Category: Seattle

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Saturday/ Seoul Tower 🚡

Seoul Tower is not far from my hotel.
I opted for the cable car to get me to the summit.
A parking lot at the summit can also be reached by bus or by car— or even by walking up all the way with a stairway called the Sam-soon Steps.

Looking towards Seoul Tower from the grounds of City Hall near my hotel.
This is a 5x telephoto lens picture, so the picture makes it appear closer than it really is.
Myeongdong Station on Line 4 of the subway gets one close to the cable car station, but there is still a steep 1/4 mile walk up the hillside, from the train station to the cable car station.
Here we go! In the cable car, and looking back at the cable car station.
Look for Lotte World Tower in this panorama picture.
Lotte World Tower is located to the southeast of Seoul Tower. Seoul Tower is on Namsan Mountain, which is north of the Han River (in the picture), while Lotte World Tower is in Jamsil, which is on the south side of the river.
A closer look at the bridges over the Han River, and Lotte World Tower.
There is another smaller, independent lattice tower nearby Seoul Tower.
This a communications tower (can send and receive signals). The antenna on top of Seoul Tower is a broadcast antenna for TV and radio (transmission tower).
Look for the cable car stations at the bottom and at the summit, on the right side of the picture.
I like the markers in the windows with cities and distances. The border with North Korea is just some 30 miles from Seoul, and the capital Pyongyang only 153 miles as the crow flies.
And Seattle is 5,227 miles away to the east, and on the other side of the Earth (kind of), in the Western Hemisphere.
Flying to the “other side of the world” is a theoretical concept, but a direct, non-stop flight across the Earth’s circumference would take approximately 20 hours in a commercial jet, though no such flight is possible with current commercial airliners.
[Source: Google AI]
Now making our way back to the base station. I bought a commemorative coin at the top of the tower (because I like coins), and put a postcard with my name and address on, in the mailbox there. I will post a picture of it if it makes it to Seattle.
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Sunday/ hazy skies ☁️

There goes August.
I walked down to the Melrose Avenue overlook at sunset to take a few photos of the sun setting behind the Olympic Mountains in the hazy sky.
The high was 76°F (24°C) here in the city today, air quality Moderate.
P.S. This is the last of the sunset photos for now!
I will soon travel to the Far East— and take all kinds of pictures with my new camera.

Sunset is now at 7.50 pm.
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Sunday/ another sunset ☀️

Since it is Sun-day, I guess I am permitted to post more sunset pictures.
And it was too warm to go out in the middle of the day!

This is tonight’s sunset over Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill, that I took from a spot on Bellevue Ave East that overlooks the south end of Lake Union.

Shot with Sony α7CR w. Tamron 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 lens
f-stop: f/5.6 |Exposure time: 1/200 s |ISO speed: ISO-200 |Focal length: 85 mm | Max aperture: 4.3359375 |Metering mode: Spot
Out-of-camera .jpg (9,504 x 6,336 pixels) reduced to 2,400 x 1,600 pixels.
One more picture, this one taken with the exposure dialed down to make the image ‘black and light’. 
Shot with Sony α7CR w. Tamron 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 lens
f-stop: f/5.6 |Exposure time: 1/2000 s |ISO speed: ISO-200 |Focal length: 85 mm | Max aperture: 4.3359375 |Metering mode: Spot
Out-of-camera .jpg (9,504 x 6,336 pixels) reduced to 2,400 x 1,600 pixels.
This is a 1,656 x 2,944-pixel crop from the above image (but from the full-frame image captured by the sensor). It reveals that the little gnat above the setting sun is actually a helicopter.
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Friday/ sailing at sunset 🌇

Happy Friday.
We are into another stretch of warm and sunny days.
The high today was 86°F (30°C).
I went down to the Seattle waterfront for sunset— now at 8.08 pm.

Looking out over Elliott Bay from Pier 56 on the Seattle waterfront, right after the sun disappeared behind the Olympic Mountains (to the right, out of the picture’s frame).
Shot with Sony α7CR w. Tamron 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 lens
f-stop: f/5.6 |Exposure time: 1/125 s |ISO speed: ISO-200 |Focal length: 200 mm | Max aperture: 4.96875 |Metering mode: Spot
Out-of-camera .jpg cropped and reduced to 30% of original size.
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Thursday/ a bird’s-eye view 🦅

Here’s a bird’s-eye view picture of Seattle’s waterfront, that appeared in today’s Wall Street Journal.

Laura Landro writes: Seattle has largely completed a more than $1 billion redevelopment of the 26-block stretch along Puget Sound’s sweeping Elliott Bay, which includes the replacement of a 100-year-old sea wall that had been badly damaged by an earthquake and erosion. Waterfront redevelopment projects are in various stages of planning, design and construction in large metropolitan areas including New York, Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C., as well as midsize and smaller cities like Norfolk, Va., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cleveland and Kansas City, Mo.

