Walking the length of Seattle (and back), part two

The second part of the Ape Canyon News Service expedition to walk the length of Seattle and back took place on Thursday, July 11, 2012 (to read about part one, click here). This leg of the walk began at the temporary world headquarters of Ape Canyon News Service near Seward Park-- we set off north along Seward Park Ave S (which subsequently became Wilson Ave S and then 50th Ave S) until we reached Lake Washington Blvd S, on which we walked until we came to the outskirts of downtown Leschi (at which point Lake Washington Blvd S is mysteriously renamed Lakeside Ave S).

Below: The starting line

Our original goal had been only to walk as far as I-90; however, we made such good time that we decided to go an additional half mile or so to get to Leschi.

Here are some important statistics about this portion of the expedition--

• Start time-- 2:06 PM (by a strange coincidence, 206 is also our telephone area code)
• End time-- 5:26 PM  
• Total time of walk-- 3 hours and 20 minutes (two minutes longer than part one of the walk)
• Weather conditions-- warm/hot and sunny
• Total distance traveled round-trip-- approximately 9.2 miles

Above: Alexandra standing in an abandoned tire near the start of our walk. It is unusual to find tires abandoned along this stretch of Wilson Ave S.

Below: A sign we found lying on the sidewalk, also on Wilson Ave S

Along the course of our walk, we encountered numerous people who we knew, including--

• a grade school/high school classmate of Alexandra's who did not seem to notice us (too busy driving a car);
• my ex-wife/Alexandra's mother (she honked and waved as she drove by);
• a friend of some friends who was jogging (we exchanged hellos);
• two former students who were at Mt. Baker beach (they didn't seem to notice us, which was fine by me);
• the daughter of some friends of some friends (we made eye contact but no greetings were exchanged);
• a different former student at Mt. Baker beach on the way back (I suspect he may have noticed me); and
• a former instructional assistant at my daughter's elementary school who pulled her car over to ask if we were who she thought we were (we were).

In addition, we found a large bush that had one hollowed-out section with a mysterious photo inside. (see photo below-- click on the photo for a closer view)

Below: A view of Lake Washington and Mt. Rainier

One important step we took to improve our performance on this part of our expedition was to bring our own snacks rather than relying on purchasing food from local businesses. Alexandra made us trail mix which did an excellent job of providing us with energy for our walk. On the way back, we did stop at Cafe Vitta to buy Alexandra an iced coffee drink, however.

Below: We cross the finish line

Next up-- part three!!!!