Photos - Misc.

Some photos!

As in, here:

This is our new patio furniture.  B's attacking one of the chairs in the background.

Not sure what this boat was up to.  It seemed faintly animal-like, spraying out its water like that.  Photo is from our deck on Dexter looking out on Lake Union.

Great photo of Seattle from our peddle boat (the "Aphasia").  What you don't see are the sea planes landing one after the other, to our right.  It's really quite something to be out on the lake.  Kenmore Air operates the planes, which take off and land on the open water of Lake Union all day and half into the evening.  Strangely, for Seattle, there aren't any obvious rules we all have to follow as boaters.  You just rent the boat and hope the planes don't land on you.  I kept telling B that I think the sea plan pilots have all the responsibility to keep from landing on folks.  Makes sense, right?  So we peddle around and the planes drop out of the sky, all yellow and turbo-propped, onto the lake maybe a hundred yards away.  You can smell the fuel and it's great to watch them rev up and take off, heading out to the San Juans or on tours around the Emerald.  Here's one:

We're literally sitting on this little boat in the lake, watching it land next to us.

Photo from a row boat (not the Aphasia), peeking between two houseboats on the East side of Lake Union.    

Sail boats on the lake.

Another great shot of the Emerald from Lake Union.  We're on the Aphasia here.  The Space Needle isn't visible but is to the right.  In the evening, Seattle takes on a blue-green hue.  It kind of glows.  This photo was taken a little too early in the eve, but you can catch the faintest hint of it already. It's very beautiful, actually.  I imagine some modern day Fitzgerald enthralled with the Emerald, and bringing it to life in prose.  You know, how it's an enchanted, glowing city jutting up from the Pacific, full of longing for recycling.  Nostalgia for grunge.  Et cetera.

B.  CWB.

B-Rage on Lake Union

Here's B-Rageous:

We're in a Peddle Boat rented from The Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union.  The Peddle Boat is called "Aphasia", which means slow, I think.  Not sure.  At any rate peddling around Lake Union with the B is a bona fide blast.  In a mere forty minutes we traversed maybe a quarter mile of open water, to snap some photos of the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat on the west side of the lake:

On the way back to the CWB B had a mild anxiety attack, fearing we didn't make it back in the allotted time of one hour.  We made it, though, with time to spare.  The girl that hooked us up with the Aphasia was a bit curt, but otherwise it was a grand outing.  Wednesday, early eve, in the Emerald.

Rome, Italy (Vol. II)

The Roman Forum.  This is a panoramic view of it all: ancient buildings, statues, and columns still standing for centuries.  

More Roman Forum.  

Rome, Italy (Vol. I)

On the train to Rome.  The trains clip along the Italian countryside at 250 km/hr, or about 170 mph.  They're very comfortable and quite fun to ride.  Italy is beautiful and reminiscent of rural parts of America.

Colosseum.  You get a feel for how large it is looking at the ant-like tourists, gawking and baking in the Roman sun (A scorcher that day.  Of course we live in Seattle, sooo).  Anyway the Colosseum is really quite a site.

The interior of the Colosseum.  It's creepy actually, when you realize that the compartments were used to store prisoners and wild animals.  They fed the lions human flesh so they would give the crowd a show when released on prisoners in the arena.  It was built in ten years, from 70 - 80 AD.

Julius Caesar was executed at this site (really).

Bernini's Elefantino statue, near the Pantheon.  The tour book told us to visit it.  It illustrates the absurdity of life, apparently.  I sort of get this after trying to find it...

Spanish Steps.

Trevi Fountain.

  

Florence, Italy

Me and the B in Florence.  Jet lag.  Sun.  B.  I'm gonna park these photos here and figure out how to tell the story they tell later.  So:

The Arno River running through downtown Florence.  Very beautiful.  Some noxious weed spiked my allergies whenever we approached it; otherwise it was beautiful man.  Beautiful.

B looks great for flying in from Amsterdam earlier and New York before that...

Celebrating beheadings in the Western World for millennia...

More Arno.

Shot of the square.  This is near the river.  Notable here is that cars also drive on the square.  Basically, there are no rules.  Somehow everyone gets where they're trying to go.  You get really good at not puffing your chest out and sort of easing your way along in Europe.  Everyone does it, and it works!  Following B gets tricky sometimes though.  She starts off on a direction full of confidence and ten minutes later we're staring at a map.  GPS saves all.

The Duomo in Florence.  This photo doesn't really do it justice.  We're planning on taking the full tour when we're back in Florence Thursday afternoon.  

Not Beating the Bridge

B and I ran the 32nd annual Nordstrom Beat the Bridge road race last Sunday.  It started at 8:30 am Sunday morning, and sometime before dusk we powered through the finish line.

