West Seattle, Washington
08 Sunday
Thanks to WSB’er “Chuck and Sally’s Van Man” for a tip that involves, yes, the long-closed Chuck and Sally’s Tavern in Morgan Junction (map): A film crew is there today. We went down the hill to check it out. It’s an independent production called “Greenspoke“; according to this site, “principal photography” just started a few days ago. A webpage for the film itself has the tag line: “Well-meaning scientists aim a green bullet at climate change. Bullets ricochet.” Here’s the online bio for its writer/director/producer Tom McEntire. (Film-crew members are also AROUND Chuck and Sally’s, as you’ll notice from the second photo we just added, taken across the street.)
Tonight we’re pointing to last night’s Beach Drive Blog featured home. The tree is just too gorgeous. (BDB says the house is just south of Jacobsen; here’s a map.) Meantime, thanks for the address tips that are starting to come in — a few were described as works in progress so we’re going to give them a few days till we come by! We did get one photo that doesn’t qualify as lights – but it can’t go unnoted:
Nicole from Chill says that turned up last Sunday by Jan’s Salon next door (here’s a map; and yes, that’s a school – Gatewood Elementary – in the background).
Forecast suggests more fog in the morning, which means more foghorns (got a few notes about those today) and possibly more scenes like these: CL took the top photo from Luna (Anchor) Park – noting that it appeared the fog had made a nest for the downtown skyscrapers. Greg took the next photo from Jack Block Park, observing, “We thought the cranes looked like brontosaurii taking over Harbor Island!”
The cloud formation (altocumulus?) that made last night’s sunset so spectacular (our photo is here; Beach Drive Blog has pix here) went on to enable that memorable moonscape — thanks to David Hutchinson for sharing his photo, taken from Duwamish Head.
More photos just to capture the scenery on the day that’s being recorded for posterity — with contributions of “life as we lived it on 11/13/08” being accepted for consideration for inclusion in the time capsule that will be buried next year at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, for opening on this date in 2058 (11/13 is the anniversary of the Denny Party‘s landing on Alki in 1851). Above, we didn’t pull over in quite enough time to get a head-on shot of what appeared to be a father and son on wheels – with their dog leading the way – liked the photo anyway. Minutes earlier, this shot from the Duwamish Head viewpoint looking back at the downtown skyline:
About an hour before that, we took this photo from the meeting room at Alaskan Way Viaduct project headquarters, 24th floor of the Wells Fargo building at 3rd/Madison downtown – we’re about to write up the West Seattle-specific results of the briefing we attended there – that report’s next.
“Time Capsule Day” continues till 11:59 pm, so if you see, receive, create something you might want to submit for consideration – this previous WSB post explains how to do that.
Under the full moon, with low-enough clouds to capture and reflect city light closer to the horizons, 2 am looked more like 5 am at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza. We wanted to take a picture there in the wee hours, to start the day that will be memorialized in the time capsule that’ll be buried at the plaza next year, and we’re going to print/digitally record today’s WSB posts to submit for consideration. Remarkably peaceful at the plaza at that hour – no wind, no rain, clearly audible birdsong at sea, way offshore. On the way back to WSB HQ, another classic West Seattle night sight:
Any photo you take today, or other item that might show people in 50 years how life was lived in Seattle (not just West Seattle) on 11/13/08 (meeting agenda? grocery receipt? event flyer? printed-out personal blog/online diary page?), can be contributed – the “when” and “how” are detailed here.
Admiral District trick-or-treating (map/list of participants) continues till 6; Westwood Village till 7; lots more here. Here’s our first video from Admiral:
That’s the spooky spider dangling by the door at Alki Bike and Board (WSB sponsor). Next: photos showing the Admiral District was truly abuzz:
Thanks to Luca the baby bumblebee for holding still there, sort of, while we checked out trick-or-treaters at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor). Next one’s the crew at Head-to-Toe Day Spa:
And this one was taken at Linda’s Flowers and Gifts:
Be sure to send us your Halloween pix later if you want to share!
