If it's the second Wednesday of the new month then it's payday for us Social Security folks born during the first third of their birth month. Hahaha, I didn't know that!! But, because of my birthdate, I get paid by SS on the second Wednesday of each month. And so does Carol.
Things to know as you...mature!!
So we were off to the banks downtown. I think I've mentioned that the Wells Fargo and Chase banks are within a block of each other on 4th Avenue downtown. The last stop on the Link is right there at Pine and 4th. Believe me, it's a lot more fun to ride the Link downtown and walk to the banks than it is to drive over to one bank, park, go in, do your business and then drive five+ miles to the other.
Plus, I've been playing around with the new camera and so...this was another great excuse to get out on a beautiful day with plenty of great light and really see this beautiful city.
Here we go!! Riding the rails on the Link!!
Here comes the train!!
And, we were off!!
As a fun exercise...I shot through the window opposite me just to see what happened. I shot over 25 pictures as the train moved along the line.
Now I just have to figure out how to arrange or use all the pictures in some kind of cohesive presentation. That's always the key, isn't it? How you present. I sometimes think that is the only difference between some photographers...how they wrap up and present their art. Oh, and how they explain it, too.
I'm not saying these are good...far from it, I'm trying to explain my challenge in figuring out how to present these pictures. In the end, I just leave them in my files and go on to something else.
Ah, downtown!! The Westlake Station...last stop, everyone must get off as this train is going out of service!!
And don't be fooled by the signs. If you go up and turn left, you go to 3rd. If you turn right, then you go to 4th and Pine.
We go to the right.
Hahahaha, always to the right!!
There's not a lot I can do downtown. I don't have cute kids to picture nor do I have a clue as to what I'm doing, really. So today, today I decided to indulge myself and play with the light. I was taken with the light playing off the buildings and how the blue sky made a great frame for them...when I could get the light to work for me.
Besides, I am still taken with the great architecture downtown. I just found out they really did publish an Architecture for Dummies book. Hahahaha, seriously, I never really believed they would make a book like that for architecture.
I'm looking for something to help me understand the different styles, garnishes, periods, looks, trends and whatever that architects use to create their buildings. It would be interesting understanding a but of the artistic and practical dynamics the architects were working for.
Today, then, I was thinking and feeling architecture.
And city life. I enjoy seeing the hustle of city life...the street scenes. And by that I don't mean the mean streets kind of thing with homeless or gangs or whatever. No, I am thinking the day-to-day of city life with people going to and fro...the beat that makes the city hum. The average people movement through the city.
It just looks impressive.
I sometimes stand back and try to get a feel for what the creators of these buildings must have felt as they looked at the end result of their work. I try and get a feel for what they must have felt as they saw their ideas, dreams and aspirations standing there right in front of them.
And the bustle of city life.
I tried this shot three times and three times I was thwarted by...busses.
Whoa!! This wasn't part of the plan!!
After I realized there was a bus in the third try I said, screw it. Hahaha, I'll be back another day when it's not so doggone cold.
But, in addition to the three different busses, I also got the guy with the groovy green wool knit cap...three times!!
Looking down Pike towards the Washington State Convention Center. Tree lined and covered streets. I like that about Seattle.
We were walking south on 4th and came across this...building.
Neither of us, neither Carol nor I, liked this building. Hahaha, we're such chickens, we wouldn't be comfortable in a building set on top of a...vase?
I have to question the wisdom of this...oh, I'm sure it is structurally sound, but if I were looking for office space for my business, I think I'd pass it by.
It just doesn't inspire confidence in me.
None at all.
Let's get back to somethings I'm real comfortable with...lines, angles and windows reflecting...things.
Like these.
I'm not a big fan of the lazy and inexpensive approach to architecture by building boxes sided with glass on all four sides.
That said, I do appreciate the images you can get in the reflections from all those windows. I know that's a contradiction, but I'm comfortable with it.
There was some great light out there today. You can see it in the reflections in the glass and the shadow and light patterns on the buildings in the foreground. A lot of light being reflected today. At times it was comfortable to find a spot on the sidewalk where the sun was being reflected...it was cold outside and a little bit of warmth was welcome.
Here's the big picture from the picture above. Look at the windows on the building to the left in this picture...reflecting the buildings across from them.
Store Front Windown Reflection Selfie!!
See us!?! Right there in the center of the dark jacket.
Carol loves the old Hudson Bay blankets...like these. Look, they made one for each National Park. I don't know that is something I'd want to collect...blankets from different National Parks. I guess it's making money.
I guess.
Look at the...cornices? at the top of this building.
See, that's why I want that book, Architecture for Dummies, so I can figure out what these things are and what style these are.
Aside from my ignorance, it's a pretty cool building, isn't it.
Strength, stability and confidence. It makes a statement rather than just a reflection.
I don't know why the color of the brick changed so dramatically...whether they used a different brick or my camera read the color a bit differently due to the difference in the light at street level but...it's the same building.
Still, you get an idea of how they dressed up the first few floors of this building.
