How to Have a Great Time Exploring Seattle without a Car

August 17, 2015July 7, 2020 ShirleyjdietzLeave a comment

Don’t get me wrong, I love driving a car and there are those rushes of freedom it can give you. On the other hand there is a whole different kind of freedom that you feel when you don’t have to have one and can still get around. And this is especially true here in Seattle where you might end up spending as much to park your car as you do to own it.

My goal yesterday was to explore and use mass transit and foot power to do it. I started out by researching at www.metro.kingcounty.gov where I was able to access a trip planner and locations where I could buy an Orca pass. I started the day walking uphill (puff, puff…) to the Safeway Grocery on California Ave. where the transaction was processed. The pass costs $5 and I decided to put $30 on it toward transit fares. Now, anytime my husband or I come to Seattle we can ride the bus without having to search for the right amount of cash. It worked great on all the rides I took, even the ferry, and each time I had it scanned the remaining amount was displayed. I know I am going to like this system.

My online trip planner gave me details on which bus to take and where to wait for it. It was only half a block away and I was only there a few minutes before a small bus pulled up. It wasn’t what I was expecting so I didn’t get in, but the driver wasn’t satisfied to see me standing there. She was my first really interesting encounter of the day. She had to know what bus I was waiting for and where I was going, after which she told me to get in or I would be waiting forever. She drove the water taxi, which she said was free. I didn’t argue. I got in.

This amazing driver went on to practically read the minds of people at all her stops, telling them which buses ran on weekends, where they could access them and how to get where they wanted to go. She had been driving her water taxi route for years and was a wealth of information. Water taxi’s are not well explained in the online trip planner (she told me this) and as you will see later, I still don’t understand them.

This ride took me around West Seattle with a great view across the water of downtown and the harbor. It ended at a business district called the Junction where I was to catch the C line to the Fauntleroy Ferry station. The C line is a bus on steroids. The vehicles are huge, sometimes double buses, and they are fast, serving commuters between major areas. I had to use my Orca pass for this ride – the scanner was on the bus.

Marathon man and others leaving the Vashon Ferry

It always works well for me when I’m not sure how to proceed, to pick someone who looks like they know what they’re doing and follow them. My victim this time was a man with a backpack who strode away from the Fauntleroy Ferry stop with confidence and headed toward the water. A backpack in the city can mean you’re homeless or you’re simply a person without a car to carry all your stuff. This guy looked fit so I assumed he might be the latter. I was right, as my conversation with “Mr. 15 Boston Marathon runner” later revealed. He probably had a car but he hardly ever uses it, preferring to run/bus to his lawyer job and his weekend home on Vashon Island. He had already done his 9 miles that morning.

We walked onto the Issaquah ferry, again using the Orca pass at the turnstile scanner. What a beautiful day to be out on the water! The crossing took only 20 minutes, start to finish, and was super relaxing.

Lot on Vashon where you can park your car... or your deer.

Vashon is not a suburban area. It is more like country. I walked uphill a short ways to a parking lot but there were no business districts close by (there were deer strolling between parked cars) and it was time for me to find food before heading back. Easy to find, because it was the only one, was the Family Mexican Restaurant at the ferry dock, right on the beach. This is what I ate and it was good.

The ride back to West Seattle was a mirror image of the ride to Vashon. Passage on the ferry is bought round trip and there are no pay stations on Vashon so I just walked on the boat with the other foot and bicycle passengers. And thinking to backtrack the same route I had taken, I boarded the C line bus again. The Orca pass can also be scanned at some bus stops, before boarding the bus. I guess this is to save time at the busiest places?

Although this bus was headed in the direction I wanted to go, I may have gotten off too early. The sign at the stop indicated that the water taxi picked up there, and the schedule online said it came every half hour on Sundays, but after more than an hour of reading my Kindle, there still was no water taxi. Thankfully these days we have smart phones with GPS and if we are smart enough to use them they will point us in the right direction.

After walking to a familiar intersection, I gave up on the bus altogether and walked all the way home. Such a nice day, why not? I was able to finish my route by coming down through Schmitz Park, an awesome forest in the midst of a city. According to my fitness app, again on my smartphone, this was my best day of exercise for a long time, 13,500 steps or about 6 miles. I had a great time and saw a lot of West Seattle. Just sayin’, walking is still a reasonable way to get around (if you’re not in a hurry).

If you’ve had an interesting walk lately, where was it?

