I was planning on spending some quality time at one of my favorite stores, The Paper Source at 700 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004. Sadly I ended up being in such a time constraint that I only paused to snap the one photo. The Paper Source has an abundance of very cool kits, stamps, stationary, unique trinkets and gift wrap. I’m hoping to go back soon and spend some more time!
The Vietnam Veterans Traveling Wall is in the Auburn Veteran’s Memorial Park at 411 E Street NE this Veteran’s Day Weekend. The exhibit is a half size replica of the Washington DC Vietnam Memorial Wall which was designed by Maya Lin. It was really a very interesting exhibit. So many dead — 58,195 names are listed. And there is an iPhone App to help one find any name by panel number and line. The original wall is listed as number 10 for America’s favorite piece of architecture per Wikipedia. While I was at the park I snapped some photos of the rest of the park including mural art representing many of the major US wars.
The International Fountain is situated in the middle of the Seattle Center and shots of music in time with music. I remember taking my dear daughter there was she was just little, two or three and she would chase the water spray and the pigeons too! I was there today and I’m glad to write that there are still young children (and some older ones!) playing in the fountain. Originally it was built as part of the 1962 World’s Fair, but in 1995 it was replaced and expanded. More information can be found here and a video can be found here.
So, as a last hurrah before school started I wanted to go to the conservatory in Volunteer Park in Seattle. Dear husband and I parked the car and first wandered over to the dahlia garden. From there we spotted Seattle’s Asian Art Museum. Oh! We’ve been meaning to go there. It is a lovely, art deco building constructed in 1933 was originally occupied by the Seattle Art Museum until 1991 when they moved into their new downtown location. The property is a designated Seattle landmark. The space is open and I really liked most of the exhibits. We never did go to conservatory! Maybe next time. The museum’s website is here.
I picked my dear daughter up at the airport and she was hungry for lunch. So we swung by Grand Central Bakery at 626 SW 152nd St., Burien, WA 98166. I had the BLT and dear daughter had a grill cheese and both were delicious. In particular the bread for our sandwiches was a treat. The artisan bakery is part of a small chain located in Seattle and Portland. The restaurant space is simple and full of light. The staff was welcoming and patient while we came to our lunch order decision. Grand Central’s website is here.
I made a quick trip to the airport to drop off a friend at the airport and found this display in the Alaska terminal.
I was driving around Issaquah looking for something interesting and was pleasantly surprised at my choices — a root beer drive in, a restored vintage gas station, cute stores, etc. The day’s winner was Boehms Candy at 255 NE Gilman Blvd. Issaquah, WA 98027. The company began in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood in 1943 and in 1956 they moved to their current location. The store is located in the “Edelweiss Chalet”, the first Alpine chalet in the Northwest. In addition to the store and the candy manufacturing facility, there is a replica of a 12th century chapel near St. Moritz, a fountain, a statue of William Tell, a park area with a decorative fountain and an enthusiastic water fountain (water is life).
To order learn more about Boehms or to order candy, click here
It occurs to me that I know nothing about William Tell except he has a theme song. I learned he was a folk hero of Switzerland. Looking over Wikipedia, I remembered that he is know for shooting an apple off his son’s head. The statue shows Tell and his son, Altdorf and is (I assume) a replica of the original statue by Richard Kissling in 1895.
Every year we can, we go to the Solstice Parade up in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. Since this blog is rated G (ok, maybe PG) I won’t post photos of the body painted pre-parade bicyclists, though I admire their joie de vivre! Instead I focused on the 53′ Cold War era Rocket on the building at the corner of Evanston and 35th Street. In 1991 the rocket was deemed quirky enough for the off beat neighborhood and in 1994 it was installed.
http://fremont.com/about/storyrocket-html/
I don’t really much like malls. They just make me want to buy stuff I don’t need. But there I was up in Bellevue and Coldwater Creek was having a 50% off everything sale. I did need a pair of khakis. So, I stopped in. Out of all of the malls in the area, Bell Square, which I guess is now called the Bellevue Collection, at 575 Bellevue Square is one of my favorites.
When my daughter was little, about 4, we took her here on her birthday. The shopping center has a life size dinosaur collection as a temporary exhibit and dear daughter was going through her Little Foot phase. Little Foot is a series of kid’s dinosaur movies. We were on the second floor when we got to the two story atrium with a life size T-Rex with a moving head and tail. Dear husband was a little ahead of us and went over to have a better look. When the kid and I came around the bend and saw the huge dinosaur, her eyes went big and she ran to her father as fast as she could. Then she grabbed his hand and tried to drag him back to safety screaming Sharp Tooth! Run, Papa, run!