Seattle: Capitol Hill broadway Farmer's Market on a rainy day

Washington's license plates proudly proclaim the state as the "Evergreen State", which isn't just a bit of bravado in this case, at least as far as I've seen in Seattle and Western Washington. It's not to downplay the fact that wildfires are a very real issue here, as in many areas along the west coast, but there's generally a lot of humidity in the Seattle area much of the year between the abundance of lakes and small bodies of water along with the Puget Sound carving up the land. This bounty of hydration, however, leads to the lands being fairly fertile, and once you escape the sprawling suburban tendrils of Seattle you'll quickly find yourself among farmlands and progressively smaller, more rural towns. In about an hour's drive you can stand among vibrantly blooming fields of meticulously manicured daffodils dancing in the early spring breeze, or drop in for corn mazes and apple picking- there are an array of different farms and florists who welcome visitors from the Seattle area with open arms. For those not wanting to leave the city, never fear- there are regional farmers markets dotting the city, though not all of them are year-round like the Broadway Farmer's market in Capitol Hill. I've mentioned before that I tend to spend a fair bit of time in Capitol Hill, and the farmer's market is predictably timed for every Sunday at 11am to 3pm, which times out with my lunch break from work rather nicely. I've absolutely stopped to pick up a bouquet of flowers before darting off to another destination across town for a few hours, before properly getting them home and into a vase. Thankfully, it was still relatively cool out the last time I did such a thing, and the vendor was clever and kind enough to have a small bag filled with water rubber-banded to the bottom, keeping the flowers hydrated during their long commute to the safety of home. 

Having spent most of my life living in a desert city, I only got small glimpses at the seasonal beauty of nature through a communal school garden in elementary, sporadic peaks at my grandma's tomato garden during visits back to her home in Ohio or the brambling bushes of wild blackberries growing at the farm, as big as my grandpa's thumb, which seemed inconceivably massive to my childhood brain. These snippets of nature's wonder piqued my curiosity, and farmer's markets provide an accessible, colorful way to take in the seasonal shifts and gawk at some of the varietals of otherwise familiar vegetables you might not have encountered before. If you're looking for groceries, it's even better to purchase them from your local farmer's market, as the food will generally be much fresher for having traveled far less of a distance to reach you, and will usually retain more nutrients. Flash freezing can do wonders for mineral retention, but few things beat the juiciness of a farm fresh tomato or the crispy crust on a boule of freshly baked sourdough. Plus, when it comes to accountability and food safety, it's hard to beat having the farmer standing right there to answer any question you may have. There's a pretty good variety to be found here, too, so don't let the larger Pike's Place draw you away from giving this market a fair shot. You can warm up with a delicious bowl of freshly made chowder, followed by a massive chocolate muffin so decadent you'll wonder if you might have died and gone to a better plane, not to mention the rainbow of fresh fruits and vegetables beckoning to go home with you and do delicious, savory and/or sweet things in your mouth. (that's what she said) There's mead for taking back to the hotel room or home, too, made by some very kind-hearted people. 

Don't forget to say hi to Jimi while you're there!

Seattle: Capitol Hill: Dino's Tomato Pie

Hello again, my dear blog and any readers who may have found their way here! I know, it's been an age and a half since I'd last written, and for that, I'm truly very sorry. It's been a wild ride here at 710 Headquarters, AKA my life, and I've been dashing all around with hardly any time left to plop my butt down and get to writing. On the upside, I certainly have ample new material to share with everyone! All this roaming in Seattle (and various areas nearby) has afforded me a rapid familiarity with the area, and some incredible sights along the way. Did you know there's a park here with a giant pair of cowboy boots? Apparently! It's especially surprising to spot from your peripheral as you wind your way through unfamiliar streets for the first time. This post, however, is about another location, one in Capitol Hill that we found ourselves standing in front of on a cold, hungry night. It's a little grungy, a little divey, with brilliant buzzing fluorescent red lights beaming through the night, guiding you like a moth to the warmth. 