Happy Halloween! No pix of this yet, but last night, Walking on Logs at the end of The Bridge was surrounded by glowing jack-o-lanterns. Didn’t see it far enough in advance to pull over for pix. Eddie e-mailed that he saw cars there just after 8 pm. Let us know if you know who did it – and/or if you have pix! Now, the latest WSB’er pumpkins:
That’s from Meredith in Admiral. Next, a jack-o-lantern group from Benjamin at 13th/Webster:
And two from John Moore of Northwest Insurance Group (WSB sponsor):
John also sent an Obama-o-lantern — one of several we have, along with two other celebrity (nonpolitical, more or less) carvings; just click ahead:Read More
The first two pix are from tonight’s West Seattle Halloween highlights: First, a Johnny Cash pumpkin, plus a spider, thanks to Laura. Meantime, from 37th and Graham (map), an front-yard display sent by Emily, who says she and her husband love Halloween and add a bit more to the display daily (nightly?) during pre-Halloween week, and more pix can be found here:
Even more jack-o-lanterns and Halloween pix tomorrow (send yours!). By the way, we dropped by the scene of Skeleton Theatre tonight and will publish that video-enhanced report tomorrow, as they get ready for two big nights Friday and Saturday (more Halloween events here). Now, one more photo – Keith spotted this at 44th/Oregon in The Junction and wondered if anyone knows who/what this is supposed to be:
Co-publisher Patrick kicks off the guessing with “Stephen King?” But if you know for sure, or have a different guess, please enlighten! ADDED 10:54 PM: Just in, two pix from the annual Pathfinder K-8 pumpkin-carving celebration; Eric Baer reports about 150 participants, and sends these photos taken by Holly Rikhof:
Eric says there were about twice as many jack-o-lanterns as could be squeezed into that shot!
Thanks to Susan and Kevin for sending that photo of their pirate pumpkins, from the wild seas south of The Junction. Next, a spacey creation:
“That’s no moon – that’s …” Stephen‘s Death Star pumpkin. Last but by no means least, two jack-o-lanterns from Myrbob:
Got one to share? Or spooky decorations? E-mail your pix to WSB! One more Halloweenish note – Remember the Thrill the World zombie dances on Saturday? Turns out that for the “official” world-record attempt – the West Seattleites (and their cohorts from the rest of the city) were the THIRD BIGGEST GROUP IN THE WORLD! Read all about it (and see more pix and video) at the Thrill the World-West Seattle blog.
So we just returned from a post-sunset neighborhood walk (hillside east of Lincoln Park), during which, clouds of tiny flies seemed to follow us every step of the way. Thought maybe it was just us. Then, as soon as we walked into the house and checked e-mail, the WSB inbox yielded this note from “DC”:
I live right near Ercolini Park and there have been a TON of nasty little flies all over the place this evening. Anybody know what causes that phenomena, and why this time of year? Seems weird.
We’ll fly into research mode – but in the meantime, maybe you’ve already got the answer? ADDED 6:55 PM: WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli wonders if these might be the culprits – he says there were “millions” in his garden this afternoon:
Thanks to Susan and Ben in Admiral for sharing their jack-o-lanterns; we’d love to showcase yours – send pix (creative outdoor decoration pix welcome too) to editor@wsb.blackfin.biz! (P.S. We’ve added more Halloween events to the WSB Holidays page, and speaking of Admiral, the listing on that page for merchant trick-or-treating Friday now has a link to the map showing all 31 participants!).
Thanks to Courtney for capturing the aerial view of the sizable Zombie Walk that’s been heading through The Junction and up toward Admiral this afternoon/early evening – we mentioned it on the calendars, but you might still have been startled to see it; it’s a citywide event, and this year they decided to stalk West Seattle. (No relation to the zombies of the Thrill the World event yesterday, though some Thriller-dancers were reportedly considering joining in!) P.S. Lots of participants in the Zombie Walk means lots more pix online, including some posted by Tofublog and Kero360.
Meredith sends word (and photo) of something new at solar-powered Red Cup Espresso: “Friday Night Dominos game night starting at 7:00 p.m. (This week) at 9:00, a table of four was still at it and the drive-thru was open for business. Community members welcome to come play any Friday, or ask for a set of dominos to play any time you actually come in and sit.” Now, on to a Saturday night scene:
11 pm at Seacrest, the Elliott Bay Water Taxi was about to take off on its last run of the last Saturday night of the year. As reported here the other day, morning commuters will get special thank-you treats this Friday, and Water Taxi supporters are invited to let the county know they’re behind the service, as King County Ferry District reauthorization nears. Last but not least, from WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham, a scene that followed all this: “A day of trick or treating ends for this little rescue hero as he strolls away from the Alaska Junction Saturday afternoon.”
Prints of Matt’s work are available through his site, mattdurhamphotography.com.
Yes, by the time 3 o’clock approached, it was all too much for that West Seattle Junction trick-or-treating munchkin. But in the preceding two hours, such excitement:
That’s the view looking over the Thrill the World dance encore toward the adoring crowd on the southwest corner of the Walk-All-Ways intersection. (See video of their Occidental Park “official” performance here; they’re at Admiral Theater tonight at 9.) Earlier at that same intersection:
All along the streets of The Junction, businesspeople were waiting to hand out treats. Any guesses who this is?
