Issaquah Undressed

Mercer Slough - Benefits For All Of Us.

Mercer Slough Educational Center is a partnership between Pacific Science Center and the Bellevue Parks & Community Services Department. Their new facility Open House was Oct 11th and this is just the first phase. The Mercer Slough is home to hundreds of animals and plants in a wetland, in the heart of Bellevue. It is ideal for environmental study.

First, the architecture: Not the reason for the Center, but the architects must have loved being involved in this job. I love what they did.

The Center is not just one building but a cluster of buildings, decks, walk ways, tree houses, and high vantage points. The materials of metal and wood have a comtemporary, but cabin like  feel. The integration of its purpose and being a pleasant place to be are extraordinary. The original Sullivan House has been remodeled but retains its distinct character, still fitting in with the overall look and feel.

The Purpose: School Programs that teach children all about the wonders of wetlands, bogs, bugs etc. in classes like Habitat Wonders, Soil Adventurers, Ecosystem Explorers. These are just a few.

Family Programs such as B’earthday Parties! Play games and search for wetland creatures, explore. There are even Slough Sleepovers. (probably not in a tent).

www.pacificsciencecenter.org/slough will tell you all about all the offered programs in this outdoor labratory.

Like being on the tree tops

Mercer Slough is located at 1625- 118th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98005  425-450-0207

It is not very far from Issaquah!

Westward From Issaquah

We took you on a mini-vacation east of Issaquah but here is a mini-vacation west of Issaquah. It is even closer, about 30 minutes and you can get there by bus. At the tunnel it is just steps to the Seattle Art Museum, Pike Street Farmers Market, Post Alley, Inn at the Market, Cafe Campagne. You don’t need a car to enjoy the day (or two).  

Stay at The Inn at the Market - a charming boutique hotel

Eat at a fabulous french place, Cafe Campagne

Wander down Post Alley (packed with surprises and more good food).

Visit the Seattle Art Museum. You could spend weeks here.

You missed the Inspiring Impressionists, but don’t worry there are endless permanent exhibits and many traveling ones.

And there is always something going on at the Pike Place Farmers Market,  flying fish to be sure, some are fake though, can you tell?

Ride a brass pig with your friends

Or visit some unique and charming shops, it isn’t too early to think about Christmas!

 The Inn at the Market is located at 86 Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98101

Weather is still pretty good, fall is often the best time of the year.                                   

Seattle Center is Still Fun and Still There

Yep, It is still there. We had the opportunity to go Wed. night with Amber, to celebrate her 16th Birthday. A little late, but things have been complicated. The day started out with clouds, clouds and more clouds but by the evening the clouds lifted, the sun sprang forth. We couldn’t have asked for a better day/evening.

I Love that tree by the EMP!

Amber spots her next car.

Space Needle and its reflection in the EMP/Then the view from the top.

Experience Music Project compliments of Paul Allen and architect Frank O. Gehry.

Above, the sun reflects color from the EMP

Now, That’s a Hot Fudge Sundae and the end of our dinner at the revolving, 360 degrees, Sky City Restaurant on top of the Needle. The dessert is called Lunar Orbitor.

The end of a perfect day just a few miles from the Center -  The Fremont Bridge Troll.

The sunset even had its effect on the troll. He looks much happier than usual!

After Graduation-Put Your Feet Up-NOT!

Congratulations! You all worked hard, didn’t you? Well, didn’t you??? Now you think life gets easier, right? SORRY, I hate to break the news, but maybe that’s what pesky family members are for. Oh, don’t worry, you will all find out soon enough. Right now we are very excited that you graduated. Hooray! Three cheers for Summer, Three cheers for Blaine. We are very proud of you. Yes, Yes we really are.

Sorry, Issaquah, our Summer and our Blaine graduated from Fife High School and we have the pictures to prove it.

Guess Who is next? Only two years to go. It will go by very fast. Enjoy it.

Free Fishing Weekend AND Tastin’ n Racin’ June 7th and 8th

Free Fishing Weekend is not just Issaquah but covers the whole state. It means that June 7th & 8th no license is required to fish on any waters open to fishing. Size and numbers of fish are still subject to the rules. Go to the following for details http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm. They probably won’t look like this!