Truth:  we didn't "beat the bridge."  First two miles of the 5.2 total you have to maintain under a ten minute mile pace to arrive at the University Bridge before it draws up.  We missed it by a hair.  B was mildly dissapointed but we had some impromptu chat with her compatriates at Nordstrom similarly tardy on that fine Sunday morning all sweaty and huffing in the U-District.  Great fun!

Official times:
Me: 1:14:15
B:    1:14:15


Here's where me and B got stuck:

When they lowered the drawbridge we tore off over the bridge, on the left side, ... into oncoming traffic. Good times.

I must say, though, I'm still a little peeved that we had to pay extra for a cheesy look-at-me-I-did-it T-shirt; we didn't cough up the extra cash, but we did get these nifty tote bags:

All in all, it was a grand Sunday morning, with thousands of happy Seattle-ites getting their fitness on in the Emerald.

Lake Union Selfie

Me and the B in full selfie mode, down by the venerable yet somewhat perplexing Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union.  B is smiling because she loves Seattle so much.

Onward! To MOHAI!

The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) is located in the former Naval Reserve Training Center, a massive white structure on the shores of South Lake Union, designed in the 1930s by architect B. Marcus Priteca, who also designed the Paramount, and a bunch of other noteworthy buildings in Seattle.

The MOHAI experience is an interactive museum, where you end up hammering on something in a coal mine exhibit, then sawing through something else in a sawmill exhibit.  You begin with a lecture about how the original settlers were NOT-- read NOT! -- Europeans on their fancy boats, but rather Chief Seattle and the Pacific Northwest Native Americans.  Then you're on the Oregon Trail, and when you push a button, an old pioneer sounding voice explains how the way was hard, but the Lord saw them through.  This kind of thing.  Later you're in a brothel -- wait that wasn't in the museum -- and after a spell you're watching old cars honk at each other in the 1930s, as the Aurora Bridge was going up.  It's quite a ride.

This is all upstairs.  Downstairs?  I dunno.  Me and the B showed up later and made it to about the 1950s.  (We plan to return, so stay tuned.)

Here's me and the B striking an expeditionary pose in front of Mount Rainier.  B looks like I've kidnapped her and am using her as a prop for some cheesy documentary.  Behind me is a large print of Mt. Rainier. (This is in MOHAI, so it's not the actual volcano, in case there's any confusion.)

Oregon trail, at a distance that prevents actually reading it.  Score.

Full frontal of MOHAI:

Here's a shot of the MOHAI on South Lake Union:

So there you have it.  Enjoy!

Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market is a fantastic idea for me and the B, on an overcast Saturday afternoon in the Emerald.  It's a cornucopia of sites, sounds, and smells.  Cuisine from around the world.  Street vendors.  Seafood everywhere.  French bakeries and old-school butchers and homemade sauerkraut.  Seafood, everywhere.

Here's looking at you, Pike Place:

And here's the view as you walk in.  The folks under the sign are the blokes that catch the fish, in all those iconic movie shots:

Here's our man at Pike Place, on ice:

Our man at Pike.

Something weird happened with B here, and she took a shine to the Elephant Garlic.  They're big, B, yes. This is a classic photo of B, in her native environment, among the culinary exotica in the Market.  B later went on a full-scale hunt for some tangerines, then zeroed in on a smoothie at Pike Place Market Creamery. This Elephant Garlic photo here came on the tail end of our expedition, but you can see the passion with the B; the flame burning strong.

The fresh fish at the Market are large, and inviting.  Soooo Pacific Northwest.

Okay, enough joking around here.  Pike Place Market:  thumbs up or down?  Up, my dear reader, up, up, and up.  It's a Persian Bizarre type of feel with wonderful assortments of international cuisine, tourists, fresh Pacific Northwest seafood, fruits, and produce.  Throw in unexpected discoveries like Old Seattle Paperworks, with 1940s copies of Life magazine, news clippings, pinups, and other print collectibles, and you've got yourself an afternoon in the Emerald.

Beth's Cafe

Beth's Cafe is a fantastic idea for Me and the B, on a rainy Saturday afternoon in the Emerald.  Key thing about Beth's, located next to a dive bar on an eminently un-aesthetic stretch of Aurora (so, in other words, on Aurora), is its local fame for making 12 egg omelettes, served on a pizza dish, over a bed of all-you-can-eat hashbrowns.  Here's me and B on the twelver, roughly around the time we realized it was a bad idea:

(That's bacon in the omelette, incidentally.)

Truth is, Beth's makes a mean omelette, but it's a brutish dish best served to cure a specific ailment, like a hangover, or the onset of anorexia, say.  The wait staff is wonderful -- tattoos abound -- and the wait is moderate (we waited about ten or fifteen minutes).  During the day it's subdued with the usual assortment of college-looking kids and couples.  It might be a little edgy for families with small kids, but hey, they have crayons and paper to write on while you're waiting, and if you manage to make some decent art (or not), you can pin it on the wall.  At night the place is full of drunkards and party goers looking for some carbs to cure the blood sugar blues.  Survey says:  check it out.  Sure, me and B were moaning and belly aching around for the rest of the day, but that's a different story.

