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Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Getting ready for a trip!

Today, Greg, Elyse and I are going on the Seattle Underground tour... It'll be fun, and then I don't know what we'll do. We've been walking around the city for the past few days, and I think we've just about gone everywhere I can think of. Yesterday we just sat around most of the day, and skipped the folk festival. I figured this was the best time to start packing my bag for the train. I don't know yet how long I'll be in Michigan, but I hope I have a chance to go up and see the cottage. Anyway, the clouds returned yesterday, and it rained heard last night. It seems that NPR is currently my favorite radio, and TV sucks.

Saturday, May 28, 2005

Hot Days in Seattle A!


5-24-05

Greg and Elyse arrive into Seattle! We enjoyed a dinner at Naan 'n'
Curry (Pakistani and Indian) and then made our way up to Green Lake for
a sunset walk around the lake; a short trip down to the Whittworth house
to introduce Greg and Elyse to my Seattleite Family brings around the
end of the first day.

5-25-05

We found a $5 road bike for Greg to ride, and got some parts from REI
(Tube, Lights, etc.) and met up with Krispy and Anthony to go for a walk
down cedar river trail to Lake Washington; Meanwhile Elyse enjoyed a
novel at the apartment. We came home and went to pick up some food for
the apartment, so we don't have to eat out every night. We enjoyed some
spinach salad with Stir fried Shrimp and vegetables.

5-26-05

Greg and I went down to the Seattle waterfront to ride around the city,
and we found a bike trail which we followed out for six miles away from
the waterfront. Our total ride came out to be 12 miles by the end of
the day, and we met up with Elyse and a few previous room mates they had
before. shortly after, we separated again, I had to shower eat some
rice and beans for dinner, and went down to the house for a little R & R
(whisky).
I'm coming home on a train! I'm leaving June 2nd to ride home on a train
through Chicago to Ann Arbor on June 4th.

5-27-05

The pool opened! We started the day by visiting the pool for the first
time, and then Greg went to Take back the streets with Critical Mass ( A
bike ride around Seattle where a very large group of bicyclers pretend
that they are a funeral procession, and block the whole street as they
ride.) While Greg did that, Elyse and I went down to the house to meet
up with Jessica and Anthony, we went down to Capital hill, where Jessica
had some work done on her tattoo, but Elyse and I went for pizza. I
found this little place that had a great veggie pizza, which I was
surprised that I both ordered and enjoyed! plus we found a bar where we
were told to bring our own food. After the food, we went to walk off
the recently obtained calories while we went to West lake center (down
the hill, but the stores were closed) and Pike Market (also closed),
followed by the return trip back up. It turns out that five dollar bike
wasn't constructed very well, and a critical bolt used to hold the crank
arm on was simply not there. Greg ended up walking his bike half way
across capital hill to meet us at pike st. and I5 ( Interestingly
enough, the intersection is above the interstate). I was happy nobody
told me that we had temperatures as high as 100 degrees... good thing
for the waterfront...

5-28-05

Today we went back Downtown. We went to the waterfront to visit all the
little places that you walk to from the free parking... :) Ye old
Curiosity Shoppe, Ivars, the Piers, Pike Market, the Post Alley, Pioneer
Square, West Lake Shopping Center (all now open)... and almost the
underground tour... but no. We finished our day with a relaxing dip in
the pool... it was 88 degrees today! Good thing we were down by the
waterfront, or we would have felt it hard core, but we were in good
shape with the breeze coming off of Puget Sound.

Monday, May 2, 2005

Oops.. May Day

I guess I forgot to update my web log...
well, ironically I just read an article about how the first rule to a
successful web log is consistency...
I guess I'll have to remember more, and to get the update started...
As May Day passes, today was a great day, Mom called me as I was walking
around saltwater state park... which is really close, and you can hardly
tell that you are between two major cities... and just south of an
international airport...
well... almost...
anyway, we walked along the extremely rocky beach, and I stepped on a
few jelly fish to make them pop... it was fun... although I didn't bring
a camera, we did have one in the group... so somehow I'll have to get a
copy for the site...
I've also been taking pictures at our daily walks around different areas
that are close by.
We like walking to the Seattle sea front, Green Lake, and the Cedar
Creek Trail a lot...


