Pushing my mother - literally

Today my mother is visiting from far away places and wanted to experience a walk with me. Now, as you know, anywhere on Queen Anne is a hill, it doesn't matter if you leave your door and go left or right, eventually you will come face to face with a hill.

The first hill we came to she said, "I don't think I can do it!" I encouraged her and sure enough she got to the top of 11th W. I dashed up and down the set of 5 stairs along 10th W while she walked the sidewalk. (By the way, the map says that the 5th stair is not public, but that didn't stop me!).

As we approached the end of our short walk we were faced with W Armour. Now, this is a serious hill, the kind with the little concrete steps to help you up. She just stood at the bottom and asked if I would go get the car! No way!

Up we go, pushing her along the way. She did it! Now she has experienced a true Queen Anne hill!

Here she is half way to the top! Go Mom!

At the end, it wasn't quite enough and I went on another adventure. But that is a story for tomorrow!

It's not all roses and gardens!

As is so often the case with my walks, what I thought was going to be a simple stroll down the hill to fulfill my very strong craving for an oatmeal raisin cookie (yes, I have a wicked sweet tooth), ended up being an hour and a half trek! And let me tell you, Queen Anne has some unpleasant parts.

Planned out that I had to do one little section of Valley (where it splits into two seperate streets). So, down Valley I went, turned right onto 2nd and down to Roy. Now, while Roy is not the ugliest of streets, when compared to some of the grand streets I have been walking up on top of the hill, lets just say its not the best. Especially when you get down to stinky, noisy, dirty Aurora.

Up Mercer, also a distinctively gross street, and into the QFC, where I sat down with my beloved and completely satisfying oatmeal raisin cookie to plan my route back.

I was to walk up 4th, all the way up to Highland and then back down Nob Hill. I huffed and puffed my way up 4th. Turned left on Highland and came straight back down Nob Hill. As I am doing this I am thinking, "I am not the smartest cookie in the jar but at least I am having fun!"

Annoyed to see that Nob Hill doesn't have a staircase I had to make my way up Ward, down the stairs, and then back to Nob Hill, a good 3 minutes out of my way! Jeez! Only to find that what looks like a through street on the map is not! Ach! I am going to have to call Mr. Map Maker and give him a piece of my mind.

Eventually I made it home from my stinky walk with the most fitting of finishes. As I am Dashing across Queen Anne Ave to get home a filthy motorcycle whizzes by and leaves a plume of nasty carcinogenic air. Perfect!

All for a cookie that defeated the whole purpose of the walk itself! Ah, but it was so worth it!

What I got out of my walk today: A free sample of Starbucks Via Iced coffee, yum yum, a delicious oatmeal raisin cookie, a good huff and puff up and down some hills, the only sunny part of the city (I could see from Highland that Queen Anne was in its own little pocket of sunshine!) and an appreciation for the finer parts of Queen Anne.

Streets I completed on today's walk: Roy, Nob Hill and Valley!

Secret Gardens, bees and England?

Took a long walk on Saturday and discovered the following: secret gardens, sweeping staircases (my vote so far for coolest staircase), bees and England!

Up the hill my boyfriend and I went to the "Comstock Grande Dame" which the map maker took the time to tell us was "great fer kissing." Sure enough it was! It was a sweeping, secret, lush staircase, totally private. We had to kiss and we agreed, it was great fer kissing. I think that this so far was the most dramatic staircase yet. I could see myself coming back on a summer afternoon for a read on the steps.

Up the hill we decided to take 2nd N all the way into Fremont. Well, we got sidetracked, as is often the case with these walks. We saw the Wilke Farmhouse and learned this was a farmstead which this house had been a part of, was built in 1890 something. Fun!


We passed by what looked on the map to be the Queen Anne P Patch, but from the street looked like someone's pathway (see left). Sure enough, it opened up to a sprawling P. Patch filed with rainbow chard, peas, artichokes, lavender and other tasty treats.

On the southern end of the P Patch was a note on the map that simply said "bees" we thought it was just because of the P Patch and the map maker was pointing out to be careful. But, no, there was a box, with a bee hive. So cool!