Tastin’ n Racin’ is a annual event at Lake Sammamish State Park. You will hear the sound of the “big mosquitos” as in hydroplanes. Water action, fun and food even for landlubbers. There will be a display of vintage hydros as well as competative hydro racing.There is a beer garden and ten different bands and a motorcycle pledge ride to benefit the Max Foundation, a cancer charity. There are events for all age groups. Bring the kids.

Photos Courtesy of Flickr and by Omar Eduardo and by Brooks Elliott

What To Do This Weekend?

The nice thing about Issaquah is that you get to live with the bears and the deer and forests and you still live close to all kinds of events in the Greater Seattle Area.

 Which ones do we want to see or do?

You decide:

 Pink Flamingos: A new exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo, www.zoo.org ;   Wild Waves Water Park opens in Federal Way; Northwest Folklife Festival is on this three day weekend at the Seattle Center, www.nwfolklife.org ;  Remlinger Farm Country Fair, www.remlingerfarms.com ; Seattle International Film Festival, hundreds of movies  Thru June 15, www.siff.net ; Bellevue Jazz Festival www.bellevuejazz.com ; Audubon Center Super Saturday www.sewardpark.audubon.com ; Ski to Sea 85 mile race www.skitosea.com; Fashion in Flight, “Style in the Aisle” www.museumofflight.org ; Snoqualmie Valley Railroad, scenic train on a steam engine - rides, $5.00  round trip with military ID www.trainmuseum.org ;  Almost every city has a farmers market.     I was going to list everything there was to do this Memorial Day Weekend but it would take me all weekend to finish the list. 

Bellevue Sunset Hills Cemetary has a wonderful flag display and ceremony lest we forget what  Memorial Day is really about. 1215  145pl SE, Bellevue, WA 98007. The ceremony is at 11:00am on Monday May 26.  The long entry with flags on each side is an awe inspiring sight.

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In Honor of Royal W. Cragun, Larry’s father, a World War II Veteran  

Fremont vs Issaquah

Every once in a while we go back to our old haunts in Seattle. The Fremont area is one of those. You forget how different the city is from the burbs until you revisit.

Things you won’t see in Issaquah: The Fremont Bridge Troll, AND a statue of Lenin! (not shown)

Fremont creative advertising

The Orange Splot Gallery, one of many unique art galleries

A PCC Market/Condo that would make Antoni Gaudi proud

Unusual shops everywhere including some pretty good eats at hole in the walls

As a side note, the average condo price for SOLD in Fremont in March was $342,023. The average price for a home was $530,785, just in case you want to move there.

 Doesn’t every city have a store with a rocket ship on it?  No. Well, things like that make Fremont unique. They have many festivals and parades. If you don’t like to see green nude people riding bicycles you might not want to go. That’s the Fremont Factor. For More: http://www.gonorthwest.com/Washington/seattle/Fremont/Fremont.htm

A Visit to the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle

Tips for a good experience at the park

1. Go on a comfortable day

2. Wear comfortable shoes - however most trails are soft, not concrete

3. Take your time

4. Take your camera

5. Explore

6. Take a friend

7. Don’t go hungry, unless you have a sandwich in your pocket.

8. Pick up a guide to the art and a map at the Pavillion

9. Have an open mind and heart

10. Don’t touch the art no matter how bad the temptation.

You Never Know When You Might Need A Little Blood

Faces for Life 2008 Faces for Life is a public exhibition and gala auction celebrating the dedication of hundreds of thousands of anonymous, faceless volunteers locally and nationally who give their time, energy and blood to save lives in our community. The event also honors families of tissue donors, financial contributors and all those who make the Blood Centers vital services possible.The Faces for Life Gala Auction will be held Saturday, March 15, 2008 at the Grand Hyatt Seattle. All funds raised from Faces for Life will go directly to support the research programs at Puget Sound Blood Center.