I've always liked this building but, like most other modern buildings, they rely too heavily on glass to save money. At least these architects were able to work in some materials other than glass in the construction.
BTW, I'm a big fan of bricks.
Oh, the building to the left there, the dark one? That's the same building in the previous two pictures.
That light, it's a tricky thing, isn't it? Hahaha, I'll keep working on it. Watch what you're metering!!
Mixing new and old...I still mostly prefer the older styles.
It is BIG!!
And it reflects the blue of the sky for the most part. At least from this angle.
We were wandering around really, with no particular place in mind to go. We started out heading south down 4th and then hooked a right on University...for no particular reason.
As we walked down, we came upon The Garden of Remberance at Benaroya Concert Hall on 2d and University.
It is a dignified memorial that begins with the dead from World War II. I was wondering what happened to the heroes of World War I but then I saw an inscription saying it honored the war dead from 1941 on...OK.
Regardless, there were too many names there.
Thank you.
Lest We Forget
We were there the day after Veteran's Day and the wreath they laid was still there.
With each conflict, they included an extract from a letter home to loved ones.
And this...a gentle flower by the memorial.
OK, so I was able to express my thanks and...we were moving on.
And I move on with a rant.
Seattle City Government is determined to exile cars. They are trying to create lanes for bikes to ride alongside cars (and then they get incredulous when a biker is injured or, worse, killed by a run-in with a car or truck.
So recently they bought a bunch of bikes, in conjunction with Alaska Air, and put them out around the city to encourage people to ride bikes. Oh, there's a box just to the right where you can pick up your clean helmet or deposit your unclean helmet after you're finished riding.
I'm not a big fan of riding bikes downtown. Too many cars in too much of a hurry. Oh, I'm all in favor of riding bikes and think they'd be a good alternative to driving to work, but not at the expense of the vehicles that actually pay the road taxes. Which is what they're doing downtown.
See!?! They took out a car lane to create a bike lane. And they wondered, What the hell!?! when a truck turned left and killed a biker going straight.
Ah, Seattle. We need to elect some more Socialists like Kshama Sawant. She's always grounded and her arguments are always based in good ol' American common sense.
Hahahaha...rant over.
One of the many alleys in Seattle. I like the old brickwork...and the light.
The Hammering Man is a series of monumental kinetic sculptures designed by Jonathan Borofsky which have been installed in various cities around the world.
The Hammering Man in Seattle is 48 feet tall, 30 inches wide and 7 inches deep and weighs 26,000 pounds. He is located directly in front of the Seattle Art Museum and is made out of hollow-fabricated steel with a mechanized arm of aluminum, an electric motor and flat black automotive paint. It was built in 1992 for the quite reasonable cost of $450,000 (WTH!?!?!?!).
Hammering Man's arm 'hammers' silently and smoothly four times per minuted 24 hours a day. It runs on a 3-hp electric motor set on an automatic timer. Interesting trivia...Hammering Man rests his arm every year on Labor Day.
And this...cameras shoot street scenes from different angles for the SAM.
Isn't this cool? It's a collage of chocolates arranged to present a picture of a child. Way cool!! This is in Fran's Chocolates on First. Tres expensivo, y'all.
Still strollin' through Seattle, we walked north up 1st Avenue and got this view of the Seattle Great Wheel down Union Street.
There's some sculpture at the end of Union...it dead ends...that I just don't understand. I don't care for it either. Is it a lightning bolt? Maybe someday I should stop and see what it is. No rush.
The city is always busy. I hate the traffic down here and avoid driving downtown. I like walking around the city but driving!?! Not so much.
Some of the window displays for the Milligros Mexican Folk Art store. Is this a chupacabra?
Annnnnd, we made it to the Pike Place Market.
The Pike Place Fish Market...Home of the Flying Fish!!
We just missed the show.
So we headed down to the Waterfront Viewpoint to eat our lunch. Hahaha, I really like this old market. It's put together in no particular style or with any rhyme or reason. The floors shift, slant and drop without warning. It's cool!!
Carol made us some chicken sandwiches for lunch and we got to eat at the old tables there. They've been well used. Very sanitary, too.
Hahaha, I've eaten on worse tables in my time. Just gotta be careful.
It's a neat area, though, with large windows looking out over the Bay. And warm, too.
It was a chilly day!!
Some of the ships at anchor in the bay.
Annnnnnd, the obligatory shot of a Washington State Ferry...makin' another round.
Shots from the viewpoint in the Pike Place Market.
As we were leaving I noticed this map. We didn't ask for any pins...I don't think we'd find any room on it for where we're from.
Walking around...shots of the tourist stuff. I guess it sells.
Now if I were 18 again and just setting up my first apartment, I'd want one of these. Along with a strobe light, lava lamp and a bean bag chair.
Hahaha, I was super cool at that age!!
I guess these guys sell to the folks that live there...in the city. I can't see any tourists buying them.
And these guys make money selling tutus.
Don't ask.
I don't know.