After heading towards Fremont we came upon a split in the road, we had to take the dead end street at the end of 2nd, just to cross it off the map. I had run by this dead end so many times, not ever knowing the charm that lay hidden down the cozy street! We were instantly transported to England, which continued down Nob Hill on the other end of the Smith Street bridge (which sits high atop the Great Ravine, which we spit off to see how far down it actually was). A street full of brick houses and English sized roads.

After crossing over Queen Anne Dr we decided we were too hungry to make it all the way to Fremont. Across Queen Anne Ave we went, back up the hill to 1st W and a stop in at Orapin for a lovely Thai dinner did the trick. Then back over to 1st and all the way home.

What a lovely stroll across the world!

Wild Flowers On Queen Anne?

Yes, that is right, there are summer wild flowers right here in Queen Anne!

Walked to the Wilcox Wall, just below the grand boulevard just up from Betty Bowen Lookout. I had run and walked this street hundreds of times, never knowing it had an actual name.

When you walk down the first set of stairs, going north from the park (staircase 469) you come to a dirt path. Seemingly going to nowhere. You are on the back and bottom side of that great walkway. It's a whole other world down there. It is a trail, with wild flowers leading to the next great and complex staircase, number 469.

Who needs hiking when you have Wilcox Wall pathway!?

Not Too Exciting

Some days it's just a really long, circuitous, hilly walk up and around the hill to the local Trader Joe's to buy your visiting mother some of her favorite items while she naps off her jet lag and knock out some new streets along the way.

There was not much to report today. I did, however, finish Prospect today. There were some gorgeous homes, nice views, tall trees, well-manicured lawns, friendly neighbors and sunny skies but not really anything out of the ordinary. Didn't even take any pictures.

Some days and streets are just like that I suppose.

Oooooo Spooooky!

Yesterday was the "Haunted Staircase" day! Spoooky! On the map there is a staircase, number 54, which is marked "haunted staircase." I was wondering if it was actually haunted or the map maker just decided it was haunted for some reason.

Upon further research I found the following legend about the stairway (courtesy of Queen Anne View): "The original wooden stairway crumbled down the hill in the early 1900s, killing a woman who was on her way to meet her fiancé. Decades later, the legend continues, a woman was walking on the concrete steps that had replaced the ill-fated originals when a disembodied voice whispered urgently for her to turn back. The woman heeded the eerie warning and narrowly avoided serious injury when the stairway broke apart, crashing downhill."

Creepy!!!

The walk however started with staircase 357 (pictured to the right), which was spooky in its own right. Mysterious muddy water at the bottom, overgrown hedges, dark and foreboding. It leads up from the well-traveled Gilman to 11th Ave W, home-street to the haunted staircase. Walking along up on 11th, there was an eerie feeling in the air. House after house were up for sell, empty, for rent, neglected. An overgrown sidewalk amidst some very luxurious houses as well.


Then, for the haunted staircase. It looked simply like a neglected staircase. It had a few remaining, rotting stairs which led to a bramble of blackberry bushes. If I were more adventurous and without knee problems I would have gone down further.

Continuing along 11th I came to a park, which eerily enough is not on the map, curious. Its name? Rachel's playground. Now, who is this Rachel? What happened to her and why is there a park named after her? Must have been some sort of tragedy? Spoooooky!



Looped around the park and hooked a left back onto 11th and headed down Wheeler St. I was going to hit up a little street, just to be able to highlight it on the map. But, alas, the street does not exist. Spooooky!

Parallel to Gilman is a little tiny spur road, very steep, overgrown with brambles and not well traveled. There was a girl, standing in the middle of the street, on a cell phone, talking about directions and addresses. I asked if she needed help, I showed her my map. She looked confused and told me she was ok and turned around slowly. Spooooky!

On top of the hill was a fenced in yard, with one of the wooden boards missing, poked my head in and it was a creepy yard filled with lots of junk.

Spooooky!

The Long Haul

Warren Ave N! Check! It is completely highlighted on my map and that feels really good.

I had a meeting in Fremont on Friday, so rather than drive over there I decided to walk it and get a few more streets done. I chose to go up and over Warren, straight shot.