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Tuesday/ The Emerald 🏙️

I take my new camera with me now, every time I go for a walk.
I’m still learning to adjust the exposure and the auto-focus mode.
I also paired the camera with my iPhone (via Bluetooth) so that that the GPS coordinates of my location for each picture can be recorded in the camera on the metadata for the image.
There is a drawback, though: the camera’s battery runs down much more rapidly if it is connected to the phone all the time.
The camera actually has an airplane mode, but it’s a pain to switch it on and off multiple times while walking around.
Better to carry one or two spare batteries to pop into it when one runs out.

I took this picture on Sunday.
It is of The Emerald, a 40-story residential skyscraper located at 121 Stewart Street. Its distinctive glass façade and slightly twisting design makes it stand out in the Seattle skyline. It was completed in 2020.
(This picture is a downsized version, 25% of the size of the out-of-camera picture).
Shot with Sony α7CR w. Tamron 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 lens
f-stop: f/5.6 |Exposure time: 1/2000 s |ISO speed: ISO-250 |Focal length: 73 mm | Max aperture: 4 |Metering mode: Pattern
And what airline might the airplane belong to?
A 600×400 pixel crop of the airplane from the 6,336 x9,504 out-of-camera image reveals that it belongs to Iceland Air.
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Saturday/ India’s flag in Seattle 🇮🇳

India’s flag was hoisted up on top of the Space Needle for the first time on Friday.
It is a nod to India’s Independence Day, celebrated annually on August 15 as a public holiday.
The day commemorates the nation’s independence from the United Kingdom on August 15,  1947.

Approximately 83,000 King County residents were born in India, constituting 14% of the foreign-born population. China closely follows at approximately 80,000 residents, and the list continues with Vietnam securing the fourth position, the Philippines at fifth, South Korea at sixth, and Taiwan ranking ninth.
[Northwest Asian Weekly, Dec. 11, 2023]
[Stills from a video posted @IndiainSeattle on X]
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Thursday/ on Lake Union 🚣‍♀️

I was near Lake Union for two appointments this morning and took these pictures.

Top to bottom—
Rowing lessons for kids near a flotilla of moored yachts;
Troublemakers (Canadian geese) on the docks;
Space Needle and Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI);
Incoming floatplane;
Departing floatplane— the last one of four in a row— but then the first to become airborne (in the center of the last picture).

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Wednesday/ ash in the air 😷

We’re out of the latest heatwave here in the city.
We had 91°F (33 °C) on Tuesday, but only 75°F (24 °C) today.

The smoke and fine, fine ash flakes in the air have not gone away, though. Officials now say the Bear Gulch fire will burn until winter— one of seven large wildfires in Washington State. It continues to grow and is still only 3% contained.

Smoky skies as the sun sets on Tuesday night. I’m looking out from Seattle’s Capitol Hill towards the TV antenna towers on Queen Anne Hill.
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Saturday/ Kitsap’s fast ferries ⛴️

I took at few pictures today (at about 6 p.m. tonight) of the fast ferries from Kitsap Transit at Pier 50 on the Seattle waterfront.

The fast ferries are passenger-only, so no vehicles.
The first pictures shows the Enetai at the terminal, waiting to depart for Southworth on the Kitsap Peninsula.
The Solano is approaching in the distance, about to complete its 26-minute crossing.
The Enetai backs away and departs after the Solano has docked next to it at the terminal.

Another fast ferry arrived shortly after that— the Reliance— in from Bremerton.

The Southworth-Seattle crossing is about 26 minutes.
The Enetai and the Solano service this crossing.
Enetai at terminal, Solano coming in.
Enetai was built in 2020. She can transport 250 passengers and 26 bicycles at a cruising speed of 35 knots and a top speed of 37 knots.
Enetai at terminal, Solano coming in.
Solano spent 15 years shuttling passengers between the city of Vallejo and downtown San Francisco. The county is named after a Native American Chief.
She can transport 250 passengers and 23 bicycles at a cruising speed of 30 knots and a top speed of 32 knots.
Solano is in, Enetai departing.
Solano is in, Enetai departing.
Solano is in, Enetai departing.
Enetai departing.
The Bremerton-Seattle crossing is about 30 minutes.
The Reliance services this crossing.
Reliance has arrived and is backing in to dock at the terminal.
Reliance was built in 2019. She can transport 118 passengers and 12 bicycles at a cruising speed of 34 knots and a top speed of 37 knots.
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Tuesday/ a little rain is coming 🌧

The meteorologists are promising us (well, a 95% chance) that we will get a little rain tomorrow here in the Seattle metro area— actually, as much as 0.45 inches.

