Category Archives: WA State – King County

Velodrome at Marymoore Park

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17473898391_3f8d33bc41_kWashington State’s only velodrome (a cycle-racing track, typically with steeply banked curves) is the Velodrome at Marymoore Park in Redmond, WA. Dear husband and I checked it out today. There were only a couple of folks causally biking the loop on this lovely day. Velodrome racing was a popular sport in the U.S from the early 1800s to the 1930s and has been a part of the Olympic Games since 1896. There are about 26 functioning velodromes across the country. Interesting fact, the bicycles that race the track can go speeds of upward of 50 mph and have no brakes.

While at Marymoore, we also checked out the spectacular rock climbing wall and the turn of the century Windmill in the Willowmoor farmstead area.

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Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden

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17269785011_14d7690b37_oThe lovely Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden is only about 30 minutes from my house, but I hadn’t heard about it until today. It is a lovely 10 acre botanical garden which primarily features northwest flora. There is also a small Japanese Garden, a water feature and benches.  Close to the SeaTac runway, there were many passenger planes overhead, but it just seemed like another interesting part of the garden. Though I was worried about rain, it turned into a lovely day. My favorite part, beside the hummingbird, was the amazing gate! More info can be found here.

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Daiso, Bellevue

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16230445183_202898c7be_kI’ve been going to Crossroads Mall in Bellevue for years, decades even, but I hadn’t realized that they have a Daiso Store. My only defense is that it has an exterior entrance. It is like a dollar store with everything being the same price (a little more than a dollar). I sent about $20 and walked away with a bunch of fairly useful stuff. There is a nice mural on the exterior wall.

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Des Moines Creek and Marina

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Man and fishA while back while we were having that string of lovely weekends, dear husband and I were exploring and came upon the Des Moines Marina and Creek. It is a lovely area with a marine (you might have guessed), a large parking lot, some public art (including a way cool mural) and to the north end trails and beach. The Fish/man in the mural is also a statue elsewhere in Des Moines.

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Redondo, WA

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I talked dear husband into coming with me to take sunset photos at the lovely Saltwater State Park, but when we got there the road was closed (seriously!). Well, ok, there must be other places around to see the sunset. So we drive around and find Redondo, which is a neighborhood community in Des Moines and Federal Way. Wikipedia tells that the area was originally designed as a resort, but over the years became a middle class residential community that centers around the lovely Redondo Beach. In addition to the residential homes, there is a Salty’s Restaurant, a marine museum, another restaurant which was closed at the time and some great public art. The beach features a fishing/viewing peer, boardwalk (above the beach), a diving tour, some amazing sunset views of Poverty Bay. The area is rumored to be named after the more famous Redondo Beach in California, which is famous for its surfing and beach volleyball.

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Cheese Wizards, Seattle

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TruckMy friend went to a Portland food truck specializing in grilled cheese and it sounded so good that I went to find one in Seattle. The owners of the Cheese Wizard were so nice and so proud of their food. As well they should be with their focused specialty. I had the Green Seer and dear husband had the Gobblin’ King, both warm and delicious.Their Facebook account is here. There were several other food trucks in the Westlake neighborhood and I thought it was wonderful that there was actually street parking spaced dedicated to them.

The truck was parked in front of the Tesla Showroom, so we stopped in there too. It was interesting to see the cars plugged in to charge and I loved sitting in one and looking at the information panel.  We were told that if we ordered one today, it would be ready in three or four months. I would have test driven one, but the traffic in the area was crazy with all the new construction.

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Jimi Hendrix Statue on Capital Hill

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15492143614_c6bb128d11_kI’ve been wanting to go visit Capital Hill again to see Elliot Bay Books and just walk around. So dear husband and I visited with the goal of capturing the statue of Jimi Hendrix. It’s good to have goals. Jimi is situated outside of Blix Art Supplies. The statue was sculpted by Daryl Smith and was originally installed in 1997 in front of AEI Music Network, Inc. at 900 E. Pine St., though they have since moved.

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A Especially Lovely Day at Enatai Beach Park

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14986119982_4f32d91867_kI went off today with dear husband to find the the Village of Beaux Arts because its such a cool name. The village has about 300 people and no commercial buildings. Since I’d rather not take photos of people’s houses, I only snapped the sign and then drove out of the tiny village to discover the lovely Enatai Beach Park, which is located in Bellevue. What a great park. It has a beach with people sunning (I was in a jacket!) and fishing off the dock. There were kayaks available to rent also. There was a lifeguard (also in a jacket) who told me that while there were no people swimming today, there often are when it gets warm. The park is practically under the I-90 Bridge, but I didn’t notice any traffic noise.

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Metsker Maps

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IMG_3925I was strolling through SeaTac Airport going to my flight when I stumped upon Metsker Maps at Concourse B . That’s right, I know remember that they opened an airport location. I love maps and thus love this store! The woman working there was so pleasant and knowledgeable and their selection was great.

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