Welcome to Seattle Close to Home — a weekly round-up of ideas for time-crunched Seattle-area residents, who want to get outside, volunteer, and eat good food, but don’t necessarily want to drive far (or at all).
Help out at an on-water fireworks cleanup. If you are available Thursday morning (July 5), Puget Soundkeepers’ kayak patrol will fan out across Lake Union to collect debris from 8am to 12pm. Boats and cleanup equipment are provided, and a picnic lunch will be served at Lake Union Park following the event. Register online.
Join your fellow restaurant patrons to support Special Olympians. South Lake Union restaurants invite you to help them raise funds to support Special Olympians – and all you have to do is eat! Purchase the featured dish from a participating restaurant and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Special Olympics USA Games, which are taking place in Seattle through July 6.
Get Out! on Lake Union. Strike out on your own adventure in a kayak, electric boat, or a floating hot tub (yes, really!) from one of the many rental outlets on the lake, including Center for Wooden Boats (1010 Valley St), Electric Boat Company (2046 Westlake Ave N), Hot Tub Boat Rentals (1200 Westlake Ave N), and Moss Bay (1001 Fairview Ave N).
Fuel up at Grand Central Bakery. This Eastlake gathering spot (1616 Eastlake Ave E) offers good coffee, house-made pastries, soups, salads, and sandwiches from 7am daily. The Everything Croissant is a personal favorite.
Leaving the car at home? Metro bus #40 runs along Westlake Avenue, and #70 goes along Eastlake and connects with several other buslines in the U-District. The South Lake Union streetcar travels to SLU from the Westlake light rail station.
Weather forecast: Partly cloudy skies with temps between 65-70 degrees.
Seattle Close To Home 