It was another sunshiny beautiful Great American Northwest kinda day!! Absolutely gorgeous!! But it was colder than a well-digger's heart buried in a brass urn on the shady side of an iceberg.
Brrrrrrrrr . . .
Regardless, life goes on and everyone, beast, fish, fowl and fool, adapts to the chill and gets on with living. So we layered our clothing and bundled up and then set off on our final adventure for 2014 in The Emerald City!!
We boldly marched down the street and as we rounded the corner, what to our wondering eyes should appear!?!
A couple of Red Robins in the Red Robin Tree!!
And, oddly enough, a European Starling.
(How'd he get in here?)
Actually, this guy wasn't in the Red Robin Tree. He was on a tall fir next to it, sitting right at the very top. And he didn't really present his best side for a picture.
This guy, however, cooperated a bit more. He was eating the berries and he would pick up one, tilt his head and, POW!! it was gone.
I know, you're thinking, "Duh!!" What'd you expect!?!"
Well, hahahaha, I expected them to sorta peck at them . . . not eat them whole in a single gulp.
 |
| What'chu lookin' at, Willis!?! |
Cold as it was, we did make it to the Link. Just in time for a . . .
Link Train Car Reflected Window Selfie!!
I gave up on using the doors of the train car for our Reflected Window Selfie and I decided to use one of the larger windows in the car. Hah!! Success!!
Oh, by the way, this train car is all done up with a picture of the Parliament from Jolly Olde England . . . I think it's Alaska Air and they want you to do some traveling with them.
Annnnnnd, here comes our Link Train. Again, I know, again. I love me some zoom and I am not above using it each and everytime I can. And, obviously, I do.
Ridin' the Link Selfie!!
Hahaha, you can see we are bundled up. I got the hat from Alaska Air (didn't I just mention them?) at the football game last Sunday.
I do loves me some freebies!!
Warm ears? Check!!
Groovy cap? Check!!
Let's go!!
And there we were, in The Emerald City on the last day of 2014!!
And it was still a beautiful day. Look at that sunshine!!
Now, this trip was just a follow-your-nose kinda day. No agenda other than let's go and see what we can see. We had no plan other than to see what was happening and so we headed to the Seattle Center where they're going to have the Big New Year's Celebration tonight.
They've been rigging the Space Needle for a day or two with fireworks for the Big Event!! Woo, woo!!
Hahahaha, too cold, too late and too crowded for me to even think about going.
We had no real notion of where we were going and what we were going to do after we got there, we just drifted over in the direction of the Seattle Center. I had no real theme, no direction I had to follow with my photography so I kinda ad-libbed it. That's my long way of saying I shot what I wanted to and took a lot of Artsy-Fartsy shots today.
Hahaha, that's the way it is!!
#getoverit
We wisely decided to take the Monorail over to the Seattle Center.
Did I mention it was cold outside?
Woo, woo!! Riding the historic rail to the Center.
Coming into the Seattle Center the first things you see is the EMP building, which is still a butt-ugly building. There's an open park area next to it that, I think, is under construction for something new. It's blocked off and it looks like the ground is being prepared for . . . something.
B&W Artsy-Fartsy Picture!!
Hahaha, I warned you, OK? OK!
This is the entrance/exit for the Monorail. You can turn right here and go into the Armory or, as we did, you can go straight ahead and enter the park near the base of the Space Needle.
Man, I bet this was a real kick back in '62 when the World's Fair opened up.
Ah, Chihuly. The Garden and Glass Exhibition. I guess this is a seim-permanent exhibit now. They also call it a museum.
Fun Facts: This guy, Dale Chihuly, got started in glass when he was studying interior design at UW. After he graduated in '65, he enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the U of Wisconsin (I was going to put UW but I thought that might be confusing). He continued his study at Rhode Island School of Design where he started a glass program and taught.
