Walking Seattle Again

  A chore took me to Capitol Hill today so I decided to walk in the Stevens neighborhood and wound up crossing over into the Montlake neighborhood, walking through Interlaken Park. Starting out on 18th Avenue E just north of E Aloha Street, I passed Stevens Elementary School and admired the cultural celebration the students had created ... ... along a mosaic walkway.  The focus of the school is leadership in a multicultural society. Each grade studies a different culture. Six seats were created to reflect the six cultures studied. North and east of the school, I came to Interlaken Drive which took me through the park. The drive is not the safest place to walk since there is no sidewalk. I was passed by more cyclists than drivers and did meet quite a few runners. I passed Seattle Hebrew Academy and spotted trails in the ravine northeast of the windy drive. Not far from the intersection of Interlaken Drive E and E Interlaken Boulevard, I observed a memorial erected by the Washington Wome

  Today's walk was mostly inside Woodland Park. A friend and I met at the Bathhouse and walked the Green Lake path until we crossed into Woodland Park. We crossed this bridge over Aurora and went as far as the Rose Gardens. The views from the bridges over Aurora were impressive; this one looks north. Looking south, we could see the Space Needle. We noted some colorful graffiti before crossing back over to picnic areas and then ... ... back to the path around Green Lake where ... ... my friend spotted a blue heron. We wondered why Green Lake was so deserted today but did see people wearing scarves and jackets. Maybe the rain earlier in the day kept people away. My neighborhood maps place this walk in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood.

  Today's walk was another one of those geographically confusing ones. At the intersection of NE Ravenna Blvd and Ravenna Ave NE, ... ... I was rewarded with a view of Mount Rainier before coming to Ravenna Place NE. All these streets were in the University District neighborhood but, once I crossed 25th Avenue NE and entered University Village, I was in the Ravenna neighborhood. Lots of new apartments have gone up along Union Bay Place just east of University Village. I spotted this mural across the street from General Porpoise Doughnuts (stopped in to admire the yummy looking but pricy doughnuts). Walking through University Village, I noted this 1970 Fiat 500 decorating the entrance to Piatti Restaurant. There are many new merchants in the Village but some of the older ones remain. Near the northwest corner of the Village, I took this lush walkway out to 25th Avenue ... ... where I spotted lots of new apartment houses. Near the bus stop across from the Silver Cloud Hotel on 25th a

  No new streets walked in the last few days but that doesn't mean I didn't walk. A stroll to Matthews Beach revealed that the beach is closed to swimming ... ... because of fecal contamination due to the geese. The lifeguards told us they would be moving to Magnuson until the water quality improved at Matthews. Magnuson wasn't assigned any lifeguards this summer. I also noted a majestic Monkey Tail tree that has survived the trimming it got to avoid overhead wires. A picnic lunch beside the Ship Canal was lovely. A ukulele song circle was fun as was a trip to the Henry Museum at the UW to see the Sarah Cain exhibit.

  Today's walk took me to the Pinehurst and Victory Hills neighborhoods with a few blocks of Olympic Heights added in. Busy 125th Street, commercial 15th Avenue and mixed use Pinehurst Way are surrounded by changing areas. Housing like this ... ... and this ... ... sit next to houses like this.  This street next to the Safeway parking lot now has cement blocks were campers vans had recently been parked. There was ample parking today at ... ... Pinehurst Playfield . I was surprised at the tidy street-edge along 12th Avenue until I realized how close I was to ... ... the new Hazel Wolf K-8 Pinehurst School . There was even a sidewalk with a curb along 12th one block north of the school. Along 15th, Atrium Square houses restaurants and services, while across 15th, a Thai restaurant has a flower filled entry with outdoor seating. 15th is also home to a cute coffee shop, Safeway, and ... ... Holy Trinity Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Seattle. I had passed a few Eritrean and Ethio