North Beacon Hill

Today, my husband joined me for a 5.9 mile walk in the North Beacon Hill area. We walked streets between Jefferson Park Golf Course (pictured in a prior post) and S Bayview Street from 20th to 25th Avenue S.

Streets east of 23rd were hilly and bordered on green areas. We could see the Mount Baker Light Rail Station and Franklin High School as we walked east on McClellan.

Homes and streets here were a real mix with many being older and modest but with new homes mixed in.

This area is home to Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church (which advertised a Japanese service)

and Kimball Elementary School

with its decorated sidewalk and Community Day School Association Before and After School Programs and Summer Camp.

The terrain levels out along 23rd and the streets east of 23rd are more tailored and prosperous looking.

We even saw a few houses with solar panels on their roofs.

Along the way, we spotted well-tended gardens,

tree-lined streets,

vegetables planted in parking strips,

an espaliered tree,

a staircase

and what may have once been a corner store, converted to a church and now for lease.

This was an interesting walk through a varied neighborhood where each street is unique.

Rainier View

The sky was gray while a friend and I took a 6.8 mile walk in the Rainier View neighborhood today. Power transmission towers cut through the area

bordered by  utility right of way property.  Many of the streets near the towers were quite hilly and lacked sidewalks and curbs. The homes were modest.

We spotted a large conglomeration of overhead wires

and an ivy-covered fence.

Higher up the hill, the streets and houses were more tailored;

we noted a garden full of figurines

and an impressive tree which still had most of its leaves.

The area is almost exclusively residential but is home to St. Luke's Lutheran Church. It was pretty quiet on this dreary fall morning.

This was a walk full of cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets but few surprises.

Rainier Beach

A friend and I had a good workout on today's 7.3 mile walk in the Rainier Beach neighborhood. We climbed quite a few staircases connecting Rainier Avenue S with the lovely neighborhood on the hill above it.

We were rewarded with some great lake views.

We spotted some unique houses and three eagles (which I was not fast enough to photograph).

Rainier Avenue S is a busy street but it has some great lake views. Seattle Public Utilities has a nice overlook but a sign instructed us to "keep out."

Along Rainier, we admired stone buildings behind a stone fence. My friend told me that the buildings used to be a gas station but the property is being renovated and converted to a restaurant.

This area is home to Rainier Beach Presbyterian Church,

a property with a great vegetable garden (the veggies looked perfect),

a house with a picturesque mailbox,

some lovely streets, Hutchinson Playground (pictured in a prior post)

and a giant mushroom.

This was another rewarding walk.

Highland Park Neighborhood of West Seattle

Autumn colors were the highlight of today's 10.4 mile walk in the Highland Park neighborhood of West Seattle.

It was a beautiful day with great visibility and I could see both the Olympics and the Cascades (even Mount Baker) from this quiet, mostly residential neighborhood. I walked streets between 4th and 16th Avenues SW from SW Holden to Trenton Street.

The eastern portion of the walk abuts the West Seattle Reservoir (which was recently lidded - the park is open but upgrades are scheduled to start soon)

and Westcrest Park with its busy off-leash area. Signs indicate that the towers in this photo are used by the FAA for air traffic control.

North of the reservoir park, I was surprised to find Falcon Ridge Farm

where I spotted two horses.

There were streets of newer, single family homes near the farm and a good-siezed apartment/condo complex.

16th and 9th Avenues are busy but the rest of the streets are quiet. There are a few businesses (grocery/deli, auto repair, hair salon) and an apartment house at 9th and Kenyon. There is also a daycare/preschool a few blocks south on 9th. Except for Highland Park Elementary

and two churches, Community of Hope Church of the Nazarene

and the Community of Christ Highland Park Congregation, the neighborhood is mostly residential with a mix of newer and older homes.

Most, but not all, streets have sidewalks and curbs and the area has a tidy look.

Along the way, I passed Highland Park Playground, a staircase and footpaths at the ends of dead-end streets,

houses and a mailbox decorated for Halloween,

sidewalk art

and an apple tree loaded with apples.

Another Seattle neighborhood loaded with surprises!