up another season of Jessica Jones on Netflix and maybe watch Black Panther.

Alaskan Way

Seattle's waterfront lies on top of what was once a gravelly beach at the bottom of a steep, forested bluff. It doesn't look much like that today, but it still offers amazing views west over Elliott Bay.

The shoreline was developed for very practical uses. Loading and unloading ships and transferring cargo - to wagons, to trains, and to trucks. Before Alaskan Way, there were several rail lines paralleling the shore on trestles over the beach, but these were later filled in, the seawall was constructed, and the current version of the road took shape. Highway 99 and it's gray, double-decked viaduct came later, not because it served the waterfront, but because it was a convenient path for a highway through the city.

Decades later, the waterfront has evolved, as has our collective vision of what an urban shoreline should look like. The viaduct is still a quick way through town, and I'm not the only one who has enjoyed wonderful views of sunsets over the Olympics while stuck in northbound dinner-hour traffic, but it's ugly, it's noisy, and it cuts off the city from it's spectacular waterfront.

And then, in 1989, came the pictures of the Cypress Street Viaduct in Oakland after the Loma Prieta earthquake and we learned that the same thing might happen here. Since then, we've seen other cities tear down waterfront freeways and create beautiful, vibrant public spaces. It takes money. And engineering. And a few mistakes. But by early next year it will be gone. Traffic will flow in a new tunnel underground and over the next few years, Alaskan Way will be transformed into something really special.

Green Lake

Early Monday morning (Labor Day), I swung by Green Lake on my way to the coffee shop. It's nice to be so close - I should come down more often.

I just did a quick search of the blog for Green Lake and three posts come up. From January 2014, January 2017, and January 2018. You'd think I never came down here in warmer weather.

Lake Washington

Every few Sundays in the summer, Seattle shuts down Lake Washington Boulevard to cars between Mount Baker Park and Seward Park and promotes walking and biking. We hadn't done this in decades, probably since D was very young, and this was something we could both do together.

I've been riding a lot this past year, mainly long rides on my not-quite-so-new Surly, and much of it stuff M would have little interest in attempting.  It was fun to get out for a more relaxing ride on a beautiful day, with company.

Bainbridge Island

M and I had both been to Bainbridge in the last two weeks for separate events, so maybe that's what prompted the idea of going over together. Like tourists.

We took the bus downtown and joined what seemed like thousands of foot passengers on the Bainbridge Ferry (so much for original ideas and less crowded destinations). But Winslow (do they still call it that?) handled the crowds well. We had lunch at Fork and Spoon, then waited in line (with what seemed to be thousands we had seen on the boat earlier) at Mora for ice cream.

We took the ferry back to Seattle and hopped on LINK to Capital Hill and Cal Anderson Park, where we watched the Seattle Cascades play Portland (Ultimate). We grabbed dinner at Dick's, but didn't stay for the Capital Hill Block Party.

Seattle

I signed up for my first group bike ride a month or two ago, motivated by the idea of riding on some normally forbidden stretches of highway (though very familiar ones). The 12-mile Emerald City Ride began near the stadiums, climbed to the viaduct and took 99 north through the Battery Street Tunnel and all the way across the Aurora Bridge. Then it cut across the north end of Lake Union past Gasworks, before heading back up the hill to join the I-5 Express Lanes for the trip back downtown.

Did I mention that it was was cool, wet, and very gray. But that despite the weather and the early Sunday morning hour, 6000 people turned out in in a wide variety of fluorescent colors.

They probably can't repeat this ride next year - since the viaduct should be gone by then. It sure better be.

Seattle Paramount

M found a friend willing to call while we were working and they were able to find us tickets for the last day of the show. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Not that I hadn't heard the hype, but I was still trying to wrap my head around the popularity of a historical piece using hip hop and a largely African American cast to represent some pretty archetypal old white guys. It was great!

We were in the back row of the main level, but could see pretty well and could actually understand most of the dialog. The musical genre actually made this easier and I we both preferred it to more traditional musicals.

Seattle

Some nice weekends in March (yes, it's now mid-April) got me out on the bike (as opposed to inside on the bike, of which there's been quite a bit this winter). These photos include two rides a week apart - one to Carkeek and Ballard, the other to Discovery Park.

So far, the bike thing has stuck. My accident last fall cut out a month of good fall riding and left me a little squeamish about riding in the real world, where bad pavement and automobiles have consequences, but I think I've gotten beyond that. The scariest thing now is the clipless pedals I've been using since January, but so far I've usually remembered to unclip before stopping.

A bulk of my miles since the New Year have been on an pretty neat high-tech indoor setup. Maybe at some point, I'll post some pictures of my rides in Watopia!