In 1968, he went to work at a glass factory in Venice where he learned the team approach to blowing glass. In '71, Chihuly cofounded the Pilchuck Glass School. With this as his base, Chiculy has led the avant-garde (???) in the development of glass as a fine art.
(I was curious as to the exact definition of the term Avant-garde, so: The avant-garde ((from French, 'advance guard' or 'vanguard', literally 'fore-guard)) are people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture and politics.)
His work, believe it or not, has been included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide. He's also gotten, not surprisingly, a lot of awards plus, believe it or not, twelve honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts.
Hahaha, how this ever happens is all this is beyond me. Can you tell I'm not a big fan of a lot of what passes for as art these days?
I am still, pretty much, unimpressed with his work. I just can't see what all the foo-fer-all is about.
#whatsthebigdeal
But this, now this I can understand. It's an architectural gem plus being a minor historical treasure.
That's the gift shop at the base of the Space Needle on the left. The Chihuly Exhibit is on the right.
We were walking up to the small Peace Garden. . . Ahhh, Seattle, such a Liberal Bastion . . . where the Willow Tree they planted back in '62 when the Fair opened was and which blew down about three or so weeks ago.
Bummer.
Carol wanted to see what they'd done with the tree and with the Garden once they'd removed it. You'll see it later.
Promise.
See the sky? Of course you do, it's pretty doggone deep and dramatic, n'est-ce pas?
Carol bought me a Filter Adapter and a new Circular Polarizing Filter for my camera and this picture is the result.
I put a polarizing filter on my lens to darken skies, manage reflections or suppress glare from the surface of lakes or sea. Since reflections tend to be at least partially linearly-polarized, a linear polarizer can be used to change the balance of the light in the photograph.
The rotational orientation of the filter is adjusted for the preferred artistic effect. For Modern cameras, a circular polarizer is typically used, this comprises firstly a linear polarizer which performs the artistic function just described, followed by a quarter-wave plate which further filters the now-linearly polarized light into circularly-polarized light before entering the camera.
You getting all this?
This additional step avoids problems with auto-focus and light-metering sensors within some cameras which otherwise may not function reliably with a simple linear polarizer.
Whew!! Bottom line is it punches the heck out of the sky. Oh, and it protects the lens from any scratches; it's a lot cheaper to replace a filter than it is to replace the camera.
It really makes a statement, doesn't it!?!
Whoa!! I haven't seen this style (?) of seaplane before. It was coming down over the Seattle Center for a landing in Lake Union.
Here's the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibition. It opened at the Seattle Center in 2012.
Hahaha, Reflected Window Chihuly Glass.
OK, they do call it the Chihuly Garden and Glass. So these are like plants in a garden, right?
Now these are interesting to look at once and to take some pictures of but other than that it's, well, there.
Hahaha, I realize that I've taken a lot of pictures of these and I've also been panning them pretty badly. No need to mention it, I do see the irony.
Well, they were there and the sky was blue and the light was right and . . .
. . . I took my shots. I like these pictures but . . .
Hahaha, there was no way I was getting out of that easily. If this were a Country & Western song, I'd just have Grandma get run over by a semi to get out of the hole I dug for myself, but . . .
OK, let's move on, shall we?
Remember, the other day we visited the Yarrow Bay Wetlands? How glad we felt they were that we were there and how they made us feel so special with all the warm welcomes . . . hahahaha, with some small reservations.
Anywho, I saw this sign and it reminded me of the other ones at the Wetlands. Makes you feel like you really belong!!
Here's Alexander Liberman's large sculpture Olympic Iliad (1984). The artwork (?) is a monumental agglomeration of steel cylinders located on the lawn surrounding the Space Needle.
Hahahaha, I'd call it monumental, too, but the next words I'd use after that wouldn't be agglomeration.
Here's the Mural Amphitheater just behind the Chihuly Exhibit.
They're going to have the live bands here tonight when they celebrate the coming of the New Year.
