Day of Discovery

I woke up this morning to a burning sensation on my right foot. What the hell is that?, I wondered. Turns out it was the sun streaming through our floor to ceiling window, shining on me. It had been so long since I felt the sun (Florida, to be exact) that I'd damn near forgotten what it feels like.

I decided right then and there that we were going to get out in it. Books and papers could wait for a day. Plus, there's plenty of good learnin' to be had out of doors.

I wanted to get a good long hike in, take in some scenery and, of course, have some points/activities of interest for the kids to enjoy. I decided we'd head to Discovery Park, which is practically in our backyard (just a mile and a half to our west).

Discovery Park is a 534 acre natural area under the Seattle Parks and Rec umbrella. It's the largest city park. Its grounds include most of the former Fort Lawton site. Much of it is on a bluff above Puget Sound. There are fantastic views of the Olympic Mountain ranges and Mt. Rainier, lots of meadows, sand dunes, streams, ponds, lots of trails and and two miles of protected tidal beaches.
We parked at the south lot and walked the trail to the south beach.

Along the way we saw some buildings circa WWII, when Fort Lawton was bustling.

A lot of the south trail skirts a high bluff. There are numerous spots to stop and take in the view. We met a lot of fellow hikers - people of all ages with accents from all over the globe. It's a bit of a hike (nearly two miles) down the beach, but it's worth the effort. Once there, the sound stretches out in front of you, the snow-capped Cascades are to the west and Mt. Rainier was looking especially majestic today, to the east.
It was mostly cloudy the whole time we were there, and the water wasn't as warm as the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida but that didn't stop the kids from wading in and jumping waves.

Apparently it was lunchtime for a heron. It stood in the shallow water, no more than 15 feet from the kids, watching the water closely for fish. Finally, it struck! We saw it snatch a live fish out of water and chomp it down in about four bites. A real world, Wild Kingdom episode, playing out right in front of us - cool!

We did some beach combing, checking out the structures (some of them very impressive, like this multi roomed cabin) made out of driftwood.
And Annabelle found this 'rowboat' that someone had crafted. Interesting ...
The sun was hidden behind the clouds for most of our adventure, but we enjoyed the fresh air and big vistas ... with one exception on my part.

Truth be told, I was dreading walking one stretch of the trail. I knew that just last week there was a grisly suicide there. A Queen Anne man, father to three very young children, a successful businessman and respected community volunteer sat on a park bench with a beautiful view and shot himself in the head. A suicide note was found at the scene.

Reading his friends' comments posted following news stories about his death, it sounds like his suicide was a complete and utter, inexplicable shock.

When I read the news reports I knew exactly which bench they were talking about. Normally, it's a place you'd sit to marvel over the beauty of this here Big Blue Marble. And today, I saw people doing just that. I couldn't help but wonder if they knew why there was a big wreath propped up next to the bench the were sitting on - the bench were a man's life so abruptly and purposely ended on May 26.

SPACE FACE: Via an email from NASA, I learned today that people are invited to send their face into space via one of the final shuttle missions! All you have to do is upload a digital image via the special Face in Space Web site!

The email linked to a press release which, in part, read:

Visitors to the Face in Space website can upload their portrait to fly with the
astronauts aboard shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission and/or shuttle Endeavour's
STS-134 mission. Participants will receive special certificates from the
Internet site once the mission is completed.

"The Space Shuttle Program belongs to the public, and we are excited when we can provide an opportunity for people to share the adventure of our missions," said Space Shuttle Program Manager John Shannon. "This website will allow you to be a part of history and participate as we complete our final missions."

Those without a picture can skip the image upload section, and NASA will fly their name. Now, I just have to decide which pictures of the kids I want to include.

NASA is also offering the opportunity to send your name to Mars (on a microchip, carried by its Science Laboratory rover, in 2011).