How to Find Special Moments

August 13, 2015 Shirleyjdietz3 Comments

Do you like this picture? Do you think it represents a special moment?

I’ve been in Seattle a while now, taking lots of walks and keeping my eyes open as I go. There is always something on display. Lately it has been the sunsets, several of which are on my Instagram collection if you want to see them.

Be curious, set goals

I started thinking about those special moments when we catch an unbelievable photo or have a chance encounter with another person that is significant, or when we realize we have overcome a big hurdle or reached a personal goal. Last night Charlie and I set out on our evening walk with a goal. West Seattle has an amazing terrrain and Alki Beach where we always start is at sea level on Puget Sound. On different occasions I have looked up to a high ridge above us and seen an unusual house with many windows and turrets outlined in white. I wanted to find it.

Take time, make a plan

I had been giving Charlie (and myself) exercise in the evenings anyway, the difference this time being that we needed to go up instead of walking the along the beach as usual. Honestly, there are streets here that are so steep you wouldn’t think a car should be driving on them, and they are narrow, twisting and full of parked cars. I studied my Google earth map and decided which streets might give me the quickest route to the top of the ridge. It was impossible to know for sure which house was my turret house but I knew a couple of streets to try.

Proceed with eyes wide open

It was a climb, for sure. Charlie was panting and I had to go slow. We rested when we needed to catch our breath. I kept looking for the highest streets and ones with a view of the Sound. I came to a sign indicating a dead end ahead but decided to go a little farther. Had I not done so I would have missed the photo above. I could see the sun through a clearing ahead and it was turning the world red. A blazing trail across the water glowed almost as bright as the sun itself. I noticed the sailboat approaching and hung around taking shots as it moved across that shimmering stripe. It was a special moment, an unplanned one, and I was so thankful to have caught it.

Don’t stop, expect more

There really is no limit to the amount of surprise and wonder I want in my life. I hadn’t yet found the turret house so went along the ridge in the opposite direction, up a heartbreaking hill. I could see no higher area anywhere around but none of the houses I passed were the one I was looking for. Some other walkers were coming up a flight of steps along the street (yes it was steep enough to make steps instead of sidewalk) and I asked them where they were coming from. One lady had lived in the neighborhood for over twenty years and when I described what I was looking for she said “Oh, you mean the turret house! My daughter used to babysit there for their kids.” She told me it was one street over and around a corner.

Savor that accomplishment, no matter how small

I found the house, looked at it as long as I could without being reported as a stalker, and headed home. It was a great feeling to have accomplished the goal and more than wonderful that the whole way home was downhill. Charlie and I both felt energized and pretty pleased with ourselves.

Have you had a special moment recently? Tell me what it was! Don’t keep it a secret!

Getting My Mind off Pain in the Rain

August 12, 2015August 11, 2015 Shirleyjdietz1 Comment

Stop. I mean stop doing what you’ve always done, the way you’ve always done it. If you do, you will see different things, different behaviors – and even if you see the same old things, you will see them differently because of the change you have made. We are placed in this world of seemingly endless variety for a reason. Variety and change, they refresh us, stimulate creativity and new thought, and well, just make life fun.

Today it’s gray and rainy, not the kind of day that you think “hey, it’s time to go out for a walk and get all wet”. But I needed a walk pretty badly. I made the mistake of attempting a workout video with Dr. J (who is half my age) over the weekend. Who knew that 25 minutes of half-hearted exercise could produce such pain? I picked up an umbrella and headed out. I’m glad I did. I saw all this.

there's something comforting about a soft, gentle, rain. It's just water... — there’s something comforting about a soft, gentle, rain. It’s just water…

Against the grayness, colors go crazy. They “POP”!

Even white is... whiter? — Even white is… whiter?

My aunt's front porch, awesome. — My aunt’s front porch, awesome.

So go take a walk outside, even if it's raining (or snowing). See things differently. Just sayin'. — So go take a walk outside, even if it’s raining (or snowing). See things differently. Just sayin’.

I’m a little too challenged…

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 ShirleyjdietzLeave a comment

Believe it or not, every now and then I do something to learn how to be a better blogger/writer. Not that it always shows, I know. The latest effort is called something like “10 days to a better blog” and every day there is a lesson and a challenge for me to complete. I have learned some useful things. It’s supposed to take 15 minutes a day but it’s turning out to take way more than that. It’s a good thing I have practically nothing to do out here in Seattle…

Like today. The challenge was to categorize all your posts into major categories – 3 to 5 of them. For some people this is a 15 minute task, I understand. But for me, having written my 500th post recently, and having no real system of arranging them, this is going to take the rest of the week. And that’s if I figure out how to do it quickly. My head hurts.