Since the '62 Seattle World's Fair, the Pacific Science Center's (PSC) arches have been a familiar part of the Seattle skyline. Designed by Minoru Yamasaki, Pacific Science Center's white arches rise above a court of reflecting pools. At night, they light up the sky with their vibrant colors - green for St. Patrick's Day, orange for Halloween and many more.
Fun Fact: The PSC opened the day after the Seattle World's Fair closed. Great timing!!
Here's the entrance to the PSC. Coming in from this direction you enter into the open courtyard with the reflecting pools.
Here's the Mural Amphitheater, not too far away from the Space Needle.
Fun Facts: The mural the amphitheater is named after was done by Paul Horiuchi. In 1962, when Seattle hosted the Century 21 World's Fair, Horiuchi received a commission to create a huge (17'x60') outdoor mural which would serve as the backdrop for the amphitheater at the Seattle Center. Today, the Mural Amphitheater's glass mosaic backdrop remains his most popularly known work.
This is the walkway down to the International Fountain. I would imagine, although I can't say for sure, that these trees were probably planted here in 1962 for the Seattle World's Fair.
But we had business in the Armory. First was to get warm. Did I mention it was CA-OLD!?!
It was.
Second was to get Carol some Hot Chocolate.
Third, and this was the most compelling reason, I had to use the necessary.
But before we got there, I saw this warm family tableau. Junior posing inside the hole of the sign for the Armory. It kinda reminded me of the Black Doughnut at Volunteer Park. It's shaped like a big doughnut, much like this and I thought Carol could go and pose with the opening acting like a frame for her. And so . . .
. . . I suggested Carol pose by it. She was all for it!!
Hahaha, someone was excited!!
I guess I should have explained because Carol was all for posing . . . just like the kid.
And she almost pulled it off.
But we had a great time and a large laugh and it was fun.
She's a wild one.
While Carol was in line at the Starbuck's getting her Hot Chocolate I drifted over to the Winterfest model railroad display. We were there about three weeks ago. It still looks as much fun now as it did then.
See the train station, the yellow building, there in the back? The kids can buy a ticket and then they get to go into the station and actually operate the trains.
Cool fun, eh?
Carol got her drink and joined me and we slowly made our way up the turn-of-the-century model train village enjoying the sights.
We both stopped and watched as this Dad lifted his daughter, that's her, just to the left of her Daddy, so she could donate a dollar to the exhibit in a special slot they have built into the display. As soon as Dad put Little Debbie down, Junior wanted to put some money into the slot, too.
Uh, oh!! Pops didn't have any more dollars nor did he have any coins either.
Snap!!
"Oh, we have a quarter!! We'll give you a quarter for him!! Jack, give me a quarter!!" I culled my pockets and found a quarter, gave it to Carol who gave it to Dad who gave it to Junior. Then Pops picked Junior up and ker-plunk!!
The day was saved and everyone was happy.
There's some of the kids running the trains. Neat idea.
Convex Mirror Reflected Selfie!!
Hahaha, sue me!!
The Armory. Yeah, it was really an actual Armory at one time and used by the National Guard. If you squint your eyes, you can see the utilitarian design of the building which would fit neatly into its original purpose. I think those old citizen-soldiers would be very surprised see what their Armory was being used for today.
The times they do change.
Before we walked out, though, we were tempted, both visually and olfacoceptionally (they smelled good), by these taste treats.
Oh, they smelled very, very good.
Mmmmmmm . . .
As a small aside, the best cookies I've had lately have been some chocolate chip cookies that we buy, of all places, at the Dollar Tree. I know, no surprise that I shop at the Dollar Tree. But, Boy Howdy, those cookies are moist and tasty.
And when we walked out we saw this . . . and no one was using it!! So I had Carol pose with it and then a family was walking by and the Mom volunteered to take our picture. I figured I could still chase her down cuz she was holding a two-year old and so it would be safe to let her take the camera and so . . . I got in the picture, too!!
And May Your Cup Always Be Full, Too!!
