Tag Archive Seattle

ByGD

Squat Fire

Just down the hill from my house, there used to be an old apartment building of the slumlord variety. When I moved into the neighborhood, at least one of the “homeless” Vietnam vets who panhandled near the Fremont Bridge actually lived in that building. Years later it caught fire and was boarded up afterwards. But people continued to live in there. It caught fire at least two more times (this photo is from the third) before the building was torn down. I never found out if anyone was hurt in any of the fires, because none of them ever made the news.

Now there are fancy three-story live-work townhouses in the space. I suppose this is where I should moralize about inequity or homelessness or urban renewal and good design. But I won’t. I’m just sharing a microhistory of a plot of land on a busy corner in Fremont.

ByGD

Lake Union Dragon Boats

It’s a little-known fact that Seattle has a handful of dragon boat clubs. When I discovered this, I dragged the kids down to Lake Union for the Dragon Boat Festival. It was a bit of a surreal experience, because this particular August morning felt more like Lunar New Year. It was wet and freezing. We stuck it out for a little while, but headed home with numb ears and fingers before really exploring the rest of the festival.

Lately, they haven’t been able to hold the festival because there is too much traffic on the lake in August. In the future, they are hoping to reschedule the dragon boat festival for another month. Maybe it will be warmer?

ByGD

Harshmellow: Seattle Traffic

I exited McCaw Hall with my arm around my daughter’s shoulders. It was one of those gorgeous, golden autumn days that make you forget the grey of winter is even possible. We had just watched the first rep of the season at Pacific Northwest Ballet, and it was a good one. The three pieces artfully danced back and forth across the line between abstract and narrative ballet. My daughter made some observations that justified dragging her to fine art performances at a young age and made me glow with pride.

Driving over Queen Anne hill I glanced in the rearview mirror and was almost blinded by the sunlight dancing on the water of Puget Sound. Dahlias bloomed in the yards we drove past, red and yellow leaves dropping from the trees above onto their brightly colored petals.

I pulled up to the light at Nickerson. The digital sign above the intersection read

193_Fremont_Bridge_UDNBI

I remembered how I used to love waiting for drawbridges. I lived in a city with drawbridges!

The light changed, but there was nowhere to go. Nickerson St. was backed up to the intersection. A cyclist shouted at me as he rode past my window, “It’s green!”

The shiny SUV behind me honked. One would think a driver that far off the ground would be able to see past me to the blocked traffic ahead. They honked again. I resisted the urge to shoot forward and block the intersection. Drivers on the other road had done nothing to me, so why should I inconvenience them instead of the jerk behind me. I flipped them off instead.

Nickerson cleared out as soon as the light turned red, and I spent a light cycle staring at an empty street, with a row of SUVs waiting behind me.

I’m not so sensitive that a biking beardo and a bitch in an SUV would ruin my day. But the mellow was harshed.

ByGD

I Heart the I Heart Reykjavik Blog

Cats of Reykjavik

Cats of Reykjavik

Can we talk about Iceland for a minute?

My obsession with all things Icelandic is no secret, and over the course of a three trips to the country I have developed a few intense loyalties. The KEX Hostel feels like home and I must soak at Laugardalslaug at least once each trip, even though I can’t really swim. Read More

ByGD

Home Mountain

SnowBowdoin

Our home mountain is Stevens Pass. This year the snow has been slow in coming, but in 2008, we got so much snow we could actually ride at home. This is my husband boarding down the sidewalk on our street.