The exhibit is at the Bellevue Square Mall through March 14th. Some masks are available in the Online Auction, while others are only available at the Gala Auction March 15th at the Grand Hyatt Seattle. Go to http://facesforlife.org for full information, and to view all faces.

Take A Look At Issaquah If You Are Moving To Seattle

Our Gig Harbor Undressed blogger, Matt Thomson, led me to a forum where people ask questions and get answers about cities and areas. Many are considering moving to the Pacific NW and are looking for feedback.

Here are my 10 top reasons to visit and live in Issaquah with sequential pictures to give you a taste.

Kathleens Flickr account is public and you are welcome to visit, click here.

1– It is close to Seattle and the many things to do there. Like the Public Library.

2– It is even closer to Bellevue which is becoming quit the gem.

PS: Closer includes easy to travel. The freeway into Seattle and Bellevue is a direct shot. A link to the I-90 Traffic cam is in the right. Check it out.

3– The Issaquah Public Market. It isn’t open all year long, so you just go and go when it is summertime.

4–Historic Service Station and museum.

5– Plenty of good shopping with more coming in Issaquah Highlands: Issaquah

Issaquah Highlands

6–Great Restraunts with assorted price categories.

7– You can find people here that really know how to have good fun.

8– Great Neigbhorhoods new and old;

9– Cougar Mountain Zoo

10 – It is home to some of the best baseball players in America

Tags: issaquah, restaurants, information

My 10 Favorite Things About the NW Flower and Garden Show

The Northwest Flower and Garden Show was held at the Seattle Convention Center Feb 20-24. This was the 20th year and is considered one of,  if not the best Garden Show in the US. The founder and chairman is Duane Kelly, who along with his wife, Alice went out on a limb (no pun intended) to bring the first garden show to pass. They risked their home to pay for the first one. They have survived and florished and now also run the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. We all come back because we love the show. Here are some of my favorites this year.

THE PACIFIC CONNECTIONS DISPLAY GARDEN: This display depicts the horticultural connections between five temperate-climate regions on the Pacific Rim. Cascadia, Chili, New Zealand, Australia, and China. There are plantings to make viewers aware of the origins of some of their favorite garden plants. These are grouped around a floor map of the Pacific Rim. The Red cedar columns mark the regions represented by the plantings. The totem like columns are recycled from damaged trees from the Arboretum. Of special interest to Issaquah residents, they were designed and carved by the Pomegranate Center with help from community volunteers. www.wparboretum.org

THE FLORAL COMPETITION: I don’t know who won this year but I would have picked this one.

INFINITY IN YOUR HAND: Creator Puget Sound Bonsai Association, Designer Jamie Wright NCARB  The scultural, timeless beauty of Bonsai is greatly enhanced by this beautiful combination of their creations. www.psba.us

WEEKEND ADVENTURE: Creator New Leaf Creations, Inc Designer Steve Haizlip. New Leaf is a local Issaquah company. We will post more on this display. Contact info is 425-766-2277, email info @newleafcreations.com, Website www.newleafcreations.com.

??? SORRY, I don’t know which display this was in, but I would love to relax in this spot.

OUTDOOR HAVEN - KICK OFF YOUR SHOES: Creator, Under the Arbor Landscape Design & Complete Landscape Inc. www.underthearborlandscape.com

Great Gates Alive! I wish a had a place for gates like these.

DREAMS REALLY CAN COME TRUE: Creator,  Falling Water Designs, Designer Rick Perry www.fallingwaterdesigns.com

Rock Artist, John Dunton of On the Rocks Studio www.ontherockssculpture.com

LIVING IT UP: For city dwellers garden appetite. Three different ideas. 1. Metro-Retro, Creator Emery’s Garden www.emerysgarden.com Designers- Amy R. Tullis, Scott Arend, Debra Jordan Smith  2.Urban Oasis, Creator Wight’s Home & Garden www.wights.com Designer- Mark Dudas  3.Recycle, Reuse, Renew, Creator Plantswoman Design, Inc. www.plantswomandesign.com Designer Susan Calhoun

PLANT MARKET: This makes me wish I had arrived with a semi-truck to take tons of plants home. On second thought, I don’t think that many would fit on my deck.