Hahaha, it's so topical. This is Seattle, the City with 1,001 coffee shops within a one-mile radius downtown plus this is winter.
Clever!!
Looking down towards the International Fountain.
In the summer, the Fountain has a pretty cool water display with plumes of water shooting 100 feet into the air!!
Not now, though.
And just across the quad is the KeyArena, former home of The Seattle SuperSonics. Their move is still a sore point for many around these parts.
But now it is, among other things, a semi-home to the Rat City RollerGirls. Our claim to fame is that Lanaya, the girl who lives upstairs, is a member of the Rat City RollerGirls.
Woo, woo!!
Hahahaha, I know!!
Artsy-Fartsy Alert!!
One of my "Happy Accidents". There's a skateboard park there at the Seattle Center. I know, I don't understand, either. As we were walking up this guy skated up and off to the left. There is a row of these colored panels along the far side of the park and when he came back towards the skate park, I caught this picture.
Moody and mysterious.
I call it, 'Solitary Figure Introspection' and you can have it for $5,000. OK, OK, for you I'll make it $5. Too much? Alright then, $1.
What!?! OK, just take it, Man.
Hahaha, remember my theory that art is nothing more than the ability to get someone to buy your stuff.
Whup!! There it is!!
Fun Facts: The term, OK, achieved national prominence in 1840, when Democrat supporters used it as a nickname for the Democrat presidential candidate, Martin Van Buren. He was from Kinderhook, NY and was called 'Old Kinderhook'. Evidently they would say 'Vote for OK' which was, you have to admit, snappier than using his Dutch name.
It really is addictive, this taking pictures of the Space Needle.
I think of the 287 pictures I took today that around 243 of them were of the Space Needle.
#Addictive!!
And this one counts, too. Three famous Seattle Icons, The Space Needle, Horiuchi's mural and the Famous Carol Anne!!
Celebrate!!
Chihuly Glass Exhibit Reflected Window Selfie!!
I don't know, I guess you could call this Artsy-Fartsy, but I prefer to call it an illness.
I have this obsession with taking pictures of windows reflecting things . . . like the base unit on the Space Needle.
Still, it's not awful.
Whup!! There it is again!!
The Needle AND a reflected window shot!!
Hahahaha, I can't help myself!!
#rehabcenter
OK, remember where that Willow was that was planted in 1962 and blown down in 2014? Here it is again. Carol wanted to see it again.
Fun Fact: This fountain, immediately adjacent to the Space Needle, is named after Seattle Construction and Real Estate Mogul, Howard S. Wright, original owner of the Space Needle.
Here's the Space Needle's futuristic Christmas Tree.
Hmmmmm, we're missing an 'a' from Se ttle.
You wait long enough and another will come along. Here's the Monorail, making another round and entering into the EMP. Same cars since 1962.
I realized I was hungry and since I rarely pass up a chance to go to a McDonald's and there was one, fortunately, just across the street and we had the time, inclination and money, we headed on over.
And on the way, we passed this bus which, handily enough, had a reflection of the, well, what do you know, Space Needle.
C'Mon, this shouldn't surprise you!!
And if you look real hard, you can see Carol's upraised hands (Celebrate!!) and the tops of our heads.
City Bus Reflected Window Selfie!!
This should not have surprised you, not a bit.
So we made it to the Mickey D's and got our grub.
Don't Judge!!
#newyearsresolution
#diet
#fersure
This Mickey D's has a sports theme. Jerseys are hung on the walls and other sports paraphernalia is place around the restaurant.
Oh, The SuperBowl Champion, Seattle Seahawks!!
Ah, I see.
Whup!! There it goes again!!
Even though it is the last day of 2014 and we were by the Seattle Center, there wasn't a lot of foot traffic . . . nor anything else, really. I was surprised that it was so quiet out that way.
Yup, things were pretty calm and quiet.
And the city kept doing it's day-to-day business.
Oh, c'mon, you wouldn't have taken this shot?