The hills of Seattle look awesome! The streets are very steep, and the
view across Elliot Bay, Puget Sound, Foothills of, and off to the
Olympic Mountains. After a while I've been able to tell some of the
major features of the mountain range, and I can pick out Mt
Qweets(southern Peak) from Mount Olympus... and I think it would be
awesome to hike across the mountains... but that would be very hard...
so we'll see...


Just north of the waterfront, and just on the other side of the Space
Needle, is Gasworks Park. This park has a beautiful view of the city.
I'll have to be sure to finish off the camera for these pictures... The
park features a concrete waterfront, with several large grassy areas
around it. Union Bay wraps aroundthe park almost on three whole sides,
and completely around the concrete area of which I speak. The
"center-piece" for the park are these large rusty gas tubes with two
very large Blowers attaches... I believe there are decomissioned... but
at one time supplied gas to Seattle? I don't know...


Green Lake is by far the best place to walk in Seattle. This two and a
half mile concrete path allows for a scenic lap around the lake, or a
few laps on a bicycle, rollerblades, or skateboard. We all enjoy this
walk, and the surrounding park, and comunity is an excelent spot of any
group (and of coarse there is a Starbucks, Tullys, Seattle's Best, and
Big foot Coffee... in a row)
regardless, I also have some pictures I need to have done from a camera
from here too... the same one from above as a matter of fact.


The final and closest walk in along the Cedar Creek. This trail is also
good for any type of exercise, and even features several trail side
exercise stations. The two options from renton are to walk North toward
Lake Washington, or South toward Maple Valley. Toward the Lake
Washington Vantage point, you pass through the city of Renton's downtown
area, and then hop onto the path. The paved path leads all the way from
up in the mountains, to Lake Washington... along the Cedar Creek. The
Creek itself becomes the main attraction, and is most active in October,
when the creek pretty much turns into a river of salmon. millions of
salmon... and they are literally jumping out of the water to swim past
eachother. The rest of the year, the river reflects the amount of rain
either here, or in the mountians. The river is much lower than usual
I'm told, and we are in a severe drought because we only get rain once
or twice during the night. But the level of the river changes
drastically day by day. Near the Lake, a park form around the trail as
you pass through a fitness area with adult sized monkey bars, pull up
bars, stairs (to nowhere), and a variety of fitness instructions...
beyond the fitness area the park is thin and long, streaching ten or so
feet to either side, as we pass by a Boeing Maintainance bridge next to
Renton Municipal Airport (just across the river)... the path has a
crosswalk that takes you across a path used to transport large aircraft
nearly every day across the bridge to the airport... as you cross you
have an excelent view of anything at the airport. Large bushes are on
either side of the path when you walk by the airplane repair area, I
figure this is the dull the sound. once you pass the repair area, you
see the reason Renton formed where it did; The Boeing plant. Much the
way the Auto companies are present in Detroit, Seattle has Boeing,
Microsoft, and Starbucks. The "Big Three" out here... well, this plant
by far puts the auto factories to shame, as it pumps out boeings new
superliner, and the new unmanned aircraft in development. I am looking
into doing work with Boeing... after seeing a very impressive
demonstration as seven unmanned aircraft took off from the airport,
circled, and landed in perfect formation, while leaving and touching the
ground at the same time.
The next quarter mile, you are walking past the boeing plant, with
green grass, and colorful gardens in immediate vicinity. The path leads
out to a dock, with a man who rent out canoes, and such for on the
lake. The view offers a clear site of Bellview, the top of Bank of
America Tower (the tallest building in Seattle), and the south end of
Merceir Island.


Downtown Renton features a cinema, Jazz bar, Irish Pub, Nigh Club, cheap
bar/burger place, The Met 24/7 Coffee and Drinks... dry 2-11AM... the
met is also located at the transit station in Renton, which is a major
bus hub for the south Lake Washington and Sea-Tac Areas. I also hang
out at two houses near the downtown area. One right by the transit
station, and another down the street. I have pretty much been adopted
into the family out here, with a family from Ohio. They are great to
have, as well as all the native Seattelites I've met out here.. Anyway,
I'll recap later with more on Life, the Universe, and Everything... or
something like that...
Anyway, I'll add more soon.