That’s Dawn Leverett, president of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce board – for today, the Cham-BOO! of Commerce – outside Windermere Real Estate. We also found potentially shadowy characters outside Shadow Land:
Here’s who greeted trick-or-treaters at Zamboanga:
Back at Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor), Thrill the World-West Seattle organizer Lora Lewis was still in zombie garb, attacking her “Project Runway” star barista Blayne:
As for the West Seattle citizenry, a little cooking humor for Chris and Steve (with baby Owen):
Having been to a few conferences lately, we could appreciate the costume on the left side of this pic:
The Junction event was the first of three business-district trick-or-treating events this Halloween season. The other two are on Halloween, next Friday — the Admiral merchants welcome you 3 to 6 pm (see the WSB Holidays page for full details on the giveaway that’s involved) and Westwood Village 5-7 pm. Here’s hoping Friday has weather like today’s … like these two from Forsythe Studio, the sunshine was truly, well, groovy:
‘Cause if Halloween isn’t nice too, there will be just one thing to say: D’oh!
With that, we bid you adios:
(That photo is courtesy Meredith; all previous photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick and Junior Member of the Team Torin)
Thanks to Melissa for that photo of her window decorations on 42nd north of Fauntleroy in Morgan Junction. You’re welcome to send us a pic of yours – and/or your jack-o-lantern – westseattleblog@yahoo.com – meantime, this gives us an excuse to remind you that the big wave of West Seattle Halloween events starts TOMORROW, continuing through this weekend, and on to the “real” Halloween in eight days. On the WSB Holidays page, you’ll find the times/locations for events for all ages, including three different sessions of business-district trick-or-treating – The Junction this Saturday, Admiral and Westwood Village on Halloween. (P.S. A recent addition is the West Seattle Helpline Fall Masquerade and Wine Tasting a week from today; RSVP by tomorrow.)
Our first sighting of sub-$3 gas in this price-drop cycle – California/Charlestown 7-11. (Tuesday afternoon addendum – have since seen many sub-$3 WS stations, lowest is $2.93 at Arco and “Ruxbury.”) Got the tip from West Seattle Junction Association executive director Susan Melrose, who also revealed that the official Junction Christmas tree has been replaced:
The newly planted Fraser fir replaces the previous tree, which just hadn’t been happy in that spot and had gotten to the point where it was easy to imagine the poor thing catching fire if subjected to this year’s tree-lighting ceremony (even with low-heat LEDs). Elsewhere in The Junction, we spotted Halloween window decorations in the works at the Senior Center of West Seattle building:
Just around the corner, the Stop ‘n’ Shop is closed for several weeks of remodeling, with a grand reopening scheduled for November 15th (more soon on what’s in the works there).
Burke e-mailed that photo (thank you!) and elaborated:
I stopped in at Staples in Westwood Saturday afternoon and was greeted by this sign at the entrance. No cash? Inside there were a number of similar signs and it is true: no cashbacks, no cash accepted, no change. The clerk only commented that “there was a problem!” I sometimes jokingly ask if cash is accepted, after standing in a line of folks using credit/debit cards to buy groceries. Maybe it’s not a joke anymore?
Those spotlights in front of the Admiral Theater tonight were NOT for the West Seattle debut of the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (WSB sponsor) — screenings are under way elsewhere in the city right now but the Admiral showings aren’t till next Friday and Saturday (schedule here; watch for WSB ticket giveaways starting Monday). Tonight, the Admiral was closed to the public, rented out for a private event, spotlights and all. As for PUBLIC special events coming up – three weeks till the Frances Farmer’s Revenge extravaganza (here’s the official site).
Thanks to the tipster who called us about this sign that’s just gone up at the recently reopened former 76 station on ROXbury, a couple blocks east of 35th. Also worth noting, this is our first sighting of $3.20-something regular gas since the price plummet began.
We mentioned the event this morning, and it’s continuing till 9 pm – a Zapotec weaver from a women’s collective in Oaxaca, Mexico, is exhibiting and selling weavings at Cafe Rozella on Delridge less than a block south of Roxbury; thanks to Ricardo Guarnero at Rozella for taking and sharing a few pix (he posted more info on the event and the weavers at White Center Now).
One week ago, we were first to break the news (outside the company, anyway) that Microsoft’s Connector employee bus service had picked the date to expand into West Seattle; today, a tip from Sue led us to signs like that one in the parking lot by the Masonic Hall on the east edge of The Junction, one of several pickup/dropoff spots with which the service will launch next Monday (and we’re told it’s already full up!). Now, a seagoing sight from Alki:
During the heart of the summer cruise season, you don’t usually see the big ships in Elliott Bay on Mondays. But now it’s shoulder season and schedules are different; late this afternoon, Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas (left) and Celebrity Cruises’ Mercury both headed out. Serenade was the last non-Celebrity ship scheduled to visit this year (according to the schedule on the Port of Seattle website); Celebrity’s Infinity stops in tomorrow, and Millennium on Wednesday, then Mercury is in four more times (running a schedule of short Northwest cruises) until its departure ends the cruise season on Wednesday, October 15.
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