There’s also a Facebook page where all 600 of us taking the free course are supposed to share our work and get to know each other. It’s like going to the mailbox and reading two or three hundred letters every day. That’s a 15 minute job, right? It’s a good thing I have nothing to do in Seattle….

For family and friends who have been reading what I write, this means that once in a while you are going to see an old post come up. Probably with a new title. There is this very cool site that will analyze my titles for free and tell me how to make people want to read the post. I’m supposed to use power words, and emotional words, and common and uncommon words, blah, blah, blah…. Did I try about 20 words that I thought were emotionally appealing before I found out that “in the” were considered emotional? Yes. That challenge took more than 15 minutes too, but it’s a good thing I’m here in Seattle where there’s nothing else to do…

So, bear with me. The ten days is almost up and then I will probably go back to the same old format, same old colors, same old fonts, and same boring titles I’ve always had. I might need a little encouragement or feedback. If there is anything you like or don’t like about what I have to say, here’s your chance. Actually, did you know you could comment on any post? I can’t stop you, hahaha, so put it out there. I’m just sayin’, figuring out what people want to read, what they need to read and what I want to write is sometimes a little too challenging. But hey, I’m here in Seattle…

A Simple Way to Effectively Ruin Your Vet’s Schedule

August 10, 2015August 10, 2015 Shirleyjdietz4 Comments

One of this days “added” patients, up and about after surgery.

Having spent a few days with Jacksonville Equine veterinarian Dr. Dietz, I noticed a trend in her business. It goes something like this:

“Hey doc, while you’re here would you mind doing a Coggins on my horse. I just live next door. It will only take a minute…”

Well, as long as you’re here go ahead and float my horse’s teeth if it needs to be done…”

“As long as we knew you were coming, my sister brought her horses over too. Could you vaccinate them as well…”

“Hey, as long as you’re here, do you have time to castrate a goat, or maybe all three of them?”

Several days with only a few known appointments have turned out to be considerably longer days than expected. Some days this is good. Others, not so much. It can be a scheduling nightmare. However, Dr. J is getting good at upselling her services and rarely turns anyone down. Because farms are often far apart it is much easier to do more work in one location and apologize to the next client for being a bit late, than to come back later. The “while you’re here” conversation usually means a savings of time for her and is welcomed.

My unusual experience on this trip was the procedure on the three goats. I’m not going into details here but in general, she is good with the knife and it didn’t take very long at all. One was awake and walking around by the time we left, the other two were still sleeping off the anesthesia. Goats snore.

No, not dead - just sleeping it off, and snoring. — No, not dead – just sleeping it off, and snoring.

The five days I spent in Jacksonville were sunny and beautifully temperate which is different from our usual rainy weekends there. The farms we visited were green grassed and clean. Our own horses were looking sleek and shiny and their pasture was dry, not a sea of mud. I could imagine it being a good place for Dr. J to live and practice.

How to Get Dog Tired

August 9, 2015August 10, 2015 Shirleyjdietz3 Comments

I could lie down on the floor just like this, right now.

A couple of weeks without writing goes by so fast – I don’t even notice. Sometimes I just want to go live life for a while so I have something to write about. I think so much better when my hands are busy, especially when I’m outside and busy.

This morning it was English Ivy.

“That’s a really pretty plant covering your fence now. Couldn’t you plant some of that after the new fence goes in? It looks like it grows pretty fast.”

My daughter and I were discussing plans for replacing the existing fence which is nearly ready to dissolve in the next rain. It has been there since the house was built in the 50’s. The dogs keep finding/making holes and escaping. The new fence has been in the plans for a while but fencing here in Washington costs so much it takes my breath away.

“There’s a problem with that plant – it’s an invasive species so I don’t think we should keep it”. So that was settled. It had to go, and I had a new project. I love having a clear, understandable goal with a probable outcome (because it helps make up for all the unclear, non-understandable elements in my life that have no known outcome…)

Armed with gloves and two sizes of nippers I took off the outermost layer of vine, hoping to see fence. But as with many plants with dense foliage, there was another layer of dead, dry leaves, mold and dirt beneath the living. Clipping and hacking my way down to the fence, I began to notice the dust in the air, especially when a new section was pulled clear. The thought occurred that it might not be good to be breathing all that. This thought was soon followed by coughing that I couldn’t control and a nasal sinus condition that made me wish I had an inhaler. I’ve never had allergies, but this stuff wanted me to develop one.

