Dunlap

It was a glorious day for a walk so my pastry/ gardening loving pal and I stopped at the Columbia City Bakery and then headed for the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and a walk in the Dunlap neighborhood. There were signs of spring everywhere and a lot more going on at the farm than there had been during my prior visit.

Rainier Avenue, Henderson Street and Renton Avenue are the busy streets in this area which is dominated by the Rainier Beach Community Center, Ballfield and Pool (with is great looking circular slide),

South Lake High School,

South Shore K-8 School

and Dunlap Elementary School (all bounded by Dunlap, Rainier, Henderson and Renton with Rainier Beach High School - pictured in a prior post - located across the street on the east side of Rainier). There is a lot of learning going on in these few blocks.

Along Rainier, we spotted the New Star Mini-Mart, the Good Sherherd's Preschool (housed in what appeared to a an Arabic or African Christian church), Gobelle Market,

the Ethiopian Community Mutual Association, the Somali Mini Mall, the Hamarwayne International Shopping Center, the Rainier Chicago Market, ethnic restaurants,

the Emerald City Bible Fellowship and the deserted Colonial Pancake House.

The rest of the area is residential with modest homes and some sweet streets.

Along the way, we passed All Saints Episcopal Church,

interesting fences (one with Farmland Security and Fear the Cow signs),

imaginative curbside gardening,







much loved houses and yards,

yard art

and a Townfolk Dead End sign.

It was a beautiful day and a great walk.

Sounders Game

My husband and I walked 4.8 miles in the rain on Saturday but I'm not counting any of those miles in my total because I'd walked all the streets before. We were downtown, going to a Sounders game; a wonderful daughter had given us tickets. As we wound our way through the Pioneer Square area, we noted a green haze and heard music.

We turned the corner and were engulfed in the parade of fans following the Sound Wave marching band to the stadium.




The excitement continued inside the stadium - Kansas City didn't have a chance. After 90 scoreless minutes, the Sounders won their season opener 1-0 in the 4 minutes added time. This was another great Seattle experience!

Columbia City

The sun actually came out today as my husband and I took a 4.1 mile walk in the Columbia City neighborhood. The area we walked was sandwiched between Martin Luther King Jr Way and Rainier Avenue S and South Orcas and Graham Streets. It is dominated by the Brighton Playfield

and Aki Kurose Middle School. Most of the homes are modest and older with a few new homes on subdivided lots.

The Empire Way Shopping Center on MLK Jr Way is home to an assortment of food (including Viet-Wah Superfoods), goods and services storefronts including three bakeries (Q, Tony's and Meianna). MLK Jr Way has other shopping areas that include Firestone, Seasoned In Seattle, Baskin Robbins, Starbucks and fast food shops.

This area is home to Trinity Life Center,

a Kingdom Hall of Jahovah's Witnesses (which is expanding onto the adjacent lot),

Saint Edward's School and Church (pictured in a prior post),

Katharine's Place,

the Filipino Community Center, B 'N' T Preschool Academy and Kingway Apartments.

The area abuts New Beginnings Christian Ministries

and Seattle Chinese Assemblies of God.

Along the way we spotted signs of spring,

a lovingly tended garden

and porch art.

Today we saw another segment of the diverse Columbia City neighborhood.

Columbia City and Seward Park

The rain had kept me from walking for too long so I decided to walk in the rain today. I walked 6 miles in the Columbia City and Seward Park neighborhoods. Martin Luther King Jr Way and Rainier Avenue South are both busy streets in this area but the rest of the streets are quiet and residential.

Most of the streets closer to the lake have sidewalks and curbs with modest older homes (a few have been replaced by newer, modern homes). Closer to MLK Jr Way, there are fewer sidewalks and curbs.

Rainier Avenue houses a Group Health complex, Juba Cafe, Raja for Africa, Dayspring and Fitch Funeral Home and the Tenants Union of Washington State. MLK Jr Way is home to Nazareth Market.

This area is home to the Hillman City P-Patch (at 46th and Lucille) and the Brandon Street community orchard (at 47th and Brandon - pictured in a prior post),

New Light Church, Learning Garden Montessori School

and three Little Free Libraries (46th near Brandon, 51st and Findlay and at the P-Patch).

This area abuts Congregation Ezra Bessaroth (pictured in a prior post) and Saint Edward Catholic Church and School

(its O'Brien Center Gymnasium looks as if it might have been the original church building).

Along the way, I spotted a garden shrine,

art on a fence,

art on a house,

art in a garden,

palm trees

and signs of spring.

It was good to be out walking again even if I did get a little wet.