Or - If You're Lucky Enough to Be Irish...
You're Lucky Enough...
Friday. What to do with a Friday. It's not College Football Day...that's Saturday. It's not Pro Football Day...that's Sunday. It's the end of a week and should be something...don't you think?
Friday. It is work-out day and I had a good one this morning. But then it was restless Friday afternoon.
Carol did finally pot the plants we bought the other day. You see that big pot down there? It was, when placed upside-down, the base for the large terra-cotta tray that we put out for the birds to bathe and frolic and play and drink and splash in.
Don't ask.
Don't ask.
Anyway, that large, expensive tray that the birds bathed in was broken...I think a larger animal was raising up on its hind legs to get a drink and tipped it over and...crash!! That's right, I'm thinking of you Mr. Cat...Jerk.
So there we were with a large pot and nothing in it. That wouldn't do. So Carol repotted the flowers into the large, unused pot that was the former base of the bird bath.
And it doesn't look bad, sitting on the table by our lawn chairs. We had a spare tile that, happily enough, is the same color, sorta, as the pot and, POW, we had a flower pot.
Here's a close-up.
And another.
Yeah, I do like photographing flowers. It's like point 'n shoot and get a great picture.
And this one. Not too many have bloomed but there is a promise of beauty now that they've been relocated to their new home.
You can never fault Carol for not watering enough.
Never.
Waiting, I got this snap picture of the window sill with the Rubber Duckie's. I know, it's silly, it really is but I had this one, large rubber ducky left over from when Amy lived here and the others just sorta came along.
And the lighthouse from the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
We were getting antsy, well, one of was, and so we decided to go downtown and just follow our nose and see what we could see.
And, of course, that involved taking the walk to the Link...and that involved passing yards filled with flowers...and that involved me getting out my...oh, you know the drill by now, don't you.
I got these shots from about 40 feet away. I stood on the sidewalk and shot these crocus growing along the side of the house.
I do love that zoom lens. A lot!!
Fortunately, these were bending towards the sidewalk...and me. What could I do?
And, as we were walking to the Link, I realized while I've documented many of the flowers we pass along the way, I have never really shown my neighborhood.
I didn't do a very good job. I think I will try and shoot the neighborhood, y'know, get a feel for the place where I live. See it.
Here's the houses along Renton Ave S., looking north towards MLK.
And, from the same position looking south, you can see it was, indeed, Friday. Recycle Friday and Trash Friday.
And we all support our Seahawks!!
We are 12
We're just not too good about picking up after ourselves here in Rainier Beach.
But, hard to believe, we found some new flowers to photograph.
Close-up!!
Taco Bus Selfie!!
And one of our favorite places to eat...The Taco Bus.
When you come to visit, we'll take you there and we can dine al fresco or in their deluxe dining room...inside the bus.
Oh, it was Blue Friday - Wear blue to support your Seattle Seahawks.
And we made it downtown to this blue...it was a good afternoon. The skies were relatively clear and the day wasn't too hot.
It just struck me that this building looks like it could be in the Emerald City…in Oz.
The plan, if you can call it that, was just to walk around and see what happened. And to take pictures. I've been leaning toward taking candids of the city life. What the people are doing...what's happening beyond Carol and I.
And so I've been tending towards shooting street scenes, corners, intersections, buildings, ordinary life.
And traffic.
Here we're looking west down University Street towards Elliott Bay and the Puget Sound. You can just make out the Seattle Great Wheel at the end of the street.
It was Friday afternoon at quitting time and the streets were busy with folks heading home…for the weekend.
Hahahaha, I just wanted to point out that when you're retired...every day is part of a weekend.
Love it!!
I hate driving downtown. I think you know that already. Don't mind walking downtown. However, I try to avoid the areas crowded by our Valued Homeless.
We walked down University and I got this shot at a hotel overlook at the end of the street.
Seattle's Great Wheel.
At night, the arms and the center light up in different color schemes. During SuperBowl Week, they were Seahawk Blue and Green.
Gooooooo, 'Hawks
And, from the same overlook, I got this shot.
One of the few complaints I have with digital cameras is that without a view finder, it's hard to compose a scene in bright sunlight. The light washes out the screen and...I thought I was getting a close-up of the Ferry and I was actually shooting a close-up scene of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Trucks and all.
But, shooting blind, I did luck into this shot. The Seattle Great Wheel, a ferry and a semi-clear blue sky over the Puget Sound.
And from the same viewpoint, I leaned over and got this shot of Post Alley. The Alley, which stretches from Pike Place Market to Pioneer Square, has become a trendy collection of restaurants and shops.
