Seattle: August walk around Lake Union

Summertime in Seattle is a splendiferous and fleeting thing, where for a brief window our nearly year-long blanket of cloud cover clears out to let the sunbeams rain down upon us, bestowing sorely needed vitamin D to scores of pallid flesh. While it's not unusual to witness joggers in varying stages of undress all year long, in the summer the skin is out and even the most hikkikomori among us are tempted out from their dens to feel that familiar warmth tingle the skin. Anthony and I are not immune from this seasonal shift and all the sun-worshipping activities it encourages, so on one fine August day we popped on our walking shoes and store out for an epic journey around Lake Union! It's one of the many bodies of water in Seattle, but Lake Union is small enough that you can easily take a walkaround it in an evening, and it'll take you through some wonderfully scenic Seattle neighborhoods! There are tons of quirky house boats to be seen, beautiful mcmansions lining the water front, parks (including the iconic Gas Works park), marinas, and so much more to take in. During our outing, there was a fair bit of construction going on along the eastern shore of the lake, leading us to take a somewhat longer round-about route as a result, but so it goes. We weren't unhappy with the sights we took in at all and appreciated seeing some unusual architecture and light effects as a result! We definitely put a pin in a few locations along the route that we look forward to revisiting, and hopefully I'll have a Vlog up on my Youtube channel in the next couple months! I'm working on upgrading my equipment, and am really excited to share a lot of new quality content with you in the future! In the end we did over 9 miles in an evening of walking, were able to see a heron fishing, get in our daily step count (and then some), and generally just had a lovely night out exploring our city. We hope you enjoy these photos we took during the adventure! 

Seattle: Gasworks Park Bikeride

Gasworks Park, nestled against the north shore of Lake Union, is a 19.1 acre public park accessible to the citizens of, and visitors to, the region and a unique landmark of Seattle itself. Being right up on the waterfront, as it is, there are ample water-based activities available, from kayaking to paddleboarding, though on this particular visit we were on rental bicycles made available through LimeBike, the brightly colored bikes visible on many corners and curbs of Seattle. Since the day was unusually bright, sunny and sublime on the specific fall day on which we visited, there were quite a few people out making use of the optimal weather, enjoying a picnic or simply lazing about on the grassy hills. While remnants of an industrial past linger, looming over the scenery, the actual gasification plant has long since shuttered it's doors, closing up for good back in 1956. As of January 2nd, 2013 the park joined the ranks of other historical points of significance and was added to the National Registry of Historic Places, a long-awaited designation. For fans of cheesy movies, there are lots of houseboats dotting the periphery, which may have served as the location, or at least inspiration for, some of your favorite films located in Seattle. As someone who's never really cared for rom-coms, I'm more keen on the fact that Bill Nye the Science Guy was originally based out of Seattle. Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill!

Accessing Gasworks Park is easy enough, with a parking lot as well as the fact the park abutts against the Burke-Gilman Interurban trail, making it exceptionally easy to get to via bicycle or foot. This is one of those places any first-time visitor to Seattle must check out because it's so iconic and historic! It's close to several other landmarks, like the Lenin Statue and Fremont Troll, along with many other options for the curious adventurer. On a bright and sunny day like this, I'd recommend grabbing a packed lunch somewhere nearby and settling in for a nice, relaxing afternoon enjoying the sun, but to each their own! Whether you walk, bike, paddle, drive, or even fly, there's something for everyone at Gasworks park.