DOODADS FOR THE YARD - LUCCA STATUARY  Great Finds www.luccastatuary.com Two locations in Seattle.

There were many more than 10 great things, it was a hard choice. Another post will show you other important messages from the show. Stay tuned or in other words keep checking our blog.

Northwest Flower & Garden Show = Spring!

I don’t know about you but this year I am really, really tired of winter. When the Northwest Flower and Garden Show arrives it lifts my spirits and I know spring and summer are not far behind. Maybe the ground hog saw his shadow but I really don’t care, I’ll take all these sunny days we are having even if short lived.

This year there are a number of Issaquah participants in the show in various capacities. In the next few posts I will try to aquaint you with some of them. If I miss any, please comment and tell me about ones I’ve missed.

Celebration Lane ROCKS! Until New Years Eve.

Snowflake Lane transformed itself into Celebration Lane Dec 26 and stays to celebrate the new year until Dec 31. Performance begins at 7:00pm. That is in downtown Bellevue, at NE 8th and Bellevue Way. A great place to get an overview is from the skybridge from Bellevue Square to Lincoln Square. A different but equally exciting spot is right down on the sidewalk next to the crazy, celebrating drummers. For 15 minutes or so they are like the Energizer Bunnie, non stop motion. They rock!

Noise makers for everyone and everyone used them.

Lights, Cameras, ACTION!….. The lights keep changing and morphing into new combinations and designs.

Get there early.

There are still snowflakes but the music and the folks are really rockin’. Snowflake Lane will be back next year.

Snowflake Lane, Garden D’Lights and Ice Arena

Dec 25th was the last day of Snowflake Lane, but don’t despair it becomes CELEBRATION LANE through Dec 31. In Bellevue (not far from Issaquah) along the sidewalks of Bellevue Way and NE 8th. Check out www.magicseason.com AND check out our photos from last year CLICK HERE

Celebration Lane begins at 7:00 PM Sharp.

In the same area in Bellevue at Bellevue Downtown Park there is the Ice Arena, 10201 NE Fourth St. For times and other info www.magicseason.com

While you are in Bellevue don’t miss the Bellevue Botanical Garden’s Garden D’Lights at 12001 Main St. It is a little harder to find. Go to www.bellevuebotanical.org

Season’s Change Brings New Fun

Don’t worry summer may be over but there are just different things to do. Issaquah is just 34 miles from Snoqualmie Summit. There will soon be a winter wonderland of sking, snowboarding, tubing and cross country sking. Participating in these things really changes your attitude about summer being gone. (Or was it really ever here?) Oooops, negative not spoken here!

Right now it is still possible to catch a glimpse of fall colors at the summit, at least it was a couple of days ago when we took a drive. The mountains are awesome, making our Issaquah Alps look rather puny.

There are wonderful mountain homes for sale, some you can even slide into, also many rentals.

For information on all the activities available at Snoqualmie Summit click on www.summitatsnoqualmie.com. The site also shows a photo gallery of how things look in the snow, conditions, rates, directions, events, areas and more.

Seattle Street Of Dreams - This is the Last Week

Anyone who likes to look at homes, especially homes they can’t afford to buy, this week is your last chance to see this years Street of Dreams. I went with 2 of my interior design colleagues from my past life. We love going through and critiquing everybody elses hard work, since we use to do the Street of Dreams! I don’t get many chances to be catty! Of course there were flaws but always much good. The settings were particularly nice and woodsy. There were not the huge long walks like last year where you could run a marathon on some of the driveways. Also the prices were down from last years highest of 5.5 million to just under 2 million.

We were told to look for the $84,000 Fountain. Is this it?……… NO! We did finally find it. It was very unusual, but just as I was ready to take a picture of it my camera had the gaul to say YOUR BATTERY IS EXHAUSTED!

