Walking Seattle Again

After dropping friends off at the airport, my husband and I stopped for a short walk in the Madison Park neighborhood. We started by the water at the base of E Madison Street. Just south and west of the beach lies the commercial part of the street. We noted restaurants, pubs, a kitchen store, a jewelers, a bakery and a few other shops on this northeast end of Madison. Walking north along 43rd Avenue E, we passed a spa, the north beach (with quite a few dog walkers) and densely packed housing including condos on the water. At E McGilvra Street, we came to the Edgewater. These tidy, two story brick apartments are on the water and most likely predate the 520 floating bridge, visible nearby. We spied fire escapes on some of the upper windows. Just west of these apartments, we came to large Canterbury Shore Condo complex before turning south and ... ... walking along some lovely streets of single family homes. We noted a house being constructed, alleyways, ... ... impressive gardening and ....

Today's walk took me to the Pinehurst and Northgate neighborhoods. I started walking at NE 117th Street and Pinehurst Way NE and walked west and south covering streets between Pinehurst and I-5 from 117th to Northgate Way. The first thing I noticed was the absence of a cross walk at 117th which I thought was strange in a school zone. Then I spotted the bike lanes. As I walked north of Hazel Wolfe K-8 School , the sidewalks on 117th disappeared as soon as I crossed 12th Avenue but the bike route continued. The traffic  island on 117th even showed the bikes the direction they should take around the island.  Hazel Wolfe is in a new building; I think that Pinehurst Alternative School was  at this location 12 years ago.  There are still some lovely single family homes in this area of apartments, condos and senior housing. As I got closer to I-5, which meant I was getting closer to the new Light Rail Station, I started to notice  4-hour limit parking signs. Abutting I...

My husband joined me today for a walk in the Bryant neighborhood. This is a lovely area with tree-lined streets, sidewalks, curbs and alley ways. This mural was painted on a wall at the entrance to an alley off NE 55th Street. Walking down one of the alleys, we saw what looked to a garage turned into a two story house. We noted house remodels and replacements. Some fit into the neighborhood better than others. Some placed multiple really skinny homes on a single lot. Many of the homes were nicely landscaped. One plot was a Certified Wildlife Habitat. We spotted an overgrown vacant lot - it looked as if a house had been knocked down. We spotted two women sweeping their sidewalks; one was even sweeping the street. Bryant Elementary School takes up the entire block from 57th to 60th from 33rd to 34th. The speed limit on 33rd is 10 mph. That is the lowest I have seen. Across from the school on 33rd, sits the old Ravenna Methodist Protestant Church , aka Ravenna United Methodist Church (bu...

  We welcomed the rain today with a walk in Victory Heights. There are some lovely streets in this neighborhood north of Northgate Way. A few streets had a sidewalk on one side and a manicured edge on the other. These streets looked especially loved. They reminded me of the Street Edge Alternative Program  over on 2nd NW between 117th and 120th. This area is nicely treed and the lots are a good size. The streets were quiet until we approached Northgate Way. We only noticed one puddle but the leaves have started to fall and I have heard suggestions on the radio to keep the leaves away from storm drains. The rains have arrived. I saw one house under construction before heading toward Lake City Way. The closer I got to Lake City Way, the less tailored the streets appeared. Passing Bill Pierre Car Dealership, there were fewer cars than 12 years ago. Across Lake City Way, Uncle Ike's cannabis dispensary has replaced Kennelly Keys in the shop that was once Ryan's Fine Furniture. It ...

The smokey air was still unhealthy today so my husband and I took a short walk. I wore a masks, glasses and a hat. We started on the Burke Gilman Trail near Matthews Beach and found a path that took us to Sand Point Way NE. Crossing Sand Point Way, we zagged onto Mathews Avenue NE and were soon greeted by a sign that stated the speed limit was 15 mph. I have seen many "20 is Plenty" signs but this was the first 15 mph sign. Matthews Avenue is a very tidy street with well kept homes; some have attractive pavers in parking strips and/or driveways. I noted one house being remodeled along this arc-shaped street whose houses back on either Sand Point Way or the Burke Gilman Trail. Crossing back over Sand Point Way, we zagged to Matthews Place NE and walked  to a dead end street where we spotted lovely flowers and ... ... got a glimpse of Thornton Creek . Finishing the streets in this area, we crossed over Thornton Creek were it flows into Lake Washington. Some ducks were enjoying...