These coneflowers in the Republican Street/ 20th Ave East community garden look just like little suns, drawn with crayons. ☀
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Saturday/ it’s wildfire season 🔥

It’s summer, so it is wildfire season— and the dry conditions everywhere in Washington State are not helping.
There was only a trace of rain (less than 0.01 in) this July here in the city.
The last year that had happened was in 2003.

The Bear Gulch fire in Olympic National Park covered more than 7 square miles as of Saturday, data shows, and firefighters had it 3% contained. The human-caused fire was first reported July 6 near the Mount Rose trailhead in Olympic National Forest. Specifics of how the fire started are still under investigation.
[Map from Seattle Times; reporting by Seattle Times climate reporter Conrad Swanson]
The sun setting through a haze of smoke on Friday night, seen from Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
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Sunday/ lots of sun ☀

It was a beautiful summer day here in the city (77°F/ 25°C).
I went down to the waterfront to check out the newly renovated Pier 58 that had opened on Friday.

I took the No 12 bus to downtown and walked to Pike Place Market.
I am taking just a quick look here at the overlook towards the Ferris wheel and the aquarium before I head down to the waterfront promenade.
Incoming! Watch out little sail boat!
I did not hear the ferry blare its horn at it, so I suppose it was OK. If I read the ferry schedules right, this was the Kaleetan coming in from Bremerton.
Here is the new play park on Pier 58 with its octopus slide.
The Wings Over Washington theater (with its tilting seats to ‘fly’ over beautiful scenery and mountains) is still there, and popular this time of year with a line of people outside waiting their turn.
The display case at the entrance to the Miner’s Landing arcade with its carousel and video games inside.
Here’s the Pier 57 Historic Carousel inside the Miner’s Landing arcade.
One of several totem poles around the waterfront. This one is on Pier 57.
The Salish Sea Tours boat with its catamaran hull, just arriving back at Pier 57 from its cruise around Elliott Bay.
A display case inside Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on Pier 54. I love the alphabet book that the kids are looking at: L for Loon and M for Moose.
All done! Walking back with the pedestrian overpass over Alaskan Way to 1st Avenue to catch the G-line bus.
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Monday/ earlier sunsets 🌇

We are having a run of beautiful and mild sunny days here in Seattle.
The high today was 77°F  (25°C).

I walked down to the fountain and texture pool in Cal Anderson Park just before sunset.
Sunset is now at 8.56 pm and there were beautiful soft blues, pinks and oranges on the horizon, looking out towards the Olympic Mountains behind the Space Needle.

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Tuesday/ heating up ☀️

We had 88°F (31°C) here in Seattle today.
The National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory for today and tomorrow for the Seattle area— with potential for temperatures in the mid-90s (35°C) on Wednesday.

The weather camera by Hansville out on Kitsap peninsula picked up noctilucent clouds early this morning (the faint, bluish-silver or electric blue streaks above the orange colors of twilight).
These are also called night-shining clouds or polar mesospheric clouds. They are composed of ice crystals and form in the mesosphere, the atmospheric layer above the stratosphere, at extremely cold temperatures.
[Still image from a video clip posted by Skunkbayweather @Skunkbayweather on X]
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Sunday/ at the Electrify Expo⚡

Three amigos ran out to Marymoor Park by Redmond this morning— the site for the Electrify Expo Seattle 2025.

The all-electric 2025 Lucid Gravity SUV has a starting price of $79,900 for the Touring model and $94,900 for the Grand Touring model, according to Lucid Motors. The Touring model is expected to be available for order in late 2025.
[Source: Google Search Labs | AI Overview]
2025 Tesla Model 3 in Quicksilver, with white seats.
2025 Tesla Model S in Red*. This is the newest Model S, now with a front bumper camera as part of their hardware refresh.
*Or maybe it is the Red Multi-Coat: a premium version of the standard Red, offering a more vibrant and lustrous appearance.
The Tesla Bot. (Google Search Labs | AI Overview: No, the full-sized Tesla Optimus humanoid robot is not yet for sale to the general public. While Tesla is developing Optimus, it is currently focused on internal production for use in its own factories, with external sales planned for 2026.)
A Cybertruck fitted with an after-market camping add-on (mostly providing additional sleeping space).
That’s a metallic green wrap on the truck (all Cybertrucks are offered with a raw, stainless steel exterior).
A different kind of metallic wrap on a Cybertruck, with a rainbow reflection in the bright sunlight. (The high in Seattle was 87°F/ 30.5 °C today).
These Teslas are dressed up in sporty, race car attire, but now starting to show their age/ The new ‘Highland’ Model 3 has been available since early 2024.
Several other electrified means of transportation were on display as well. The well-known Seattle power bike maker Rad Power Bikes is showing off its latest line-up of power bikes (bike with electric motor to assist the rider’s pedaling, and a battery that provides the power).
Look Ma! I’m flying through the air.
A young rider demonstrates gravity-defying freestyle stunts that he can do with his electrified moto-cross bike. (There is a steep up-ramp on the other side that gets him into the air).
A staffer from the booth with electric unicycles (EUCs) showing how it’s done. (It’s much harder than he makes it look). These unicycles are self-balancing personal transporters with a single wheel. Riders control their speed and direction by shifting their weight and using built-in sensors.
I’m in the back seat of a Cybertruck, and we’re just doing a little circuit laid out around Marymoor Park. The center console is a little dusty. There is a Cybertruck ahead of us. A white Tesla (at the top right of the display) is behind us: the view provided by the rear-facing camera on the tailgate. The rearview mirror cannot really be used when the rear glass of the truck is covered.
All done, and we’re heading back to Seattle across the SR-520 floating bridge (that floats on Lake Washington). There is not a lot of snow on the Olympic Mountains this time of year.
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Wednesday/ new citizens 🇺🇸

