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The City by the Bay

Walla Walla. Keokuk. Cucamonga. Seattle.

By Carlos Gomez

May 18^th, 2021

48 Hours in Seattle

After a very long drive from the Bay Area to Olympic National Park, I spent two days in Seattle prior to heading off to Oregon. I had visited back in 2017, though under very different, non-pandemic circumstances.

Back then, the highlights of the trip were lingering in the Central Library, visiting the Living Computers Museum, and watching their semi-pro baseball team at Safeco Field.

This time, I explored more public spaces, city views, and tried to wander and get a feel for different neighborhoods — as much as one can right now.

It was rainy and cold, but that coffee shop I loved in Fremont is still around so it was A-OK.

Also, good dog town. 🐶.

Kerry Park

Little Free Art Gallery

After months of shuttered museums, galleries and other venues, many of us have been getting a little stir crazy and despondent about a vital piece of life being absent.

Except someone channeled that feeling into something wonderful. Stacy Milrany, a Queen Anne resident, adapted the Little Free Library concept and turned it into a Little Free Art Gallery.

Much like the library concept, passersby and neighbors can feel free to take a piece of art, leave one or just admire. I chose the latter.

Inside the gallery you have two visitors, an easel, a bench and other familiar sights, just on a miniature scale. The miniature gallery is well built and protected from the elements, given its location.

I have heard rumblings that there may be a few of these that have cropped up in Northern California and I'm excited to go check those out too.

Queen Anne

Scenes Around Fremont

Olympic Sculpture Park

Public art is accessible art is and accessible art is the best art. Along the city waterfront on the Puget Sound, the Seattle Art Museum created a 9 acre outdoor sculpture park. It's a beautiful location, admission free, and a terrific way to share modern art with a broader audience.

For Bay Area folks, you may recognize some of Mark di Suvero's work here, which was installed at Crissy Field a few years ago, along with Sea Change, which sits along The Embarcadero near Pac Bell Park. There's also an Ellsworth Kelly mounted on the park's pavilion.

It's also just a delightful mixed-use pathway and green space that residents and visitors seemed to really enjoy. Dogs seemed to dig it too.

Gas Works Park

My rules in life are: always order the fries and always take nighttime skyline shots.

Pack Up Your Knives and Go

On the last morning in town, I got up early for a coffee and walk around Belltown before the rest of the city put their shoes on. Packed up, checked out of the Airbnb and got ready to head down to Oregon.

One quick detour downtown before the long drive for lunch. Shake Shack happened to be a few blocks from Amazon's "Spheres", which are, a lot. Half a city block as a vanity project for Jeff B..