It also has, and I did not know this until now, the Market Theater Gum Wall. It's another Seattle landmark. It's a brick alleyway wall that's now covered in used chewing gum. Parts of the wall are covered several inches thick, 15 feet high for about 50 feet.
The tradition began around 1993 when theater goers stuck gum to the wall and then put coins in the gum blobs. Theater workers scraped the gum away but eventually gave up. The Wall was deemed a tourist attraction around 1999.
Claim to Fame - it was named one of the top FIVE germiest tourist attractions in 2009, second to the Blarney Stone (of which you will more about later in this blog). Surprisingly, the Gum Wall is a popular site with wedding photographers.
And, Carol and I will be visiting the wall soon. I've never been there. Didn't know where it was. Now I do.
The Hotel, some ritzy one, has created a small plaza on the street in front of their hotel. That's why you see the wires criss-crossing here. They have lights hanging on them and it is kinda nice at night. At the end of University.
So we finally decided to drop by the Blarney Stone for a brew...or two. The kids upstairs told us about this place. Every Monday they have a Trivia Contest for Geeks that Drink. It's unique in that they do not allow any sports related questions.
Anyway, I checked them out on the Internet and their Happy Hour was from Four to Seven. Right up my alley. (Is that cool or what how I worked in the word 'alley' right after I told you about Post Alley? Yeah, I know!!)
As we got to First and Univeristy we saw this board for The SAM (Seattle Art Museum). It's a giant TV screen that shows folks as they walk across the street. It's semi-cool.
Architecture Adventure!!
I don't know...I was tempted to put up an 'Artsy-Fartsy Alert' but I decided to credit it as part of my continuing fascination with the architecture of The Emerald City.
Looking back at the bar on the corner of University and First. There it is...Seattilites will grab any excuse to sit outside to eat and drink
And, finally, we made it to the Blarney Stone. A First Avenue Pub. We were going to stop by just for a beer but Carol got a hankering for some potatoes. More on that later.
It's the home of Geeks That Drink Monday Night Trivia!!
OK, here's some good trivia for you.
The Blarney Stone, or as we who have been to Ireland call it, Cloch na Blarnan, is built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney, about 5 miles from Cork, Ireland.
According to legend, if you kiss the stone then you'll get the gift of gab. The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle has become a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the stone. Oh, BTW, The Blarney Stone is ranked just in front of the Gum Wall as one of the Top Five Germiest Sites in the world.
It's believed that Queen Elizabeth I coined the word "Blarney", the ability to deceive without offending, after having had to listen to all the excuses the Lord of Blarney, Dermot McCarthy, gave as to why he shouldn't have to give up his castle to prove his loyalty. He said he'd be delighted to do so but something always came up at the last moment to prevent his surrender. His excuses were so frequent and plausible that when they were repeated to the Queen, she said "Odds Bodikins, more Blarney talk!" The term has come to mean 'the ability to influence and coax with fair words and soft speech without giving offense'.
Oh, he got to keep his castle.
Hahahaha, I love my blog...fun and educational!!
But, back to the Blarney Stone in Seattle. There it is with a really lame attempt at al fresco drinking. That one guy there, the one on the far side with the green shirt on...he sat there the whole time we were in the Pub. The whole time.
Look!! Fourteen Taps and Six TVs.
Nirvana.
Hahaha, it's about as Irish as a football player at Notre Dame.
Seriously, it's a good bar but it ain't Irish. Oh, they did have the requisite Irish Brews, Harp, Smithwick's and Guiness.
And they did have their Six TVs.
It was, however, a Friday afternoon, after work and the pub was doing good business.
It is a friendly little bar with a touch of Ireland.
And the food ain't bad, either.
Blarney Stone Selfie!!
We weren't the only ones there sporting some Seahawk Blue. Remember, it was Show Your Blue Seahawk Friday. And the game is here on Sunday!!
A inside view of the sign...Blarney Stone Pub
Here it is...my NEW favorite Irish Lager.
It was Smithwick's Ale but now it is Harp. Never really cared for Guiness. But all three are made by the same brewery. Somehow that seems wrong, doesn't it? It's like having Bud, Miller and Coors all made at the same place...unnatural.
Carol had a hankering for some spuds, I had looked at the menu at home on the Internet, and so we ordered some Potato Shovels...and got these.
A decent appetizer...with bacon.
Mmmmmm, bacon.
And then we got a Rueben with chips.
The Reuben was good. Tasty. I've been disappointed so many times but these guys pulled it off. And the chips!! They make their own there. These were huge, crispy and tasty, too.
Here's to you!!
The poor thing...it never had a chance!!
Done and done.