Eh, no plant easily deters me from a well made plan. I coughed my way through and stuffed all that section of ivy into trash bags. Some of the main branches were two inches thick and many of the vines had grown right into the fence and become part of it – and I only mention that to impress you and to explain why I’m now tired as a dog. And I don’t know if dogs are really tired or just bored so I’m just sayin’ that they look tired and that’s how I feel.

There was a fence under there and I found it.

The Birthday Problem

July 27, 2015 Shirleyjdietz2 Comments

I have no one to blame but myself. I think it all started for me with that first picture (I have no actual memories of the event), the one where I’m in my high chair with a cake with one candle in front of me. I have an unknowing look on my face but I’m about to start a lifelong habit of expectation. People are lined up on both sides of the table and I’m obviously the center of attention. And why not, it’s my birthday.

Ever since then birthdays have presented one kind of problem or another. Sometimes it’s a problem for those who remember and must plan an event, a card on time, a meaningful greeting or those who forget and have to assuage their guilt. Other times it’s a problem for the birthday boy or girl who can’t decide if they want people to know or if it would be better to pass the day in anonymity

There are some people, the husband for instance, who must not have had their birthday expectation pump primed in infancy. There is never a hint about the approaching holiday. There is never a post birthday let down. It’s just another day and these people might even be surprised if you remind them that they are a year older on that day. There are others who, like me, anticipate what might happen with a fair amount of excitement. I have a list of these kindred souls. Some years I even go out of my way to feed their birthday appetite.

And so it was several years ago with my friend J. Carroll Barnhill. He talks about his memorable birthdays and always includes the one where I kidnapped him out to the beach with a picnic supper. He hadn’t been there in years and it was quite a trick to get him out of his boots to wade in the surf. A little sand on the fried chicken, a picture of the sun setting with a sailboat silhouetted against the sky, and you have a birthday memory.

There was also the year that he actually cleaned off the back porch and I got him a swing to hang from the rafters. Another time we had a breakfast party with a stack of whipped cream frosted pancakes for a cake. And the year he turned 80, I managed to get the word out to most of his family and friends for a get together complete with presents and pot luck food. Why do I do these things? Because I know he loves the fuss. How do I know that? Because, like a kid, he is reminding me that his birthday is coming. Sometimes once, sometimes twice or more. He clearly hopes to have fun because of what happened on seven, twenty-seven,thirty-three.

This year, knowing I would be out of town on the infamous day, I took him out to dinner at a restaurant. It wasn’t his favorite restaurant but it was convenient and he had a good meal. And we enjoyed ourselves. It’s your day J. Carroll and I’m giving you a little notoriety on my blog to memorialize the event. Happy birthday fella!. Hope you’re having a great day.

Here you go, birthday boy! Not bad for 80+.

Pact with my Children

July 20, 2015July 24, 2015 Shirleyjdietz2 Comments

To My Children: Putting Words Toward the Pact

There are various kinds of promises people make to one another in moments of devotion or need that are significant to their relationships. Some are of their own making, others I believe to have been modeled by God and meant to be carried on. One of those is the pact that parents make with their children – probably more like a covenant since it is more of a unilateral promise. I believe that God extended to me an unconditional love guaranteeing his care, his forgiveness when needed, his support, membership in a spiritual family that I can’t quite comprehend, and all the other benefits he is able to provide. He knew I would have trouble feeling the depth of his commitment to me, so he came up with an idea to help me experience his side of the covenant. He gave me a family.

When you children came along I began to love you immediately. I watched you grow and studied your natures and found you fascinating. I loved being with you. There were hard times and disappointments but none of that lessened my desire to work toward your highest potential and greatest good. I saw what God was trying to show me through our relationship. The trouble was, I was not God. My performance falls so short of his, and my understanding is never going to be complete in this life. But he also enables me to have his help. His help often comes from a spiritual, unseen world that many have trouble believing in and accepting. But I believe it and do not need confirmation from those who haven’t experienced that other world.

