A tile marker in  the sidewalk let me know I was in an older part of the city. This marker reads 28th Ave N but it's not in the Northend. It's in the Central area, close to 27th Avenue E and E Madison Street in the Madison Valley area of the Stevens region of Capitol Hill.

I started walking north on 29th Ave E and spotted this entry into the Arboretum.

Walking west on Helen Street, I spotted this lovely garden before turning north onto the dead-end on 26th ...

... where I spotted another entry into the Arboretum.

Some of the gardens had a rustic look ...

... and some of the sidewalks were quite shady. This was great because the streets were so hilly that I got a real workout climbing up and down between 23rd Avenue E and E Madison Street.

This staircase provides a shortcut from Madison to 25th Avenue ...

... and this staircase helps compensate for the difference in elevation between the two sides of 25th.

E Harrison Street doesn't really exist between 24th and 26th.

Newer homes are built tall and mostly boxy with lots of windows to take advantage of the views.

This sign on 23rd advertised a summer picnic in Volunteer Park.

There are still shops and restaurants along Madison but quite a few have changed hands and the dry cleaners is closed. This 4 mile walk felt longer because of the hills. I spotted four Little Free Libraries. They contained Wired magazine, children's books, novels, and books on dieting and psychology.