Goin' Green

LOOPIN' THE LAKE: Last night, Christian and I decided that the kids were ready to navigate the 2.8 mile path around around Green Lake. I knew they had the stamina to do it - we've gone on lots longer treks - but I was finally confident they had the agility to do it on their bikes. (The path is VERY busy, packed with walkers, joggers, skaters, runners, bikers, dogs, and strollers galore. It is NOT a path to navigate if you're not adept at riding a bike.) Thousands of people visit the 323 acre park daily.

After making the 10 minute drive out to the lake, we gave the kids the rules of the road reminders, including to always stay to the right, except when passing. And when passing, you should always say 'on your left' as warning to the person(s) you're overtaking.

We made our way around the lake counterclockwise, stopping at a few points of interest, the first being the Green Lake Small Craft Center, on the southwest "corner" of the lake. The center offers rowing, canoeing, kayaking, and sailing classes - things CeeJ and Bee might be interested in checking out in the not-too-distant future. There's even a small grandstand adjacent to the craft center. It probably fills up in summer months, when racing season is in full swing. The micro stadium had some cool architectural touches.

Here's Annabelle admiring the view from the lake's east bank ... And CJ, Christian, and Kirby taking a look while parked along the north shore ...
In and around the lake we saw lots of birds, including mallards, Canadian geese, coots, and seagulls. Dogs we encountered along the path were a corgi, a pack of greyhounds, a bunch of retrievers, lotsa terriers, pit bulls, a bulldog and a dozen-some mutts.

Near the end of our journey, we came across the cute little Seattle Public Theatre at the Bathhouse. They stage plays there (of course!) and they also have an educational program that I'm seriously thinking about signing the kids up for ("The Stinky Cheese Man" sounds especially appealing to me/us!).

Today, we found the answer to a question the kids and I have often asked aloud: "Why's it called Green Lake?" Thanks to the magic of Wikipedia, we now know that the lake was named by David Phillips, who surveyed the area in September 1855 for the United States Surveyor General. Phillips' notes referred to it as "Lake Green" because the body of water is prone to algae blooms.

DINERS, DRIVE-INS and DIVES: After the morning workout, and having skipped breakfast this a.m., we figured we'd earned brunch. We decided to finally make a pilgrimage to Beth's Cafe, just west of Green Lake. Beth's has been a Seattle landmark since 1954.

It's a hot spot, open 24 hours a day. The place is tiny and it's packed. On weekends the line snakes out the door dozens of people deep. It's a favorite haunt of college "kids" and those with hangovers (clearly, two groups whose boundaries blur).

We were lucky to score a table right away, but the wait for a server was more than a few minutes. (Maybe that's why she's called a WAITress!) But we were OK hanging out - there was lots to look at. Past customers' crayon drawings covered every square inch of the walls, and Elvis and Jimi blared from the jukebox.

As you might surmise from its name, Beth's is not haute cuisine. It's definitely more in the "greasy spoon" family. Which is precisely what makes it a perfect place to a get ridiculously huge breakfast. :) . In fact, Beth's was featured by a Travel Channel program showcasing the best places in the country to "pig-out" and it has been on Guy Fieri's Diner's Drive Ins and Dives. Niiiiiiiice!

CeeJ and Bee each went with a not-so-aptly named "mini" breakfast. It was a pancake the size of a platter, a couple of strips of bacon (nice 'n' crispy, the way CJ likes 'em) and an egg.

CJ made his pancake disappear in what seemed like seconds (all that bike riding will do that to a guy, I guess). Three quarters of the way through, he complained his chest hurt. (That would be a bolus, dude - from eating too fast.)

Before we left, Annabelle added some artwork to Beth's collection. It's of Roy G. Biv. He's a colorful man.
CJ v. PAPER: While we were at the restaurant, I told the kids to take good note of their food and surrounds, as they'd be writing a restaurant review later.

Once we got home, we got down to business. On the white board, we reviewed the elements that one would expect to find in a restaurant review. Specifically, the restaurant's name and location. It would include what you ate there and how it was. You'd also likely have a list of things you like (I asked them to give a list of three) and perhaps something you didn't like. I told them that ratings often have a scale they use to rate something - be it numbers or stars. For our exercise, I asked them to give something one star "if it was really crappy and you'd never eat there again" on up to five stars if they thought it was terrific.

Annabelle got right to the task. CJ, well not so much. There was a problem. His paper was terrifyingly horrible blank. That, coupled with the fact that he doesn't know how to spell every word perfectly, makes CJ a sad panda. Now know this - he is NOT expected to spell each word perfectly and has been told this a bazillion times. His pressure comes from within. Knowing this, I have to figure out a way to help. And today, it occured to me that the dictionary is going to be that way.

We have two pretty good children's dictionaries readily available, and I suggested he break them out and open 'em up when he was stuck. CJ is pretty darn good at alphabetical order exercises, and knows the sounds the letters make, so using a dictionary is very do-able for him. Once he started using the reference book, he was done within five minutes.

So, in the epic battle of CJ vs. the Evil Writer's Bloc, CJ wins. And that means we all win. :)

(And, in case you were wondering, both of the kids gave Beth's a five-star rating.)