Tonight marks the celebration of the birth of one of my volleyball friends, Sarah.  She couldn't have picked a better place to have her party than our local hangout, The Shelter Lounge, in Ballard.  Although I am practically there every other day to either enjoy the company of the bartenders, put back a few mimosas and/or glasses of vino or chow down on their fabulous Caprese sandwich with side salad, I will especially enjoy tonight, being that for once, it's finally sunny in Seattle.  And what better place to celebrate the sun than on the open deck of your favorite neighborhood lounge?!
Afterwards, we will meander up to BalMar on Ballard Ave. to show support for The Uganda Village Project, a philanthropic organization providing safe water, education for healthy villages, and orphan support.  Tonight's event will help fund the production and distribution of mosquito nets to populations with high rates of Malaria.  GET INVOLVED!  

Definitely a "car-camping" area.  You're so close to the interstate it seems as though a semi is going to run right through your tent.  The river is within short walking distance and if you're walking with anyone who has no internal compass, you will end up lost in the woods for about 1/2 hour trying to get to the riverbank without having to jump in and swim.  A cozy, casual spot to have cookouts and drunk shenanigans with friends.  Hiking and bouldering are close by on I 90, but I won't recommend this site for anything but a leisurely trip.   

Yep, I'm pretty badass.  After arriving at Seattle Seaplanes, I was greeted by Kit Warfield, of Microsoft Flight Simulator fame at and queen of the Lake Union skies.  After going over our necessary pre-flight checklist (a bit different in a seaplane than on a land plane), we exited the alley, navigated around some dragon boaters and were airborne in exactly 7 minutes.  Today we were flying a 1964 Cessna 172 180-hp with a constant prop.  Let me tell you, there are definitely a lot more variables to consider when flying a seaplane vs. a land plane, but overall, the experience made me want to get my PPL on the water.  We took off to the North, adjusted the trim, climbed in altitude to approximately 2k feet before practicing banking left and right. With this constant prop plane, it tended to pull slightly to the right, but with the wind coming in from the northeast, it made for difficult left turns.  I saw Magnolia, Ballard, Everett, Whidby and Alki from a gorgeous aerial view, then we passed the Space Needle so closely we could see people taking pics of us as we flew by.  I left the landing up to Kit and will definitely be back for seconds! Contact them for your lesson or scenic flight today!
206-329-9638 • 1-800-637-5553