I tend to spend a fair amount of time in and around Capitol Hill, whether I'm taking in the farmer's market on Broadway, drooling over the restaurants (and often bookmarking ones like Top Pot Doughnuts, Momiji, The Wandering Goose, Dao Tai House, or Bakery Nouveau), there's generally a buzz of activity and lots to see and do. Naturally, parking can be a bit difficult, which is why we tend to favor finding a spot we can leave our vehicle and go about our adventures walking, biking, or using ride-share. On this particular outing, we'd gone all the way down to MoPOP to take in their limited run Marvel exhibition while it was still going on, and then walked our way back up and then along much of Denny Hill. It was during this uphill slog that we happened upon Dino's Tomato Pie, a dimly lit bar and restaurant slinging up round or square pies in a variety of different topping arrangements. Our tummies grumbling in hunger, and our glutes barking, we opted to take a brief load off and refuel. Our timing was fortuitous, as it was happy hour and we were able to grab a couple of cold brews and some garlic knots along with our slices at a reasonable price. Costs in Capitol Hill haven't exactly remained low over the years, so it's always nice to know there's a place to grab a good meal without breaking the bank. If you want to hop in a time machine, I highly recommend checking out their website, which is a shrine to a bygone era in internet aesthetics. So many blinking items and all the scrolling text! The gifs! It's a site to behold, friends. 

You'll have to go up to the bar and flag the attention of one of the employees to place your order, but there's a handy sign to guide you in the darkness. The food was delicious, and we totally enjoyed the dive bar vibe. The crew seemed to have a good banter going, and their menu was pretty extensive, with a lot of different choices for everyone. We kept it simple with our happy hour brewskies, but they had a pretty impressive cocktail menu with some creative offerings if that's more your thing. 

Seattle: Walking from Capitol Hill towards Pike's Place

Seattle, for all it's many acres of parks and labyrinth of bike lanes and trails, is a bit of a challenge at times when it comes to parking. Some days, you get lucky-maybe that particular day of the week street parking is free, and if you're really lucky it might be unlimited, but generally speaking a two-hour limit in exchange for a free place to park isn't such a bad bargain these days. When free parking is, unfortunately, not an option, you'll have to look towards pay-to-park, whether it's a lot that charges by the hour, a meter you can pay by phone, or a covered garage. In our case, the van is too tall for most of the covered parking garages, so that option is automatically out, and knocks a lot of potential parking spots out of the running. Capitol Hill is a pretty popular neighborhood, with a lot of apartment complexes and homes dotting the narrow streets, so it's often packed. If you're patient, and are willing to shell out a few bucks, however, you can find parking. We managed to secure a spot in this colorful lot, where the van's spot was paid for before safely locked up the vehicle. From here, we ventured out, aiming to get to Pike's Place Market, eventually. It was another nice, sunny day, which is a rare gift this time of year, so we took advantage of it and enjoyed our stroll. There was a lot to take in between the van and the Waterfront, after all; from the Jimi Hendrix statue rocking out on Broadway, to the curious nests of people without homes congregating under a bridge, even some serious demolition work going on, and a Christmas tree to top it all off (this was pre-X-Mas day). It was a pretty serious walk, one that took us all the way down the water's edge and back to Capitol Hill, and by the end of the day we were pretty pooped! It was well worth it, though. Sure, we eventually found a lot closer to Pike's Place that we could have squeezed the van into, but we wouldn't have taken in nearly so many different sights. Sometimes it's better to slow down and take it all in with a stride.  

Seattle: AJ's Day out around Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill is one of the trendier neighborhoods of Seattle, rife with hipsters, indie cafes, local coffee shops, tongue-in-cheek gay bars with outlandish names, a weekly farmer's market, and SO MUCH ART! There's a lot to do around the area, and parking isn't exactly the easiest thing to find, or cheapest if you end up having to opt for one of the long-term parking lots, but there is so much to see and do in the area that it ends up being almost kind of totally worth the exorbitant parking rates depending on what you do or the day you visit. I had a gig to attend to, so I was going to be busy for at least 3 hours, while Antho was free to roam around the area and partake of the local culture. He had a lot of fun and got a ton of awesome photos capturing the colorful vibe and ecclectic nature of the area. 

On our way to get there, we passed this friendly fellow who was happily feeding the gulls. He'd forged a sort of kinship with the birds, and was ensuring they got plenty of snacks on this awkward little bit of corner. We had a nice chat with him before we moved on with the flow of traffic, and I like to think he's carrying on a piece of Ivar's legacy, as the founder of Ivar's was a fan of seagulls, too. 

One of the first things to catch Antho's eye during his explorations were the streetlights and posts, which were predominantly wrapped up in deep layers of flyers. Each proceeding generation of flyer had seemingly just been stapled, spackled, or otherwise smashed on top of the previous generation, causing the heavily trafficked corners to have poles over-stuffed in decaying layers of flapping paper, advertising months, if not years, worth of local events and entertainment. There is no order to the chaos, other than the chronological necessity of the most recent things landing on top of the pile, only to be covered up by the next big thing. 

So it goes. 

Plenty of photos below!