University District

The walk of the Japanese Maples is how I will refer to today's 8 mile walk through the U District. It was a beautiful fall day when I left the UW campus and headed west on Campus Parkway. I turned north onto 8th Avenue NE to fill in the streets near I-5 that I had missed. Then I filled in streets between NE Ravenna Boulevard and NE 55th Street between I-5 and University Way NE before heading east on NE 52nd through University Village and on to Montlake to catch the bus home.

I passed the University district P-Patch, an Apodment house, A&C Art Supply (with a mural on the parking lot wall), the Blue Moon Tavern and the Seattle Go Center before reaching the residential area hidden between I-5 and Roosevelt Way NE.

The first things I noticed were two green spired churches (Blessed Sacrament pictured in a recent post and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Church Seattle North Stake), then I saw a chicken coop and an old log and stone house. I passed Adidam Northwest, some pretty good pumpkin art, a tree full of bird houses and a lovely purple-berry-bearing shrub. The trees on Ravenna Boulevard looked beautiful. Heading south on Roosevelt, I spotted a musical instrument store, the Razor Cafe next door to the Cafe Racer, a Thai and Lao restaurant and the Taste of India. I stopped in at the Gowen Park Grocery and discovered a nice cafe and small grocery store with friendly staff.

Walking south on University Way, I passed a Brazilian restaurant, a Viking lounge, shops for bicycles, mountain sports, yoga, metal crafting and coffee. Then I came to the University Cooperative School (K-5), My Sweet Lord (a Hari Krishna free vegetarian cafe which appears to be open Tuesday through Saturday evenings), a Greek restaurant, Wing-It Productions Theater (across the street from the Fat Ducks deli and Bakery - follow the webbed footprints), the Spotted Owlberger Variety Shop next door to the Vegan Pizza Pi shop, a medical Marijuana store, the Sidecar for Pig Peace Vegrocery Store, the Galway Irish Pub next to Taste of Chicago and across the street from the Rat and the Raven Public House, the Wayward Vegan Cafe, Mars Bar, the Globe (Books, Records and Bindery) the Third Church of Christ Scientist and the University Heights Center and Asian restaurants too numerous to name.

I spotted a mailbox on the corner of 17th and 52nd.

Walking across NE 52nd Street, between 20th and Ravenna, I went down... and down... and down staircases before coming to a P-Patch at the bottom of the steps. I Passed the Rohr Jewish Student Center at the top of one of these staircases.

This would be a great walk at any time but, today, the beauty of the trees kept me from entering many shops.