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came:
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same:
You want to be where everybody knows your name.
Hahaha, more trivia!!
What TV show was that the theme of?
Keep on reading.
I don't think this Big Boy is a service dog. He looks like he could use some service...from a dietician and a Personal Trainer.
Evidently he is a regular. He even got a bowl of water for himself. He owns that guy sitting at the bar on the left.
Looking toward the entrance. Just below the Seahawks 2014 Super Bowl Champions sign.
The TV show? It was Cheers!!
"...Norm!!!"
Wait!! That's not Norm!! That's Mary Tyler Moore!!
All good things must come to an end and so we bid a fond dea-beannacht (in the Old Irish), to The Blarney Stone.
And as we made our way up First Avenue, I saw this interesting sight inside a doorway.
Stepping in there was this...I'm guessing you can get all the drug gear you'll ever need here.
Zig and Zag!!
Hahahaha, I used Bugler back when I rolled my own. A long, long time ago.
And there, just a bit further, is the Pike Place Public Market.
The Market opened on August 17th, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the U.S. It's also one of the most popular tourist attractions in Seattle.
The Market is built on the edge of a steep hill and consists of several lower levels below the main level. Each features a variety of shops and small family-owned restaurants and one of the oldest head shops in Seattle. The upper street level contains fishmongers, fresh produce stands and craft stalls.
One of the Market's major attractions is the Pike Place Fish Market, where employees throw 3-foot salmon and other fish to each other. When a customer orders a fish, they pick up the fish and hurl it over the countertop where another employee catches it and preps it for sale.
According to the employees, this tradition started when the fishmongers got tired of having to walk out to the Market's fish table to retrieve a salmon each time someone ordered one. Eventually they realized it'd be easier to have one guy at the table to throw the fish over the counter. It caught on and is now part of the show that is shopping at Pike Place Market. The 'flying fish' have appeared in an episode of Frasier and also on The Learning Channel.
And here's the KuKuRuZa Gourmet Popcorn store on Pike.
You can just see the woman in the window spreading out some chocolate-covered popcorn on the tray. Some seriously good looking popcorn in there.
Seriously.
I like this...along some of the streets in the older part of downtown they've put the street name into the curb...sort of.
And across the street from us was this street vender...selling pretzels.
I like the subtle advertising they use.
Heading up Fourth Avenue...that's Westlake Park on the right. It could be a nice urban park but there are so many homeless that it's not pleasant or safe.
Hahaha, some more subtle advertising. That shoe is as big as me. Always something to see if you care to look.
Starbucks!! I've been by this particular one several times in the past few days.
It was getting late in the day and I got this shot looking up Pine towards Elliott Bay.
There's one of our Valued Bikers. They're really twisting up the streets to accommodate these wonderful folks. We dodged several of them today walking around.
Bikers have a chip on their shoulders and really do think they own the road. In the news today was the story of a 59-year old woman who was struck by a biker in NYC and is now brain-dead. We even overheard a couple cops talking about how they'd screwed up the lanes on a street just for the bikers.
And the worst part is that they don't pay any taxes whatsoever on their bikes. They use the roads, have the roads reconfigured for them, cause neighborhoods to lose parking just to accommodate them and they don't pay a penny towards the maintenance of the streets nor the cost to change everything for them.
BTW, we see maybe 4-5 bikers a week on our street that was completely jerked around to make bike lanes on BOTH sides of the street.
Bikers do rule in Seattle.
But we made it to the Link and got to sit next to this fine fellow. He was getting a big nose full.
Ah, back to the Othello Station.
Hey!! Look!! There's one of our Valued Bikers!! And she didn't go down our street.
Reflected Restaurant Window Selfie!!
And the people inside were very curious as to what we were up to. You can see them looking round. We're in the lower-left hand corner. Sorta.
Couldn't help myself.
As we were walking home, we caught sight of the clouds. Normally the skies in Seattle are boring...gray and listless. Tonight they had some color and life to them.
Just turn a little bit to the left and things changed, dramatically.
And then look back and you get this...
Last one, honest.
Kinda nice, though, to see something besides gray.
But there was still enough light for some more pictures of the flowers along the way home.
Some nascent pine cones.
And more...I do enjoy seeing and photographing flowers.
And clover.
And the mini. See the No Parking sign to the left, there?
Thank-you, Bike Riders!!
So we had a good day. Got some exercise and then we had dinner downtown. It is a kick to be able to take a short walk and then ride into the downtown area. There are so many restaurants within walking distance of the Link Stations that we'd never have to visit one twice unless we wanted to.
And we always get to see new things, photograph new things and have a good time.
Life is good!!
Hooah!!
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