What I discovered on my Warren walk - Queen Anne has a wading pool!? Yet another park that I had never seen before. That people keep chickens on Queen Anne (to the right). that there is a Warren Ave N and a Warren Pl N and that the north end of the hill is a lot longer down than the south side.

I had my meeting, it went great. Now, for the way back, where shall I walk? I decided on the other side of the hill and would make my way up 3rd Ave W. Off I went, past some of the ugliness and business of Nickerson. Up 3rd, past SPU where I discovered yet another Queen Anne hidden treasure.

I was feeling rather sluggish so I stopped in to get a coffee at a place I had never been. Stells. I was greeted by some fantastic photography on the walls and Dimitri who went out of his way to be nice (and not in a condescending way). Got my iced coffee and was off for the trek up 3rd.

My god, what a hill. It just goes up and up and up and up. I was tempted when I got to the top to treat myself to a Top Pot, but, then that would just undo all of the walking that I had just done. So, healthy choices resulted in a 2 hour walk and some serious hill climbing and home for a healthy lunch and then yoga for the first time since my accident two and a half months ago.

The results today: whole body sore! Ouch, in a good way!

My map is slowly being covered in highlights! Exciting!

Added Bonus Pic

This was probably the most well kept and gorgeously landscaped staircases I have come across yet. The neighbors must devote some time to upkeep, don't think the City of Seattle has that kind of resources. This is staircase number 330. Enjoy!

Parks

Mayfair Park (Warren Ave N and 2nd Ave N)

Although I have no scientific basis for this claim and not even any made up internet data on this subject, I hereby declare that Queen Anne must have the most parks of any Seattle neighborhood. It has to be!

Yesterday, a friend and I took on "The Great Ravine," staircase S7 and Mayfair Park. As we approached Mayfair Park, we both looked at each other and said "Who knew!?" What a fantastic little, quiet park, complete with play area, huge giant old trees, picnic tables and a slide that will be a blast in the next snow storm!

We located staircase S7 and took the rickety stairs down to Mayfair Place N and had to follow the dead end street to "The Great Ravine!" (Again, I love these names). As we sort of semi-trespassed we saw that the street did in fact end at a great green space and we looked up and saw the bridge that we normally use to get to Aurora. We couldn't tell if this street was a private street, as it had this cute turnaround section, which looked like a campsite and in fact had these cute campers strung in the tree:
So instead of being scared that we were trespassing, we just continued up the dead up. Until we got to another street! Not a dead end at all.

We climbed staircase 256 up and over to a dead end, where the car garage had a better view of the city than most of the residents!

Down under Aurora and up the other staircase 41 to Canlis (no, we did not stop for dinner).

In case you have never been, this is Queen Anne's answer to the troll underneath our side of the Aurora Bridge.

And then a steep down 4th Ave, almost to Fremont. Then back up staircase 471, whew, what a staircase.

Later in the day I had an opportunity to play bocce ball at David Rogers Park. Again, who knew? I had never been and it's a huge park, complete with big open spaces, trails, several really nice tennis courts, swings and a play area. You can take the trail down to a great soccer field and a track and take the S1 stairs back up. Again, another park in Queen Anne.

Is there no end to your parks, Queen Anne!?

My Obsessive Nature

OK, my obsessive and addictive nature is coming through on this adventure. Now, everywhere I go on Queen Anne I scout for streets I have yet to visit. When I go to the Safeway, could I go around the block and squeeze in a walk? Where can I go to knock out a few more blocks?

Yesterday I was coming home from the gym in Lower Queen Anne, and of course I had my map on me, and I thought, hey, I could get a few streets up the hill that I have yet to hit. So, rather than just walking straight up the hill (I live on QA Ave) I took a detour and thought, ok, I will just walk over to 2nd, on Roy, which I hadn't done before, then up 2nd and left on a little piece of Aloha that I haven't completed.

I ended up needing to go up 2nd all the way to Ward (I hadn't done that part and wasn't going to leave just one block unmarked), then I figured, well, I hadn't completed staircase number 327 at the top of 2nd. So I took that. Then I looked and just down the block on Ward were two staircases I hadn't done, so I down the hill (away from my house) I went.

Well, long story short, the walk that normally takes me about 8 minutes turned into a 45 minute walk. Must cross off streets on map. I am like an obsessive robot!

