RAW: Day 4

Goldendale, Washington 

Today is Day 4, and the weather dawned bright and clear with a strong hint of more HOT weather in store. We had the option of 22 or 66-mile loop rides out of Goldendale. So I chose my own medium-length option of combining parts of the two rides for a total of 36 mostly-flat miles. Gorgeous countryside with lots of freshly baled hay, horses, and mostly car-free roads. Back to camp by 11:15am. Great morning!

36 miles

Summer reading challenge

Seattle, Washington

We are home from our big trip to Holland and Germany, and our first stop was the library to check out the summer reading challenge. A declared the teenage "Book Bingo" to be too uninteresting and set out to develop her own. 100 squares of reading challenges. She's not finished yet, but I she's definitely within reach. And THEN she gets to start in on the tasks.

Love the art!

Summer is coming!

Seattle, Washington

When I got home from work this afternoon, I took a detour via our "berry patch" in the backyard. I could hardly carry them all in! Strawberries are here, and summer FAST behind them...

A day to roam

Seattle/Kent, Washington

8:15am: Headed out south on my bike to Seward Park to meet a friend. We walked the loop and then back on my bike
10:00am: Headed south to Kent. It should have been shorter than the 18+ miles it took to get there, but the Interurban trail was closed just north of Kent which sent me on an unmarked detour
12:15pm: Found "Cave Man Kitchen" in Kent and enjoyed a very basic beef sandwich. The staff even managed to find me some pickles to add a bit of green material (not a requirement for cavemen, apparently)
1:15pm: Met a friend at the Dilettante Cafe in Kent: molasses cookie and (rare for me) a small coffee
2:16pm: Boarded the #150 bus (with bike in front) for downtown Seattle
3:12pm: Arrived King Street Station and rode home to the CD
3:45pm: Left the house again for a work event
7:45pm: Home at last!

Total: 36.2 miles and a wonderful day of riding, friends, and adventure

Tashkent Peace Park

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Thirty-six years ago, my mother traveled to Tashkent with the Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association on a peace mission of sorts. They brought with them hundreds of clay tiles made by the children of Seattle. These tiles were subsequently installed in one section of  the Tashkent Peace Park.

Amusement park from another era

Today we set out with our friends to find these tiles, and supposedly, one made by me. Like amateur archaeologists, we searched and searched, but if I ever did make one, it was not to be found.

In another corner of the park, there was a Korean-style park which included a memorial to the 200,000 Koreans who were forcibly moved to Tashkent in 1937 by Stalin. More than a 1/2 million ethnic Koreans now live in the countries of the former Soviet Union. So many things to learn about the world

Peace-themed tiles made by Seattle school children in the 1980's

And finally,the park contained a fading amusement park that seemed like a lost relic from another world.

And lots of lovely green all around...

Like a Hammer

Seattle, Washington

A good friend and I set out today for a visit to SAM and a ladies' lunch at Taste. We were not disappointed. I had never heard of Jeffery Gibson until today, but it was both fun AND thoughtful stuff. I should get out more often...

Green foods

Seattle, Washington

As part of a long-standing tradition, I set out this morning to make some kind of "green food" for St. Patrick's Day. This year it turned out to be cinnamon rolls: green on the inside and on the outside!