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!!!!

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

On June 28, 2012, my daughter, Alexandra, and I began what is planned to be a five-part walk the length and back of the City of Seattle. The first leg of this expedition began from the temporary world headquarters of Ape Canyon News Service in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle, proceeded south on Seward Park Avenue S, and continued along Rainier Avenue S until we reached the sign indicating that we had reached the Renton city limits. Shortly after that, we turned around and walked back.

Below: The starting line

Along the way, we saw several businesses.

Below: A combination magic & juggling shop/tae kwon do studio

Below: The Why? Grocery, where we bought a package of trail mix

Below: The Blue Star Food Mart, where we bought peanuts and peanut butter cookies

Upon arriving at the Renton city limits sign (see below), we spent a little bit of time trying to find the corresponding Seattle city limits sign on the other side of the street. We were not successful in this, however, because of the fact that we had not actually been in Seattle for quite a while. Apparently there is a lengthy stretch of unincorporated King County between Seattle and Renton. Had we known this, we could have cut down the length of our walk by several miles (from over nine miles to approximately six-and-a-half).

Below: Along our route, we saw a boat in someone's driveway that had the word Bigfoot written on the side of it-- always a good omen.

Above and below: On the way back, we found the Entering Seattle signs we had been searching for.

All in all, I would consider part one of our expedition to be a success. We reached our goal of walking to the southern border of Seattle and back (even if we did walk several extra miles as well). We encountered few difficulties other than branches hanging over the sidewalk, bewildered stares from passing motorists, and a tiny bit of rain at the very end. We are both very confident that we will do just as well in the next four stages of our expedition.

Below: We approach the finish line to part one

Match report: Seattle Sounders FC 0 -- New England Revolution 1

The Sounders hosted the Revolution last night. Seattle attacked most of the game, but they couldn't score. New England's Shalrie Joseph scored a goal while being pulled down in the penalty area. Seattle's Fredy Montero missed a penalty by hitting the crossbar. (Video, sort of, below)

The Sounders fans, especially the ones at our end, did a lot of singing and chanting. (See video below)

Welcome to Green Hell read the tiny banner all the way at the other end of the field.

For real highlights, click here.

Swine flu #1

A notice posted at Madrona K-8 School in Seattle, WA