A walk around the neighborhood
I took a long walk this afternoon and snapped some pictures.
I went down through Leschi along the Lake Washington waterfront, then up the hill through the Mount Baker neighborhood, south to Columbia City, then north up the Rainier Valley to Jackson and back down the steep hill to home. It took about 4 hours with numerous photo stops (over 100 photos), and I think I covered about 8 miles. (After running a little yesterday, I felt sore and decided to just walk today.)
It’s cool to have this much variety nearby. There’s the rich folks along the waterfront, the old middle-class neighborhoods up the hill, the poor people in the Rainier Valley, and all the decades-old businesses along Rainier Avenue. I walked past multi-million dollar homes, and food banks; guys taking a drive in expensive sports cars, and guys who obviously slept on the street last night; little patches of old-growth forest, and countless acres of pavement; restaurants serving the ethnic food of Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Somalia, and markets selling the traditional groceries of Cambodia, Greece, and Mexico. People who were scared of me, and people who scared me too. And the future light-rail line that will open in 2009, whose presence may change this area in many ways. Or not.
And the views! Like the one above: that’s looking south down the Rainier Valley to Mount Rainier, from the south side of I-90. The mountain is 60 miles away, but the telephoto lens made it look like the glaciers are about to bury Kent and Renton. (Not a bad idea IMO, but that’s a topic for another post.)
Click here to step through 15 of my favorites from today’s walk.
That colorful little latte stand, Kaffa Coffee, is our favorite place to stop for coffee on Rainier. We found it when we first moved to Seattle just because of the location: it was the only drive-thru on all of northbound Rainier for most of the last year, and that was our daily commute. The African guy who owns and operates the place is sweet and friendly. If you’re in the area, give him your business — it’s at the corner of 23rd and Rainier.
This time I took pictures of stuff mostly: nature, buildings, roads, views. Next time I do this, I’m going to be a little more bold with the camera and try to get some good shots of people instead.
This entry was posted on Sunday, December 31st, 2006 at 7:44 pm. You can subscribe to comments on this post through its RSS feed.
on January 1, 2007 at 7:51 am Dave Fourputt wrote:
Happy New Year!!
May this year be the best in work/family/golf…
on January 1, 2007 at 7:52 am AUNT MARSHA wrote:
pic of the African guy, please.
on January 1, 2007 at 8:37 am Scott wrote:
Man, you live in a cool place!
Happy New Year to you and Megan!
sp
on January 1, 2007 at 9:37 am Doug wrote:
Happy New Year, Dave & Scott.
And Marsha, I’ll get that pic and post it ASAP!
on January 1, 2007 at 9:43 am orcmid wrote:
I don’t understand the off-hand slam about Kent and Renton (I have family in both places), considering your compassionate view of your extended neighborhood. Maybe you need to take the same eyes on walks there too?
on January 1, 2007 at 10:42 am Doug wrote:
Hi, Dennis … touche. Ouch. OK, I better explain.
I really don’t have anything against Kent, Renton, Tukwila, and that whole area. It’s just one of the best examples of suburban sprawl I know of, because I grew up not far away (Normandy Park), and my first job was at Boeing facilities in Kent and Renton.
So I have this memory of that area in the 70s, and ever since I moved back to Seattle a year ago I’ve been amazed — and annoyed — at how much that area has changed. When I worked at Valley Office Park in the north Kent Valley between the Spot Tavern and Renton, we were out in the country. Now it’s non-stop development, everything from strip malls to light industry to God-knows-what.
Another thing I miss in Renton is the Friday-night scene cruising the loop. It was so fun in the 70s, with all the muscle cars from all over Western Washington there, and the cops, and the cute girls we (I anyway) were too shy to ask out. It was like a scene from “American Grafitti,” but now it seems those days are long past.
So Kent and Renton are just symbols of a sad nostalgia for a past that can’t be recaptured, and I have nothing against them personally. In fact, I have a friend in Renton whom I was hoping would see that comment and take the bait, but you beat him to it.
Happy New Year!
on January 1, 2007 at 11:23 am Tom wrote:
Great pics, as usual. And I can vouch for Kaffa Coffee being good — Doug and Megan took me through there when I was in town.
I very rarely have the balls to openly take pictures of other people. I find children particularly fascinating, but people (rightfully and not unpredictably) get a little skitchy if you start taking candids of their kids in public. Let me know if you come up with any good techniques!
on January 5, 2007 at 7:36 am AUNT MARSHA wrote:
oooh! oooh!Is this a pedophile photography discussion?!
Law and Order, Special Victims Unit, on this past Tuesday night—USA channel!!!
Oh, if only Aunt Marsha was here to comment on THAT!!!Talk about good techniques!
( I hear that she is NOT in her room at all, but typing away on a Sun Herald insurance/Katrina blog out of MS.She’s not a bad person, but really dangerous, Doug. Be grateful she’s gone, son. You and your blog—much safer w/o her potential parries into cyber space. Although, she did ask me to remind everyone that this coming Sunday night is Panda Night on the Animal Planet station.Pity her.But, revel and enjoy her absense. She may be back before you know it.)
signed,
Leroya
on January 5, 2007 at 9:34 am Doug wrote:
Leroya, Megan has some Panda porn information for you. I’ll try to get her to post it today.
on January 5, 2007 at 4:35 pm AUNT MARSHA wrote:
Oh, Doug the waiting, the waiting (the horror! the horror!)7:34 PM EST
lovel
L.