Our Lady V

The steamship Virginia V (the "V" is a Roman Numeral, so "5").  It's one of the last of the Mosquito Fleet, the once ubiquitous steamships used for shipping and passenger travel between Tacoma and Seattle.  A big storm in something like 1934 wiped many of them out.  Then the company that ran them went bankrupt, and soon after we had the Seattle Supersonics.  This is a short history of Seattle and maybe leaves out some details.  Anyway, the big V is docked right next to MOHI, the Museum of History and Innovation, on South Lake Union.  On a beautiful sunny Seattle day, the brilliant MOHI and our Lady V shines white and brilliant in the Pacific Northwest sky.  Check her out!

Virginia V

Recreational Equipment, Inc.

You'll feel all warm and cozy in Seattle's flagship REI.  Here's the scene, as you walk in:

REI was founded in Seattle in 1938, beginning a regrettable, decades-long trend toward overpriced outdoors equipment for city slickers (who shops at an REI that lives in the actual countryside?).  The first product was an ice axe imported from Austria by the founders, a husband and wife duo (really).  This location's on Yale Street; I don't know if it's the spot of the original.  It's a beautiful store, actually, with two stories (not that uncommon for REI these days), and an entire park area out front for test-riding mountain bikes and so on.  The fire you see is made from 100% recycled fire-fibers.  Enjoy!

Husky Stadium

Husky Stadium, aka the University of Washington football stadium.  Back in the salad days, the Huskies won back to back National Championships (1990,1991), led by the legendary coach, Don James.  They're still (generally speaking) the best college football team in Washington State.  (But then, Washington State ain't Texas.)  This stadium however is beautiful.  It's on the west edge of Union Bay.  To the right (roughly) is Lake Washington.

Queen Anne Hill (plus Magnolia)

A big tanker anchored off the coast of... well it's in Elliot Bay.  Seattle's off to the left (out of view), and we're in Magnolia shooting from the hill.  The ships will sit out there ominously for weeks at a time.  B tells me one ship's been out there since she moved here, two years ago.  This is classic B and I just nod my head.

The quintessential Seattle shot, from Highland Drive on Queen Anne Hill.  When I first moved to Seattle in the mid-1990s where did I take in the Emerald City?  Highland Drive.  Fast forward and where's me and B?  That's right.  All I can report second time around with B is standing poking absentmindedly at my Galaxy S5 while an outdoorsy fellow, say in his mid 40s with a wife-type on a park bench, and me and B directly blocking his view, starts "uh hum"-ing and "harumph"-ing and so on until we move on.  The silly fellow.  We laughed at him within earshot but with his view of the Space Needle restored, an Emerald bubble of bliss surrounded him and his sweetheart, no doubt.  B and I breathed in the deep salty blue and disappeared without further ado, into the dampness of the city we love to hate.

  

Here's the B.

Here's me and B all selfie'd out in the Emerald.

Here's Sexy B.  This has nothing to do with Queen Anne Hill or Magnolia, but it's vintage B in a full selfie mode and so it finds its way here (in background:  "oh, put up that one selfie of me, you know, when...".  Dammit B it's the Queen Anne shots.  And yet.  Here.

Argosy Cruise - Done (Check)

Me and B on the water today round about 1:15 no time to spare.  B's legs blow up en route but we slide in there with seconds left on the clock.  Serious pics with my Galaxy S5.  Not sure why I'm blogging like this but ya know we're pumped.  Saw no less than Bill Gates' humble abode on Lake Washington, CEO of Starbucks modest 17 bedroom spread near Mercer Island (I made up "17", but it's large), and of course the famous Sleepless in Seattle floating house!  It's a two hour cruise starts in Lake Union, goes through Portage Bay, and on into Lake Washington.  It was a rainy, blustery affair but me and B weathered it admirably, and with my new smart phone locked and loaded I snapped off a devastating assortment of high quality pics. Check it out!

The Sleepless in Seattle house is the cream colored number to the center left.  This is the west side of Lake Union and close to our apartment, which is up the hill in the background (and not in view).

This is the Bill Gates Mansion on Lake Washington.  I think the photo doesn't capture the entire house, which is to the right and left here as well.  The tour guide droned on about the number of computers and personalize this and that.  It's a big house.

Our apartment is somewhere on the hill.  I cannot tell you where, because B thinks the information might be used surreptitiously in some kind of creepy B-movie way.  Anyway this is the Westlake area in Seattle, or in other words the west side of Lake Union.

Seattle, viewed when approaching from the north on Lake Union.  Strangely, no Starbucks stores are visible in this photo.

Here's the B.

More B.