Street of Dreams homes, though expensive, are generally a very good price for what you get. Many new products are introduced, sometimes at no extra cost because the vendors want to get it out and noticed by the public so they often provide them to the builder at minimal cost. Also they are always innovative and usually one of a kind, although they might be duplicated by the builder later (at a higher cost).

Most people attending are not planning on buying a home there but are looking for ideas and products or perhaps looking for a builder to build their dream home. This is a great place to do that.

The best house achitecturally and the most profession interior design job in my opinion was The Urban Lodge. The builder was Grey Lundberg of CMI Homes, Inc. Curtis Gelotte was the architect. Interior Design was by Schoenfeld Interiors. You can tell when the designers work with the house and the builder closely. Results are not pleasing or professional when they just plop the furniture in after all else is done.

I was perturbed by the fact that many of the builders and/or designers used too many different wood finishes in the same house or even the same room. One kitchen had so many it looked like a kitchen showroom trying show you all finishes. Some multiple finishes can work, but it takes great discernment and skill to pull it off well. It seems to be a fad right now, short lived I hope.

The Street of Dreams is open from 10 am to 9 pm daily. Quinn’s Crossing. Last day is August 19th, for more info click on www.seattlestreetofdreams.com

Posted by Kathleen

Issaquah: 30 Minutes To Skiing

Found on Citizen Rain, A KING TV Blog. This is a must blog to add to your daily feed reed. They post some great shots to get you in the skiing mood. Click Here

Here is one of the photo’s.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Mariners That Is!

Another one of the great things about living in Issaquah, it isn’t that far to Safeco Field. Felix Hernandez was the pitcher Thursday night, but early in the game he went out apparently injured. We were looking forward to watching him. It was still fun, but a bit chilly. I guess we think if there is baseball it is summer. I have to admit Safeco field is a fun place to be watching a game. When the stadium was up to the voters on whether it would be built, I thought, no way, millionaire players can build their own stadium. But Larry pleaded and begged me to vote for it. So, I relented and did!. I do love it all, the sounds, the smell of popcorn, the train whistles, the roar of the crowd, the boos, the cheers, the beat of the music and the involvment of the crowd, etc., etc.

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Larry with Ichiro………………………………………………………………………..Concert on the sidewalk

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival - Worth a Drive from Issaquah

If you have never been to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, don’t put it off again. Click here for more info www.tulipfestival.org

The festival opened April 1st and continues through April. Here are a few tips for a better experience.

1.Go during the week. The weekends have streams of cars miles long. During the week it is quiet and picture taking is easy.

2. Take warm clothing AND boots for walking around muddy fields.

3. Try to go at the peak time (here is the hard part) too early and you will see daffodils, not huge fields of multicolor tulips. Too late and you will find lots of bare fields. This year I have been told that the peak times will be Easter weekend through the 3rd week of April???

4. Stop and get a map. Fields are rotated so they change every year. These are rural farm lands, flat and easy to get frustrated about where to go. Don’t be afraid to ask directions. The fields are a beautiful sight to behold.

5. Don’t miss Roozengaarde’s 3 acre display gardens. You can see tulips you like in bloom and order them and they will send them to you when the bulbs are ready. No more wondering what they will look like.

Tulip Town is another main attraction. It has a trolley ride to the fields. It also has a food court and art gallery and crafts. It was a little too commercial for me. I prefer Roozengaarde. There are numerous places to find food. A new feature this year are floatplane tulip sightseeing trips from La Conner! There are many more events. Be sure to click on the web address shown above or call 360-428-5959

Seattle Public Library - Central. An Architectural Wonder and Minutes from Issaquah

As promised, here is a post on the Seattle Public Library-Central. You think libraries are boring. Not this one. It is a must see even if you don’t intend on looking at a book. Located just minutes away from Issaquah. These are the pictures we took on our Valentines Day visit to Seattle. It attracts 8000 + visitors a day, but seems so big you seem almost alone, 362,987 Sq feet. It cost nearly $170 million to build and opened May 23, 2004.

Below are the hallways to the meeting rooms-red walls-red floors-red ceiling. Interesting experience.

For more information about this library and much better pictures click on this address http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=branch_central&branchID=1