Month: April 2019

May 2, 2019 (Montlake Cut)

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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 by attending a party. Opening Day/Windermere Cup weekend starts on Friday (6-10pm) at Seattle’s third annual Party on the Cut. The event features live music, food trucks, a beer garden for age 21+, and lawn games on the Montlake Cut (3710 Montlake Boulevard NE). Proceeds from ticket sales will establish rowing scholarships for low income youth, through the Windermere Foundation.

Join your fellow boating fans. Boats of all kinds will pass through the Montlake Cut on Saturday. Windermere Cup rowing races start off the day, beginning at 10:16am, culminating in the races between University of Washington crews and the German National Team, Boston University, and UCLA. Following that is the Opening Day boat parade, which celebrates the official start of the boating season in Seattle.

NOTE: Once the boat parade starts, the Montlake exit from SR 520 and the Montlake Bridge will be closed.

Get Out! along the parade route — and beyond. If you’re on the south side, you can walk along the Cut, then join the Arboretum’s vast network of trails, which will take you along Union Bay on a series of islands and boardwalks. Turn south at Foster Island and walk among the trees and plants. North of the cut, a walk through the beautiful UW campus is also a favorite.

Fuel up at Agua Verde Cafe and Paddle Club. Enjoy tasty Mexican food, as well as espresso, at Agua Verde (1307 NE Boat St). The cafe is open on Saturdays from 9am to 9pm, and Sundays from 9am to 8pm.  You can also rent kayaks there, but it may be a little hectic on the water this weekend.

Leaving the car at home? Take the light rail to the University of Washington station. Several bus routes, including 48, 71, and 73, provide service to the Montlake Cut area.

Weather forecast: Mostly sunny with highs of 63 on Friday and 68 on Saturday and Sunday.

April 25, 2019 (Beacon Hill)

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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).

Join your fellow gear grabbers. Look for bargains on outdoor gear at the Mountaineer’s used gear sale. Takes place on Sunday from 10am to 12:30pm at Jefferson Community Center (3801 Beacon Ave S). Online RSVPs are recommended (non-members are welcome and can create an account).

Help out at Lewis Park. Assist the Friends of Lewis Park (1120 15th Ave S) on Sunday (10am to 1pm) with weeding, removing grass, and spreading soil and mulch at the north end of the park. Sign up and find details online.

Get out! for a spring ride. Beacon Hill’s Chief Sealth Trail begins just south of Jefferson Park and ends in Rainier Beach. The terrain is hilly, so riding/walking the entire 4.5-mile trail (9 miles roundtrip) offers a good workout with a view. The trail is also accessible from several light rail stations: Beacon Hill, Othello, and Rainier Beach.

Fuel up at … We’ve been telling you about our go-to places to eat and get coffee, but we want to hear about yours! We invite you to post a comment about your favorite eateries on Beacon Hill.

Leaving the car at home? Both the International District/Chinatown and the Beacon Hill light rail stations are about a mile from Lewis Park. Metro buses #36 and #60, go to  Lewis Park. The Beacon Hill station is just over a 1/2-mile from Jefferson Community Center. Bus #36 also goes to Jefferson Community Center.

Weather forecast: The weekend looks mainly dry with some sun and some clouds and highs of 55-60.

April 18, 2019 (West Seattle)

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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).

Join your fellow paddlers. Locally-owned Mountain to Sound Outfitters (3618 SW Alaska St) is hosting a Boat Swap on Saturday from 12pm to 6pm (co-hosted by Alki Kayak Tours) and Paddling Film Festival from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Buy and/or sell human powered watercraft (kayaks, SUPs, canoes) and accessories, see a film — and check out the store’s sale on winter gear.

Help out at Me-kwa-mooks Park. On Friday from 1:30pm to 3:30pm, volunteers will be removing ivy and blackberry to make room for native Pacific Northwest plants. Sign up online and meet on the front lawn of Me-kwa-mooks Park (4503 Beach Drive SW).

Get out! for a day at the beach. Enjoy the quiet side of Alki at Me-kwa-mooks. If the tide is out, explore the tidepools, then walk 2.5 miles along the shoreline to Lincoln Park, which has woodsy and waterside trails.

Fuel up at … We’ve been telling you about our go-to places to eat and get coffee, but we want to hear about yours! We invite you to post a comment about your favorite eateries in West Seattle.

Leaving the car at home? The West Seattle Water Taxi is operating seven days a week now, leaving from downtown. Metro route 773 will take you from the ferry dock to the Alaska junction. The C-Line also runs from Seattle to the Alaska junction and to Lincoln Park. On weekdays, bus #37 goes to the Alaska junction and Me-kwa-mooks Park.

Weather forecast: Friday may seen some rain with a high of 57 degrees. Saturday and Sunday are forecast to be sunny with patchy clouds and highs in the low 60s.

April 11, 2019 (Mount Baker/Judkins Park)

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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).

Join your fellow chocolate lovers. On Saturday from 2pm to 4:30pm, sample locally made chocolate treats and cocoa-based products at the Great Seattle Vegan Chocolate Meltdown. Proceeds from chocolate sales benefit the Food Empowerment Project. Tickets are available online. Takes place at the Mount Baker Community Club (2811 Mt Rainier Dr S).

Help out in the garden. Volunteers will meet at Jimi Hendrix Park (2400 S Massachusetts St) at 9am on Saturday for weeding and mulching in the rain and butterfly gardens. The park is located just off the I-90 trail, a.k.a. the Mountains to Sound Greenway, and next to the Northwest African American Museum, which is worth a visit.

Get out! and explore the I-90 trail. Whether on foot or bike, our suggested route (all or part) will take you from Jimi Hendrix Park west to Beacon Hill, east to Mercer Island (and beyond), or both! — on the Mountains to Sound Greenway.

Fuel up at … We’ve been telling you about our go-to places to eat and get coffee, but we want to hear about yours! We invite you to post a comment about your favorite eateries in Mount Baker/Judkins Park.

Leaving the car at home? Metro bus #14 goes to the Mount Baker Community Club, and also stops about a 1/2 mile from Jimi Hendrix Park. Routes 8 and 48 serve Jimi Hendrix Park, but be aware of construction reroutes.

 Weather forecast: Periods of rain are in the forecast with highs around 55.