Seattle Mariners v. Cleveland Indians

Today is Cheryl and Pat’s 28th wedding anniversary! And last night they treated us to another Mariner’s game at Safeco Field.


Cheryl had told me that they didn’t have any plans for their anniversary and she didn’t know what they would be doing. Sooo…we surprised them with a bag of puzzles to keep them busy tonight. HA! Then we headed into Seattle to Safeco Field.

The ballpark has a unique retractable roof that covers, but does not close up, the ballpark so that even when it is closed there is still an open-air feel. From the Mariners’ website:

The ballpark's one-of-a-kind retractable roof is designed to cover but not enclose the ballpark, thus preserving an open-air environment. The structure covers nearly 9 acres, weighs 22 million pounds, and contains enough steel to build a skyscraper 55 stories tall. The three movable panels glide on 128 steel wheels powered by 96 ten horsepower electric motors. A push of a button closes or opens the roof in an average of 10-20 minutes (depending on wind and other weather conditions). The roof is self-grounded (in the event of lightning strikes) and is designed to withstand 6-7 ft. of snow and sustained winds of up to 70 mph.


Crazy, huh? This is a picture of the underside of the roof with the machinery that allows it to open and close.




Our seats were in the Hit It Here Café which is located above right field and has a great view and full-service dining. Dining! Not hot dogs and peanuts, but actual food from a menu. The middle pic is a view of the Hit It Here Café from across the stadium. We sat just above the yellow UW Medicine banner around the letter “M”.



A waiter took our orders and we started with a bucket of spicy peel-and-eat shrimp, midget corn dogs with cheese and some nice, cold beers. Our entrees included a Philly Cheese Steak, Chicken Caesar Salad, Bleu Cheese & Bacon Burger and Smoked Chicken Nachos. The Mariners took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning as we enjoyed our dinners.



These are views of the ballpark from our seats. Nice and comfortable...no tripping over your “row-mates” when you need to get up. Feeling hot and thirsty and don’t want to spend almost $5 for a bottle of water? “Waiter, could I please have some more water?” Plus, it was easier to have a conversation without everyone around you listening in.


Who is this Major League Baseball right fielder you might ask? ICHIRO! One of the best hitters in MLB history.





To finish off the night, we enjoyed dessert – a Warm Double Dark Chocolate Brownie and Granny Smith Apple Pie Ala Mode.


We went into the 9th inning with the Indians struggling to get a hit...but they didn’t and the Mariners won, 1-0! Ta-da Mike’s happy!

Happy anniversary Cheryl and Pat and thank you for a wonderful evening!


p.s. Kenmore Air sighting!

10 - Developing Human Potential

I recently saw a job advertisement from a company in the Seattle area named 10. It included a link to their blog, also named 10. “10 is a company devoted to developing human potential. Our mission is to help people think big and achieve big to improve their lives. We motivate and encourage others to achieve their own personal and professional fulfillment.”

I started reading the blog posts and found them inspirational. Inspirational in the sense of living life to its fullest and being the best you can be.

One post I particularly like is A Difference of One Degree. At the post you can click the link 212DegreesTheMovie and see the 2.5 minute “movie.” Check it out.

I am so inspired!

Veggie Garden, Third Shot

Back to our garden...we’ve harvested a few more tomatoes, but the green onions haven’t grown more than a couple of inches out of the ground and the radishes are at a standstill.


This poor, pathetic (Mike gave it a haircut weeks ago) tomato plant just won’t give up! Look at all the tomatoes on it!! It is a patio tomato plant that we brought from Salem.


And does anyone know what type of tomato this is?? It was supposed to be a patio tomato plant we got here in Kenmore, but it looks more like romas or even peppers!


This one has given us some nice, sweet cherry tomatoes for a snack, but it has produced just barely enough for a couple of salads. They sure taste good though.


Here is our white squash that has finally flowered. We’re not sure if it will have enough sunshine time to develop the squash.




The pumpkins on 8/7, 8/18 and 8/30. There are lots of flowers on them. I just hope we have pumpkins by Halloween!













And the sunflowers on 8/7, 8/18 and 8/30. We need MORE SUN!

Mike and Some of the Ole AT&T Wireless Wrecking Crew

Mike had a party last night. He invited some of his old buddies from back in the day when AT&T Wireless was the hottest gig in town. At one time they were all IT management...those were the days...

Mike’s menu included his spicy bean dip and chips, Mike’s homemade mustard potato salad, Frank’s BBQ hot wings, celery and ranch dip, grilled corn on the cob, and home-baked walnut chocolate chip cookies. YUM! Mike did all the work...all I had to do was keep the beverages flowing and the 2-year old happy.


Mike hard at work at the grill.


Gary and Bill.


Evan.


Evan’s wife, Amie and daughter, Emma.


Gary and his friend, Clint.


The gang.

The weatherman had predicted clouds and showers, but he was wrong! The sun was out and the evening was very nice. We had a really good time and with any luck the weather will hold out and September will host many more BBQs.

Shilshoe Bay, Golden Gardens and the Ballard Locks

Oh, another glorious day in Seattle! Yesterday morning we put our bikes on the bike rack and headed south and west to Ballard and Shilshoe Bay in Puget Sound. We unloaded our bikes and began our ride at Golden Gardens, a public park on a saltwater beach with nice sand and lots of boats in the water.




The marina is just south of Golden Gardens.



Mike dreaming of a sailboat...some day...



Leif Erikson - I am a Johnson, and I used to live in Ballard - perhaps a long, lost relative?


We saw lots of Dungeness crabs like this guy in the water.


As we biked further south we hit the “restaurant zone” – including Ray’s Boathouse. A restaurant that burned down to the pier in 1987. And almost 10 years later it suffered a 2nd fire! But it reopened months later and is still there today. I have been there many times and the tables on the deck cannot be beat for the sunset view, good chow, and adult beverages!




We caught a pic of this ship, escorted by a tug boat. Her name is Alaska Solution and she appears to be a ferry of some sort. We happened to follow her all the way through to the Ballard Locks.


And what are the Locks? The Locks are a profound engineering marvel! They serve as a way to move vessels from the salt water in the Sound to the fresh waters of Lake Union and Lake Washington. This is accomplished by raising and lowering the water levels - quite a feat. Secondly, the Locks include fish ladders which assist in the migration of salmon back to their birthplace so that they can give birth and continue the salmon cycle.




While the Alaska Solution used the “big lock,” the smaller boats used the “small lock” and came out one at a time.





The fish ladders have an observation area for viewing one of the ladder steps. I have visited the ladders so many times over the years, but it is still fascinating to see what these huge fish have to go through to make it home to spawn.


Salmon in the “waiting area” to go up the ladders.


The fish ladders on the side of the Locks.

We probably spent over an hour at the Locks and fish ladders. It was so very interesting and something I’d recommend for anyone – visitors and native Seattleites!


After all that “sight seeing” we got back on our bikes and went north back to Golden Gardens. The beach was filling up and it was time to head home. Ahhh...I love Seattle!

p.s. I am going to start documenting my Kenmore Air sightings...here is one now!