8.01.2010

The Green Girl's Seattle Waterfront Run

The Green Girl went went up to Seattle this weekend for her maternal great aunt's 88th birthday celebration.

In Japanese culture, the 88th birthday is known as 'beiju'. Beiju is a special celebration because when combined, the Japanese characters for 88 米寿 resemble the character for rice 米.

I flew in Thursday after work. The sun was setting over Mount Rainier as the plane began to make its descent into the city.

Early Friday morning, I went for a run with my second cousin, Stan, on the Seattle Waterfront.

The morning was cool and crisp. The thick fog prevented Mr. Green Garmin from getting any signal.

We headed down to Pike Place Market where the vendors were setting up for the day. I marveled at the whiteness of the fresh ice at the fish markets.

We ran along the Port of Seattle and gazed out at the ocean haze.

We headed west to the Olympic Sculpture Park at the Seattle Art Museum. The Olympic Sculpture Park is nine-acre industrial site that was converted into an outdoor open space for art. The park admission is free to the public.

I stopped to pose for a picture in front of a fountain. Stan later explained that the fountain, an art piece titled Father and Son by Louise Bourgeois, stirred significant controversy due to the nudity of the forms. Each figure's view of the other is obscured by the water to represent the estrangement between the father and son.

There were numerous cobwebs along the length of the railing along the waterfront. Each spider web was dotted with beads of dew.

Visibility was limited by the fog but the beauty of the Puget Sound still managed to envelope me.

Stan had to head into work so we parted ways downtown and I proceeded back to the hotel to wake up my sister.

A couple of blocks from my destination, I passed a mural quietly begging for affordable housing.

After breakfast, I could hardly wait for the REI Seattle Store to open. REI is my favorite store and I was anxious to see what their flagship store looked like.

At the entrance of the REI property, we saw trails to test out equipment.

We couldn't believe it when we saw an impressive looking waterfall. REI had managed to create a little oasis in the middle of a metropolitan area.

When we entered the store, the expanse took my breath away. I was in REI heaven.

I could have spent the entire day in that store but I limited myself to an hour.

I didn't have enough time to explore any of the local trails but I will definitely make a point to do some trail running next time I am in the area.

10 comments:

  1. Sounds like an awesome weekend!!! Glad you were able to experience REI!!!

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  2. Those spider webs are beautiful! I am in awe over the picture of you by the statue because I simply can't imagine that much fog in July! I get to enjoy that in January, but certainly not July! Sounds like a great trip! So, what did you buy at REI?

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  3. Thank you, MissJC and Heather.

    Heather, I couldn't believe how many intricate spider webs lined the railing of the path. It was amazing. There was so much moisture in the air that my head was covered in dewdrops when I got back to the hotel! I've never had that happen to me before.

    The weather was absolutely amazing.

    I had hoped to find something to wear to my great aunt's birthday celebration so I managed to find a jacket that would slightly dress up my jeans and t-shirt. When I say slightly, remember I was at REI. Heh.

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  4. That's a huge REI!! I loe Seattle, my brothers live there.

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  5. Seattle is such a grea tplace for running! Urban, waterfront, ravines, hills, you name it, they got it! Plus, with their great bus system, you can run anywhere knowing it's easy to get home if you need it.

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  6. Runners Fuel, I couldn't believe the size of that REI! I was in awe.

    Kovas, I couldn't believe we were able to ride the bus free around the city - it was very convenient.

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  7. Holy Smokes! This is so freaking awesome! I saw this REI on TV once and couldn't believe my eyes! I am so glad you made it there! Way to go on the will power to hold you back on staying there all day! :)

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  8. Wow- I love REI too and that store looks just awesome! I need to make a trip to Seattle! Glad you were able to make it up there for your great aunt's birthday!

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  9. Seattle is a lovely city! And yes the REI is amazing.... I spent quite a few hours in there :-)

    Sounds like you had a great run, the city has such a great combination of hills and flats...isn't the art museum just breathtaking?!

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  10. Yup, Natalia, the outdoor sculpture park was the one thing I wanted to see this weekend and I'm so glad I made it there. It was so awesome.

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