Mid Beacon Hill

Comet Lodge Cemetery was the highlight of today's 8.1 mile walk in the Mid Beacon Hill neighborhood. Click the link to read the fascinating history of this pioneer graveyard established in 1895.

Some of the stones mark the graves of woodworkers and look like tree trunks.

Others are more traditional. After reading the history, I plan to return and look more closely at some of the stones.

This neighborhood, east of Cleveland High School (here is the view from 15th Avenue; a prior post shows other sides) is a mix of older, modest bungalows

and newer, modern houses -

some on private streets.

The noise from I-5, Boeing Field and train whistles was very distracting but some residents still love their gardens.

This area is home to the Chinese Baptist Church, Temple El Redentor (pictured in a prior post)

and an enclave whose sign baffled me but which Google maps seem to identify as Tenrikyo High Seattle Church.

Along the way I spotted a tree house, Seahawks fever (12th man flags on cars, a plane taking off from Boeing Field with a large 12 on its blue tail fin, a small plane flying over downtown, pulling a large Seahawks flag),

an interesting fence.

a nice, tree-lined median strip on Beacon Avenue, a helicopter hovering overhead and a police swat team outside a house on what looked like a quiet residential street. The officers in bulletproof vests looked so young and calm. I prayed that things would work out well and I think they did. When I wound my way back to that street to end my walk, the police were all leaving and I hadn't heard any shots.

This was quite a walk.

Yesler Terrace, the International District and North Beacon Hill

A doctor's appointment took me downtown today so I decided to walk over to the area between Yesler and I-90 east of I-5. It was not easy to cross Rainier Avenue in this area so I walked the streets on its west side. My 9 mile walk included all the downtown streets I walked to and from the bus tunnel.

South of Dearborn, this area is industrial; I noted the Recycling Depot and Glassworks on Rainier and Color Graphics tucked right up against I-90. The east side of Rainier looked to be much more residential.

I walked the 12th Avenue overpass to the PacMed (old VA/old Amazon) building

then turned around and got great views of the stadiums and the downtown skyline on the way back.

The underside of I-90 along Rainier is nicely landscaped.

The Darigold Building is among the nicest along this stretch of Rainier (the sign on the top reads Since 1918).

Goodwill Industries takes up a few blocks on the north side of Dearborn and I couldn't resist stopping into their retail store.

The area between Weller and Main has lots of Asian restaurants and markets (Lam's was quite busy - so was the Hau Hau Market) and a few signs welcomed me to Little Saigon.

This area is home to Leschi Center (American Indian Center),

the Nichiren Buddhist Church,

the Chinese Southern Baptist Mission and, almost attached to it, the Asian Counseling and Referral Service Food Bank (distributing food for Asian and Pacific Islander diets),

as well as NVC (Nisei Veteran's Committee) Memorial Hall,

Pacific Rim Center, Viet Wah (Vietnamese Supermarket), MC Machinery, ICHS (International Community Health Services), 7 Point Studios and Central Bark (dog boarding). The area abuts Yesler Terrace (pictured in a prior post).

Everywhere I walked, I noted Seahawks support;

one billboard was even devoted to the fans.

Along the way, I spotted a Wonder Bread sign atop an apartment house,

a mural along Dearborn,

brightly painted posts under I-5 at King and Jackson.

parking under I-5 at Jackson,

Linc's Fishing and Tackle store,

trolly tracks along Boren, Yesler and Jackson (I wonder if my ORCA card will work on these lines), the playground for Bailey Gatzert Elementary School

and philosophical writings.

This was quite a varied walk and I'm looking forward to exploring the east side of Rainier.

Columbia City

During today's 5.3 mile walk, my husband and I experienced the greenery of Cheasty Blvd and Greenspace and the light rail tracks along Martin Luther King Jr. Way S.

We also walk through the western portion of Rainier Vista.

This newer development is tidy and has some nice play areas

as well as Neighborhood House (providing a number of social services)





and a kid's garden and community farm.

We spotted a few Habitat for Humanity houses being built along MKL Jr Way (but backing onto the farm).

Across MLK Jr Way, we spotted another section of Rainier Vista (we even got a view of Mount Rainier) and the ReWA (Refugee Women's Alliance). On the west side of the street, we noted an HFC store (Hamdi Food Corporation)

and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service.

We waited as the train passed before crossing over to the United House of Prayer for All People.

Along the way, we could see Jefferson Park Golf Course and the VA hospital; we passed the Washington Care Center and the Church of God in Seattle.

This walk was truly varied and it marked the 2,500 mile point for my walks.