Hahahaha, I thought so.
And, POW!! you just run into random acts of art throughout this city. And this one is kinda good. Better than a giant glass flower.
Find a blank wall and paint a mural. I'm sure there's more to it than that but I choose to keep it simple for me.
Well done, y'all.
The air had that winter quality . . . crisp, clean, sharp and clear.
Love the cold air of the winter months, especially when the sun is shining. The light was great today.
And it played well off of the buildings. Hahaha, brick building, reflected light AND reflections in the windows!!
A trifecta!!
Remember, I told you we had no idea what we would see and so this was going to be just a photo safari for me. And wander we did. I thought we'd walk on over to the Pike Place Public Market. We wandered around and took some new streets.
And we saw what we saw.
Here we're looking down Battery Street towards Elliott Bay.
Seattle has itself some hills.
And here's where the Alaskan Way Viaduct starts and ends at its northern terminus.
Hahahaha, you can't get near the Bay without getting at least one picture of a ferry going by.
Isn't this a great building!?! You've got a pub and then look, just to the right, the entrance to the apartments above. Hahaha, this would be fun to live in . . . just blocks from the Seattle Center and in another direction just blocks from the Pike Place Public Market. And the best part would be the Pub downstairs.
I think this is Bell Street. You can see a truck driving along on the Alaskan Way Viaduct. They're trying to dig a tunnel to replace the Viaduct with. Hahaha, it isn't going too well as they're already, surprise, surprise, over budget and behind schedule.
And you want government to run your health care?
Hahahaha . . . seriously!?!
Just an interesting pattern.
Talk about a utilitarian design. No frills here.
Detail, brick wall with windows. Love the texture of the brick.
We were on First and going by it anyway so we stopped in at the Federal Army & Navy Surplus Store to see if they had any of those blue enamelware coffee mugs.
They did. We now have two.
Genuine Gov't Camping & Hunting!!
BAM!!
Turn a corner, or in this case, walk up the street and there's another wall all done up. Someone put a lot of effort into this.
SEE HAWK!!
This just looked interesting.
And this. It's a great building. It's on the corner of Virginia and First and someday I am going to stop in the bar on the first floor but for now I just appreciated the way the light was playing off the brick and the old windows with their wood facing.
Très soignée
Again, a classic old building, possibly a factory, with the late afternoon sun reflected onto the brickwork.
More B&W Artsy-Fartsy Stuff Alert!!
Now this one just piqued my interest. There were these garden gnomes stacked one upon another and then there was the great reflection of the building across the street and the trees along the street.
Ah, sure looks calm, eh?
But not for long!! The closer we got to the Public Market, the more the foot and vehicular traffic picked up.
This place was hopping!! Cold or not, there were plenty of people walking, shopping and enjoying the sights.
And there were plenty as we went up Pike, too.
Sky, windows, reflections, buildings, the street. I'm hitting on all cylinders now!!
As much as I dislike crowds and noisy areas, I do enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city. It has a certain call that I respond to. Hahaha, this sounds silly, but I think I enjoy this city so much because it is so easy for me to get to. I don't have to wrestle the traffic either coming or going nor do I have to fuss finding parking. The Link makes it possible to get here and go home so doggone easy that, well, it's fun to do.
A lot of fun.
And we were done. It was good seeing the city on this last day of 2014. Kind of like saying adios to it for this year. Maybe we'll go back up again tomorrow, maybe not. It's a fitting end to enjoy the half-mile walk back to the Hole-In-the-Ground.
And as we passed the Red Robin Tree, we were pleased to see that there were still some robins there. They've started construction on the lot right next to it, thank goodness it was one of the two trees that were spared when they cleared the lot for construction of new homes.
But I got to see them again and that was cool.
It was a good day.
I'm liking this cold weather. I admit, it definitely helps that I am fortunate enough to have adequate clothing. Still, there is something that is invigorating to me in the cold, crisp and clear air on a day like today.
I can deal with it.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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