Sunset Walk

Lot's of nature posts and pictures recently.  Might give the impression that that's all I do with myself.  I  wish...

It was a crazy work day today.  I felt like I was going non-stop all day.  And still have a bunch more to do tonight.  At 6:15, I decided I needed to get some fresh air and stretch my legs.  Jack was more than happy to accompany me on a walk/run.

There were noticeably more people out tonight than usual - I suspect in hopes of seeing a repeat of last night's Orca show. It was a great night to be out - clear skies, colorful sunset, cool temperature.

Here's a shot of the Olympic Mountains, just before sunset - take from up on the bluff.  The sun was well to the left of this view.

A few minutes later.

Fisherman on the beach.

Can't Believe I Missed This!

Northern Lights from West Seattle. Wow.

Whales!

We got a rare Pacific Northwest treat today...

It was my turn to pick up Thomas and his buddy Erik from football practice (no, that's not the treat).  While I was waiting for them, I pulled out my phone to check my RSS feeds.  Our amazing local news source, the West Seattle Blog (aka WSB), had recently posted reports that a pod of Orca whales was heading slowly toward West Seattle.  It was a beautiful night and I thought 'wouldn't it be nice to be walking in Lincoln Park right now', but the boys hadn't emerged from the locker room yet and we still had a 30+ minute drive home in rush hour traffic.  So, I figured, no whales for me tonight.

The boys came out a few minutes later and traffic wasn't too bad, so we made good time.  We dropped Erik off and, since it was such a nice night, I decided to take the scenic loop along the water around Alki Point. As we were coming down Beach Drive on the final stretch before Lincoln Park, we noticed a larger-than-normal number of people walking toward the shore and watching the sun set over the Olympics. As we got close to Lincoln Park, I made the connection that maybe all these people were coming to see whales (duh).  So I pulled over and Thomas and I walked down to the water at Lowman Beach - just north of Lincoln Park and about half a mile from our house.  Sure enough, within a minute we saw Orcas surfacing about a hundred yards offshore.  Very cool!

I took my phone out and snapped a few pictures.  My zoom wasn't quite strong enough, but you might be able to make out a black dot near the middle of the frame.  That's an Orca dorsal fin. (And no, I did not mistake that duck in the lower right for an Orca.)

There are some amazing photos on West Seattle Blog's post after the event.

Thomas had his iPhone with him and took advantage of the panorama feature to get some great shots.  No whales, but definitely captures the moment... and another beautiful sunset.

(click to zoom and get the full effect)

What a fun experience to share with Thomas.

I mentioned whale sightings are a rare treat - well my 'clean living' must be paying off.  We probably hear about (thanks to WSB) 4-8 whale sightings near West Seattle in a year - many of which are brief or too far off shore to see without binoculars   The last (I think) reported sighting was this past Spring on a chilly, overcast and rainy day.  Karri and I happened to be walking Jack in Lincoln Park that day and arrived at the beach moments before a pod of Orcas appeared about 200 yards offshore.  We and the whales were both heading south, and as we approached the point near Colman Pool, the whales were within 50 yards of shore - close enough that  you could hear them blow as they surfaced! It was spellbinding.  Because of the weather, there weren't many people out - maybe a handful along a quarter-mile stretch of beach.  We felt like they were putting on a show just for us.

To put it all in perspective... I've lived in Seattle 23 years (minus 1 year spent in Caracas, Venezuela - all the rest in West Seattle) and can count on one hand the number of times I've seen Orcas off the shores of West Seattle.

Homecoming

Tonight was Homecoming at Seattle Prep.  No, that's not 'Bill Nye the Science Guy' - that's Thomas with his date, Riley.

He spent 20 minutes trying to tie that bow tie.  Finally got it right with help from a step-by-step video he found on YouTube (and a minor assist from dad).  Looks pretty dapper, if you ask me.

As we are learning about Prep, events like this are a great excuse for parents to get together too.  Tonight, the parents of one of Thomas' football buddies offered to host a dinner for several of the kids before the dance, and invited the parents to come too.  It was a great time.

I don't want to be a 'helicopter parent' and I have to say I was a little concerned about intruding on the kids tonight.  But I think it was fun for all - adults and kids too.  Once everyone arrived, there was a paparazzi-like photo session in the back yard. Then the kids sat down to what looked like an amazing dinner (that several parents helped prepare and serve) while the adults mingled in the kitchen and outside.  After dinner, a few parents volunteered to take the kids over to the dance while most of rest of the parents stayed around to socialize.

I've been impressed by Thomas' expanding circle of high school friends.  They seem like good kids - friendly, outgoing, intelligent, fun.

I think back to some of my great memories from high school and am excited for Thomas as he creates his own.

Our 'Back Yard'

We are blessed to live so close to Lincoln Park - a 135 acre, waterfront park with trails, athletic fields, playgrounds and more.  It's less than 50 yards from our front door - but we don't take advantage of it nearly as much as we should.

Karri and I try to walk Jack there most days.  Sometimes it's just one of us with the dog, but it's especially nice when we can both sneak away.  This is frequently the only time we have alone together the entire day. It's amazing how a 20-minute walk through the park can help ease the stresses of the day.

We've developed a standard loop, starting out walking north along the bluff above the water, then heading down the stairs that wind their way to the water, then following the beautiful waterfront path - looking out over Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains - to the southern end of the park, before heading up the hill and back to the house.  I think its a little over 2 miles altogether.

Here's a shot I took yesterday (with my phone) of the sun setting over the Olympics.  This time of year, the sun is setting much further south on the horizon than it was mid-summer - and much earlier too!  This was taken at 6:38pm.  In late June, the sun doesn't set until 9:15 or so.  You can see how clear the sky is and and how calm the Sound is... although the water is usually pretty calm year-round.  About a minute later, that small wisp of clouds made it look more like a forest fire in the Olympics than a sunset.

And here's a shot of Karri with Jack taken today (again with my phone).  We were up on the bluff, just above the stairs we take down to the beach.  As I mentioned in my last post, the weather has been amazing.  It's definitely cooling off, but I love a clear, crisp fall day.  So does Karri.  And so does Jack!

Unbelievable

Would anyone ever guess that this is a Seattle forecast?  Our weather has been amazing.  Best stretch I can remember in the 23 years I've lived here.

Fun Weekend!

Took me a while to get this posted...

We had a great time with the Sage in town.  Highlights included a great round of golf at West Seattle Golf Course, Tribal Council around the firepit, a few great meals (salmon & halibut on the bbq, crab cakes, roasted veggies... mmmm!), sight-seeing, and a day of watching kids sporting activities (football & soccer games - Sage was a trooper, as always).  Weather was perfect and everybody had fun.

Only regret is that it all went too quickly.

Here are a few pics...

Tim & Sage getting ready to tee off on #17 with Elliott Bay and Seattle in the background.

19th hole.  Manny's of course.

Tribal Council on Friday night - Sage presiding.

Double-fisted watching the 2nd half of the Boilermakers victory over Marshall.

The newest addition to the Seattle skyline - the Seattle Great Wheel. Kids enjoyed a ride Sunday after a day of downtown sightseeing, including a Water Taxi ride, the Aquarium and, of course, Pike Place Market.  Great day!