April 6 - The Arboretum, Pub Lunch

Hey, Jon, thanks for showing me how my manual focus works!

This rainy city I live in has been enjoying some unseasonably gorgeous weather of late. I pretty much love it. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the soul-crushing gray rainy winter as much as the next Seattlite, but when the sun comes out, it really becomes a beautiful place to live.

I took advantage of a sunny summer Sunday afternoon with a friend by going to the arboretum. It's this lovely inner-city forest set on 230 acres in the middle of Seattle. Well, kind of the middle. Sort of on the right, I guess. It's managed by the University of Washington, probably their botany department. It's for education. Because knowledge is power!

Tagged for your convenience. Also for ur lols.

Being an urban-dweller, it's nice to have something like this within bussing distance. Seattle has no shortage of public parks, but this one is serious. I could get lost here for days among the creeks and shrubberies. But I guess that's not saying a whole lot, considering I almost starved to death trying to navigate my way through an Ikea.

At least the arboretum is very pretty. Prettier than that stupid Ikea.

Like beautiful, pink lop bunny ears.

It also provides a pondful haven for one of my favorite critters: ducks! The good kind of ducks, not the evil kind.

Man, I love ducks.

In one of the ponds, I saw this rock that kind of looks like a little island. I mean, technically I guess it is, but visually I think it's kind of neat. This is probably what I would film if I were making a low-budget Bond movie and we were working on the shot where the helicopter was closing in on the villian's private island.

Dr. Geoduck's Island of Razor-Toothed Squirrels. The horror!

I'm not sure where this shot would work into my Bond film, but I thought it looked kinda spooky. What made these trees fall away from each other like that? Mystery.

I bet it was the Sasquatch. That bastard.

Erm, anyway. After wandering for days through the woods, we'd worked up quite an appetite. We decided to remedy this at Latona Pub in Greenlake. It wad my first time there, but considering they decided to decorate their pub with a suit of armor, I was pretty excited.

Lancelot? How did you get up there?

Living in the land of the micro brew, I sometimes feel a little left out since I'm not really a beer drinker. As much as I try, I can't enjoy it. And I have tried. I'm a sucker for peer pressure.

Luckily, I generally have the option of ordering a hard cider in place of beer. My favorite kind is Ace Perry Pear Cider, but I think you can only get those at Linda's bars. Still, I'm always up for something new, and my interest was piqued by the presence of a black currant cider on the list.

I would maybe drink it in a box.

As exciting as the idea of black currant cider is, it ended up being something of a disappointment. It was refreshing enough, but I didn't get a black currant experience. Someday I will, but not this day.

Latona's menu was more enticing than your average pub fare. The lunch menu offered a selection of tasty sounding sandwiches on Columbia City Bakery rolls, which are lovely with a floury chewy crust and tender flavorful innards.

I ordered the turkey n fixings sandwich, which was filled with roast turkey, stuffing, sprouts, and some kind of cranberry something. It was delicious. I like the idea of taking an entire meal and condensing it into a single-serving form. As long as we don't take that idea too far.

What did you say, jive turkey?

My lunch date, Jon, went with the grilled chicken sandwich. It seemed comparable to mine, except his came with a spike through the middle to keep the innards in check. I guess chicken is the more unruly poultry. Or they thought Jon couldn't handle a freestyle sandwich.

Action shot!

This teaser of a not-quite-summer day has me pretty excited for the real thing. I can't wait to take my cat for a walk in the park, have a Paseo picnic in the sun, and maybe a little kickball.

In closing, here is my favorite picture that I took in the arboretum. It's a fuzzy flower. How cool is that!

It makes me want to say something poetic.