Santa Stroll

PANDEMIC SANTA: Yesterday we had a number of errands to run in Seattle. One of the things on the 'to do' list was to visit Santa.

Given that there's a pandemic right now, it wasn't going to be a normal visit. It would have to be socially distance and COVID safe. Enter Santa in the big plastic bubble. ...

A few days ago, I read a story about a longtime Seattle Santa who had come up with a way to still visit with kids (and adults!) this season. The article said he was along Greenwood Avenue at the 7500 block. So, I drove down Greenwood and told the kids to keep their eyes peeled. 

It wasn't hard to spot him!

We parked right along Greenwood and made our way to the Santa dome.

What a Jolly old Elf he was! In fact, he was the best Santa we've ever met.

Wait! There's only one Santa, so I guess I should say he was the best, as always.

He asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas, and neither of them asked for a single thing. Santa said he'd surprise them. 

Also, I'll just go ahead and admit watching my kids in masks visit with Santa in the bubble made me a litter verklempt. This year. Ugh.

SPARKLE PLENTY: I happened to glance over at our tree a little after noon and was shocked to see it actually sparkling in sunlight. It has been so gloomy here for the past few days. 

The unexpected sunshine prompted me to yell at the kids to get the dogs in harnesses, it was time to go for a walk!

TRAILING:  In the mood to see some new sights, I piloted our Honda Fit down the hill to Renton Memorial Stadium. I knew there was a trail next to it, and I wanted to check it out. Turns out that was a very good call!

According to the Washington Trails Association, Cedar River Trail is 17.4 miles one way. It stretches from the Cedar River Watershed’s western boundary at Landsburg, downstream to the mouth of the Cedar River, where it empties into Lake Washington in Renton. We walked the last bit of the trail today, parking at Renton Memorial Stadium and then strolling riverside to the lake.

For most of the journey, Renton Municipal Airport was to our west, and Boeing operations were to our east.

We saw many points of interest during our two-mile trek. For starters, we discovered there is an outdoor gym along the trail. The kids both hopped on the balance beam.

We'll have to try the other equipment (parallel bars, chin up bars, and such) on another day.

So many signs caught our attention on our walk today.

For instance, we learned that Nishiwaki is the Japanese sister city to Renton thanks to a sign and a commemorative plaque.

On the subject of sister cities, Annabelle informed us that Boring, Oregon has two sister cities: Dull, Scotland, and Bland, Australia.

Another sign we encountered urged people not to feed birds and water fowl. We stopped to ponder. ... 

Are water fowl not birds? How many people signed off on that sign before it was printed and posted?

Thanks to a sign near a boat ramp, we discovered our lives might be at stake during our leisurely stroll between the airport and Boeing.

We walked over two bridges that accommodate not just autos, but airplane traffic, too.

We encountered a sailing-themed playground for little tykes. CJ and Annabelle clambered up it for a photo opp.

Near the playground, there was a colorful sign about things to be on the look out for while walking the trail.

We saw lots of little planes take off. I wish one of the jumbo ones had landed or taken off while we were there. We'll definitely go back in hopes of seeing that sometime. 

One of the enormous Boeing buildings we saw on our walk had a distinctive, jagged edged roof. I wondered aloud why the roof was that shape - was it for aesthetics or was it functional in some way.

Within 60 seconds, Annabelle had my answer. She used Google to search 'why do factories have serrated roofs?' and learned it's called a saw tooth roof. According to a Wikipedia article, "The sawtooth roof, with its glass panels facing away from the equator, blocks the light and heat of direct sun exposure and provides uniform, natural light over a large area. It was particularly useful in design factories and manufacturing buildings." How 'bout that?

All in all, and enjoyable and educational walk!

CRAFTY ELVES: Today was the last day for CJ and Annabelle to complete their Elf Activities. So, we found ourselves sitting at the dining room table covered in pom poms, Popsicle sticks, glue, scissors, stickers and such.

First up was a Christmas tree craft. Here's CJ's completed project.   

                             

They also made some foam gingerbread men. 

And they put the finishing touches on a couple of cards.

LATEST: Today, CJ was notified he's been accepted to Eastern Washington University's program at Bellevue College, which was good news. He'd found out a bit ago that he was accepted by Eastern, which is in Cheney, WA, but the Bellevue-based satellite requires an additional level of acceptance.

He also finally finished the application to University of Washington at Tacoma, which has a history major with a museum program minor program that he's jazzed about. Not sure exactly when he can expect to hear any news there, but it won't be until after the new year, as their deadline for priority applications is Jan. 15.

Photo of CJ in pandemic attire for fun.