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell posted this picture on X today, of new US citizens and Seattle officials who attended the 40th annual Independence Day (July 4) Naturalization Ceremony held at Seattle Center.
Over 500 new US citizens were sworn in.

The officials in the picture are:
–David G. Estudillo (fourth from the left), Chief US District Judge for the Western District of Washington: Judge Estudillo presided over the ceremony and administered the oath of allegiance to the new citizens.
–Maria Cantwell, US Senator for Washington State (to his right): Senator Cantwell gave the congratulatory address to the new citizens.
–Miss Washington is Hermona Girmay, who was crowned in July 2024. She is also a University of Washington School of Public Health alumna and is using her platform as Miss Washington to champion health equity.
–Bruce Harrell, Mayor of Seattle: Bruce Harrell delivered welcome remarks at the ceremony.

Alma Franulović Plancich, the ceremony’s long-time coordinator, was recognized for her 40 years of dedication to the event.

Posted on X by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell—
“While the other Washington challenges basic principles, we forge a different path. It was an honor to celebrate Independence Day at the Naturalization Ceremony, welcoming 501 new U.S. citizens and honoring Alma Franulovic Plancich for her decades of leadership”.
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Tuesday/ it was a dry June ☀️

From Google Search Labs | AI Overview:
Rainfall in Seattle during June 2025 was 0.40 inches, which is significantly below average.
This amount is 73% less than the 30-year average for June, which is 1.49 inches.
For comparison, here is a summary of June rainfall in recent years:
2024: 2.02 inches
2023: 1.42 inches
2022: 4.98 inches
Historically, June is one of the drier months in Seattle, with the average rainfall being around 1.6 inches. The wettest June on record saw 3.90 inches of rain in 1946.

Too much of a good thing? 🤗
I marveled at the lushness of this lawn– for a newly remodeled house here on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. The lawn started out as tiles of green sod, and there must have been a sprinkler system watering it every day for the last few weeks.
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Sunday/ Seattle’s 51st annual Pride Parade 🏳️‍🌈

On a gorgeous sunny Sunday afternoon, thousands upon thousands of people flocked to downtown Seattle for the 51st annual Pride Parade, arrayed in all the colors of the rainbow.

Over the past five decades, the parade has grown into the city’s biggest annual event. Organizers expected 300,000 attendees this year, though Seattle police did not have specific turnout figures Sunday.
– Caitlyn Freeman writing for the Seattle Times

From the Seattle Times:
Thousands of people crowd their way onto Fourth Avenue as they make their way to the start of the 2025 Pride Parade on Sunday in Seattle.
Seattle Pride announced in April that it faced a $350,000 budget shortfall due to lost corporate sponsorships. Companies like Boeing and the Expedia Group, which were Bronze-level sponsors last year, did not return as sponsors in 2025.
The pullback mirrors a national trend where companies pledged to support marginalized communities under former President Joe Biden, but reversed course under Trump.
[Photo by Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times]
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Friday/ a reckoning with what was once impossible 🌈

Happy Friday.
It’s Pride weekend in Seattle, with the annual Pride parade scheduled for Sunday along 4th Avenue, downtown. Time flies, and it’s been ten years since same-sex marriage became legal nationwide in the United States (on June 26, 2015).

The artwork below is from an art exhibition— one of the main events of Tokyo Pride 2025— on the third floor of Tokyu Plaza Harajuku shopping mall’s Harakado space.

“Ordinary” by moriuo | ©TOKYO PRIDE 2025
Erik Augustin Palm writes in The Japan Times about it: Among the more resonant pieces is “Ordinary” by moriuo, a painting drawing lightly on comic-book style, depicting a young male couple hand-in-hand by the ocean as a train passes in the background — perhaps in Kamakura. The image is seen through the eyes of an older gay man, who never had the freedom to express love so openly. “I wish you could see this view … this time that has finally come,” reads the artist’s quietly devastating caption. It’s a moment of tenderness across generations — a reckoning with what was once impossible.