I go to Alki Beach quite a bit at evening, as do lots of other people, but who knew that people wake up and go there in the morning too? It’s a couple blocks away from the house and I don’t usually want to wait that long for the first coffee of the day. This morning I practiced delayed gratification and walked to coffee.  There are four or five coffee shops in the short stretch along the beach (because this is Seattle…) but I go to the one farthest away because my daughter would consider joining me later at this one.  She gets coffee that comes from a particular farm in a particular country (more on that later) while I ask if they have Folgers.

All kinds of things were happening this morning, the most interesting being an open water boat race of some sort.  I got there just minutes before the starting horn so boats were lining up along some imaginary line which wasn’t very straight.  I guess they were going quite a distance so a few feet here and there wasn’t going to matter.  Anything that could be paddled was eligible for this trek across the sound to a rock near some island and back again.  Naturally, the scullers took off in the lead and the poor guys on paddleboards were bringing up the rear.  It’s a cool, gray day with a light chop on the water and mist in the air.

Cyclists are out. Families with children wanting donuts are straggling in. Seattle dogs are out in numbers.  The weekend is here. Happy Saturday everyone!