Temperatures soared into the eighties this weekend as summer arrived full blast in Seattle. It's been a full weekend of socializing too. On Friday evening colleague Charlie invited me to join him at the Jazz Alley club where Spyro Gyra was playing. I must confess I had to Google the band as I am not very up on jazz but most people's reaction to the name is "So they are still around?" The music was very enjoyable with solos for guitar, sax, keyboards, bass guitar and drums - always my favorite.
On Saturday I met for the first time with Miriam Shames, who is Director of the Carlsen Cello Foundation, and a wonderful cellist, teacher and person. We tried out some of the Foundation's cellos that had been overhauled by local dealer Rafael Carrabba and then had a great cello conversation over iced tea.
On Saturday evening I met with a group of colleagues for the closing event and celebration of the Black Box Film Festival. The films were shown at the Cornish College of the Arts and the after-party was held in a derelict school building slated for demolition (how hip is that?). My favorite piece was Double Play, an installation with a cats cradle of fluorescent tubes that flashed on and off above a video by Tivon Rice with images of similar tubes and very powerful poetry by Hannah Sanghee Park. It was mesmerizing.
I got up bright and early on Sunday and went out in the brilliant sunshine to participate in the Susan G. Komen Puget Sound 5K walk with a joint team from NGO PATH and the Gates Foundation. Our team name was the Pink Catalysts (taken from the foundation's strategy of catalyzing improvements in healthcare). Seattle Center overflowed with runners and walkers (and dogs) in wacky pink costumes, as well as stalls with give-aways; water, healthy snacks, beads and tiaras. I walked the five km route which went down 4th Avenue and back again, amid a sea of pink.
After the race was over I walked down to Lake Union and took the 'Icecream Cruise'. It was lovely to stand up on deck in the refreshing breeze. We sailed past the many houseboats that are built on rafts made of the original Douglas fir and cedar logs that supported loggers' waterside shacks when the lumber industry was at its height, which are laid out along watery streets, some with wooden piers that serve as boardwalks. Many had boats moored outside and kayakers and paddleboarders milled around on the water just beyond the decks and verandahs. I also got to see the houseboat featured in 'Sleepless in Seattle' which has been on my list for a while.
Lake Union is full of history, from the shipyards and dry docks to historic boats including tugs, fireboats, lightships and even a Russian spy ship. We passed the site where Boeing first began manufacturing boats, before it diversified into the earliest wood and canvas planes, and where now only a willow tree stands at the water's edge. We also passed the Boeing corporate yacht 'Daedalus' - perhaps an unfortunate choice of name? There's now a lovely green park (think Teletubbies) where the old gas works stood, and no fewer than four swing bridges. A couple of other landmarks were Ivar's Salmon House, which is one of the best known (if tourist trap) fish restaurants, and right next door to it, the home of glassblower Dale Chihuly.
After all that I enjoyed a hearty Italian lunch at Buca di Beppo and then went back to the apartment for a long nap in the afternoon heat.
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