The Famous Seattle Pig. This is Pike Place Market's unoffical mascot, Rachel, a bronze cast piggy bank that weighs 550 pounds and has been in the market since 1986. Rachel was designed by local artist Georgia Gerber and modeled after a pig that lived on Whidbey Island and was the 1977 Island County prize-winner. Rachel is a real piggy bank and has collected between $6,000 and $9,000 annually. They use the money for the maintenance of the Market
And the tourists keep on a-coming!! And we, Carol and I, fit right in with them!!
There's just so much to see through-out this city.
Coffee Shop Reflected Window Selfie!!
We won't pass up a chance for a shot. No, we won't!!
Isn't this a cool window?
The Needle!!
What a City!!
These bay windows...what a neat thing.
It would be fun to have one of these apartments downtown.
Now here's some interesting light play across this old building.
Pretty neat...I wonder if its original use was large office spaces. Why else would they have so many tall windows for light.
Then we saw this...SpongeBob SquareBuggy!!
It was such a good day for a walk. We were making kind of a huge square and now we were heading up Virginia to 7th Avenue.
There's a style there, and those different elements all have a name and a purpose that I'd like to understand just a bit more. I'm hoping the Architecture for Dummies is simple enough for me to use...and understand.
Look at that craftsmanship. This is about 8 floors above street level and so you know most people will never look up and see this chimney (?) and yet some mason measured and carefully put in each of those bricks so they were level and equally spaced. He obviously took some pride in his work regardless of who would be seeing it.
What style is this? It looks good. And look at the sky!!
And no one thinks Seattle is a 'normal' city.
Just your average signage advertising...I don't know. I've been by this sign many times, and while I've oohed and aahed over the sign, I've never paid any attention to what it is suppose to sell.
Fail.
The light made an interesting pattern on this old building.
I just googled the name of this building, The Tower Building.
It is Art Deco and construction was started in 1928 and finished in 1930. It is for commercial usage and is currently occupied.
Love the net...so much information is available.
A detail. Great detail, isn't it!?!
And we ended up at the Washington State Convention Center. I thought it'd be a nice to stop here and get a chocolate muffin for dessert.
It was here that we got started on this chocolate muffin craze...back when we went to ComiCon (see our blog, Comicon 2014, published April 3, 2014), we indulged in a couple muffins and...the rest is history.
Wasn't as exciting as ComiCon or PAX. Those were great fun.
They were having some kind of Nuclear and Plasma Scientists Convention.
Some of the artwork in the Convention Center.
And back on the street. We were both flagging at this point. Sitting down in the warmth and then getting up and going outside into the cold again just reminded us that we're both a bit older than we were 20 years ago.
Hahaha, we were aching right about then.
But still walkin', talkin' and gawkin'.
Goooooo, 'Hawks!!
And this game is still two weeks away!!
Yeah, I know, it is kinda boring but still more interesting than a large box covered in glass. I'd like to be able to go inside these old buildings and poke around. I bet it'd be interesting.
And back onto 4th Avenue and the Westlake Park...just in time for this. I'm just observing, but it's 1440 on a Wednesday afternoon and ALL these guys are, evidently, off work so they have the time to go to the park and enjoy a game of giant chess.
The action was fast and furious.
The park looks a bit different when the weather gets a bit chilly. Right in the center, if you look hard, you can see where Carol spread out some popcorn for the pigeons. Hahaha, never miss a chance, this one!
This was just interesting...light and building.
This guy was mixing it up with some plastic bucket drums. Making a joyous noise.
Again, light and building...kind of a semi Artsy-Fartsy shot. Just interesting shadows and such.
We were happy to get on the Link and sit down for a while. A woman got on with a small wire-haired mix terrier and chihuahua and so, naturally, we struck up a conversation with her about her dog.
Seems the dog is taking a trip to San Francisco to visit friends and bring his Mommy along for the ride. She explained she was a rescue dog and she was going back to see the folks that did her rescue who, coincidently, were the woman's cousins.
We got into an animated conversation about the Link and architecture and San Francisco and Redwood City and on and on and on. We explained to her that we rode the Link downtown to do our banking and look around and that, because of the Elder Fare, it was so cheap and...here's the nice part...she was genuinely taken aback!! She wouldn't believe either of us was old enough to qualify for a Elder Fare card. She didn't ask our ages, no, very tactfully, she asked how old you had to be to qualify for one of the Oldie's Cards and was really complimentary about how we didn't look old enough to qualify.
Hahahaha, it was very gratifying. Good thing she didn't see us trying to hobble on back to the Hole-In-The-Ground after we got off the Link or else she would have been shaking her head and saying "Ah, I can see it now."
I didn't get her picture...thought about it but didn't feel comfortable asking her. Gotta get those doggone business cards made!!
And, finally, back home sitting on the couch and watching the birds scamper around the feeder. When we left this morning it was filled well above the top holes there. Along with two other feeders.
Just a nice way to end this day. It was great outside...just a bit chilly but we'll figure that out and dress appropriately. Good day for taking care of business and taking a walk.
Life is, really, very good.
Hooah!!
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