In the process the idea that Queen Anne is very hilly was reinforced as I seemed to have climbed several hills only to turn back around and come back down a different way.

Could I not start from the top of the neighborhood just so all my hills can be downhill? I guess that is sort of cheating.

Sorry, no pictures from today, didn't have my camera and was not expecting to do this much! My map, however, is filling up with highlighted streets!

Summer rant and rave

This past walk makes me want to rant and rave.

It was a gorgeous, blue sky summer day. I tackled the rest of the south eastern tangle of streets and as I walked past all those beautiful apartments, with amazing views of the city, or of the mountains and all those amazing decks with flowering pots and upside down tomato plants it made me angry that I saw absolutely not a soul out enjoying those decks!

Now, this is coming from someone who dwells in an apartment with no balcony who dreams of having her morning cup of coffee outside on such a deck. To see so many empty decks makes me want to scream. Why do those people deserve a deck and me, who would use it every day, practically living outside does not! I think it should be a city mandate, if you have a deck and you are home and its more than 60 degrees you should be required to use your deck for no less than 1 hour per day. Who is in!? Lets get it passed!

On the rave side of the walk. I love it when people feel safe enough to leave their doors open on a gorgeous day. It makes me think that the entire world is not paranoid and living in fear. Call me old fashioned but I love to see neighborhood kids playing in the streets and people lounging around their house with doors open to the world.

This was the perfect house with door open that I love to see, complete with an American flag, feels like we are in the 1930's in middle America! Warms my heart!

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On a side note, came across one of the few Queen Anne staircases that has fallen into private hands. Its gorgeous, isn't it!? It is now an entrance to a law office.

The Completion of an entire street and the high point

Today I completed an entire street, not even on purpose! I am still trying to tackle all the funky and twisty streets and I ended up doing all of Galer in the process, which is not a twisty windy street. It felt like a really great accomplishment! Ah, from marathons to one street! As my dad would say, how far the mighty have fallen!

In the process I passed what was marked on the map as 'the highest spot on the hill'. This map has provided endless fun trying to find all the artist's hidden funny facts and places either he or the city has named in strange ways (like the cross-hill extravaganza!).

Came across this cool staircase hidden behind what looks to me like a giant lollipop of a street end just up the street from the corner of Prospect and 2nd Ave W (staircase #323).

Parks and Nice People

People are nice, that is the bottom line. Despite all the murder and rape you hear on the evening news. I am truly of the opinion that the majority of people in this world (that I have encountered anyhow) are nice. And this trek around Queen Anne has added to this perception.

Had to run an errand down in lower Queen Anne yesterday so headed for the southwest part of the hill. Figured we would get some of the not so pretty streets out of the way (Mercer coming up from 15th..) and in the process discovered a Kinnear Park like we had never seen it before.

We trekked over to Roy and wanted to do the full length of it. The map told us it ended in a dead end. But, in fact it ends on the western side in lower Kinnear Park. And there was a tennis court there! In the shade! Who knew!? Not that I can play tennis at the moment but something good to take note of.

Parks were not really on my list of things I had to accomplish for this big trek, but staircases were and the map indicated that inside the park was the staircase group S8, well, up the hill we went. Up to the Kinnear Park that I know and love, the lookout, the sweet little playground, sounds of the ships and the grainery. But, I had never been to lower Kinnear. Always thought it was just a glorified homeless camp. No! It was gorgeous on this particular day. Not that I would want to come back by myself at night. But, we had a great time exploring a park more fully than I had ever done before and found some nice tucked away private spots to come back to on a nice day.

In the process we encountered not one, not two, but three people asking if they could help us find something. Because on these sorts of treks you have to have your map handy. I constantly stop and look at it, or stop to mark off a street I just completed and plot my next move. It warms my heart that people care enough to ask if I need help finding something! They could just ignore me and think I was another tourist but really they just helped out a grateful neighbor.

One couple I told what I was doing and they were so excited for me and they told me of some stairs they knew of near here. I thanked them and showed them the wonderful map and we had a nice chat.

So, if you see me out there with my map and my highlighter, stop and say hi. Lets keep the warm and fuzzies going Queen Anne!