I promise as much as is humanly possible to love you, my children, without end. Nothing depends on your ability to return love perfectly because I know you are human too. I will try to listen to you, understand your messages, not be quick to conclude or brittle in my responses to you. Whatever you are going through, I want to be a safe place for you to express it, to examine it, and to process without it becoming “all about me”. God will help me do this.

Others will love and support you, but none of them will be quite like me because I am your mother. It doesn’t mean I will always care for you as when you were little and needed so much direction and teaching. It will be more like a friend who is putting you as a high priority when you need physical help, financial help, supportive time, care when you are sick, and all those things we all need even as adults. I am here to go through life with you. I am held responsible for that, right behind my responsibility to God, and then to my husband. I am told in scripture that this will bring me purpose and fulfillment in life and so far that has been true. In all its stages, being your mother has been my favorite career.

I will grow in my understanding of what God is doing among us, but I’m just saying, I think I’ve got this right.

Another Seattle Adventure

July 16, 2015July 7, 2020 ShirleyjdietzLeave a comment

On the 4th of July this year, we (Mom #1 and Daughter #1) searched out a hike near Seattle just to get out of town and into nature. Some friends, another mother and daughter team, who lived in the area we visited went with us. We stopped to pick them up on the way. The destination was Twin Falls State Park. It is east of Seattle on I-90 and we probably did an hour of driving to get there, some of it through forests (beautiful!) and some of it on freeways through traffic (um… not so beautiful). There was not a lot of parking room at the trail head but we got there early enough to find a spot. My daughter had to buy a day pass with a tag for the car.

This is a forest, so there are a lot of trees, naturally.

And it's a mountain, so the direction is basically up.

We headed out along the trail up the river. Mom #2 was already ahead of us and had taken off her shoes to go wading, and it did look inviting. We continued up the trail and came across a beautiful pool which looked even more inviting, so Mom #2 decided to stay and swim. She had been up the trail before and was determined to spend time in the water.

Could you not have told us this before we got way up here...? Thank you for the exercise.

Switchbacks and rock outcroppings, old growth trees and ferns made the trail interesting enough, but when we finally got waaaaay up there we came across this fine sign. Oh great.

So down we trekked to the pool where Mom #2 was still swimming, and this time really swimming not just wading. What a beautiful spot! Daughter #1 was tempted to try wading but not really wanting to get her clothes wet. There were a couple dramatic moments there until she got safely in to a good wading spot. Others were climbing a large rock above the pool and doing some jumps – more drama there.

I’ve since learned there is an alternate trail to the falls and I’m thinking that calls for another trip. We drove to the closest town, a nice little village with several shops and eateries, and had lunch before heading back to Seattle.

...eating some pretty delicious looking crepes.

A Lighthouse

July 13, 2015July 13, 2015 ShirleyjdietzLeave a comment

I’ve had a love of lighthouses for years. I know it’s a common obsession that many people have. Souvenir shops anywhere near water have lighthouse books, pictures, figures, night lights, calendars, you name it… I’m not quite that bad, having only six or seven collectibles on that theme that I treasure for one reason or another. Most of my fascination with lighthouses is the underlying message that they stand for, that of caring enough to warn. There are many known dangers in our world and we have a desperate need for lighthouses of all kinds, not just those on the water. To me, lighthouses stand for that larger picture.

Lately I was able to visit the Alki Point Lighthouse. It’s in Seattle and I’ve tried to tour it before but was never there on the right day. Tours are on the weekends between 10 am and 3:30 pm, whenever a group collects, and on my most recent visit I was able to connect with one. The lighthouse is fully automated now, even to the changing of light bulbs, but the tours are conducted by a small cadre of Coast Guard Auxiliary who proudly usher people around and explain the historical aspects.

Alki Point juts out from West Seattle into Puget Sound near shipping lanes and early on the need was discovered to have a warning there. It started with one landowner who decided to hang a lantern on a pole each night – probably got tired of cleaning up his beach after shipwrecks. The land was eventually purchased by the government. As the story goes the price was $9,999.99, the amount that could be spent without legislative approval at that time. The property now has two residences that house Coast Guard officials and their families, the lighthouse and small storage buildings. It is fenced with a security system.

Some of the history was given to us in the parking lot before we headed down to the lighthouse itself. The rest of the tour was a guided explanation of equipment on the ground floor and a self guided trip up the stairway to the observation floor. Here are some of the highlights for me.