I went to the office today and sat in on one of the two classes I'm taking this quarter. Then I did a little thinking and tinkering on my research proposal which I'm presenting in March. Then I just slacked off the rest of the day! And, for a change, it was a very beautiful sunny day. I rode to school, but forgot my iPhone which I am addicted to. So I rode my bike to my house then back to campus where I took a bus downtown to meet Anita. But on my ride back to the office, I took a detour through the Union Bay Natural Area which is an ex-landfill which has been covered up and made into a sanctuary (for birds primarily). I saw a turtle and a Great Blue Heron:
My GBH picture is pretty poor but here's one that one of my colleagues (Alan Glasser) took a few weeks ago. It is a fairly awesome picture. He has a very fancy Canon 20D digital camera and a pretty nice telephoto lens to go with it. These herons are incredibly tolerant of close human presence.
Anita took me out to lunch downtown in Pike Place market to a fancy french restaurant. We ate something called la raclette. It involves a petite grill that you simmer cheese on and then put the melted cheese on some ham and potatoes that are served on the side. Tasty! The authentic French waiters were pretty funny with all their "voilas" and stuff.
We've been wanting to go up Seattle's historic Smith Tower for a while, so I decided my bday was a good day to give it a go. When we got there, they said we couldn't go up because, in the winter, they're closed during the week. Anita gave them a smile and puppy dog eyes and they let us go right up. There was a sweet old black man operating the elevator. Everything in the place has delicate architectural touches that remind you that it was built in 1909 (see http://www.smithtower.com/History.html). The view from the top is pretty spectacular my shots don't do it justice but ...
Anita on top.
The view looking south past the gladiator arenas (the football and baseball stadia) at Rainier.
View looking north. The Space Needle is visible looking down 2nd Ave.After doing a little more work that afternoon, we burned the last of the daylight by taking a stroll through the Arboretum -- another one of Seattle's big wonderful parks. We went to my favorite spot there, an old gazebo. That evening, we both did more work (alas), but then watched the Lost season premiere. It was good. The chaos in the show (in terms of time travel) is getting out of control :) Anita made tasty coconut cupcakes sweetened with honey which were very tasty. She gave me a copy of Open, Andre Agassi's biography. So far I've found it fascinating! The next day, my friend G gave me the same book with a very nice handwritten inscription.
It was a day I wouldn't mind repeating a few times. But not as many times as Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day.
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4 comments:
I'm glad you were able to take a little time off to enjoy nature and have a fancy lunch with Anita.
Sounds like a good start to year 32!
the great blue herrons we have seen in the wild fly at 500 meters.
just like canada geese on the green won't let u get any closer.
but just like even wolves they do get habituated to humans.
birds are coming back south around here as spring returns.
steve
Sounds like a pretty ideal birthday. It's nice you got good weather to spend some time outside. Spring feels like it's getting close. :)
Hey, now you need to update this thing about your trip! C'mon let's go!
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