Skettios

I drive by a sign all of the time that proclaims Redmond, WA as one of the most bike-able cities in the U.S. I don't know live in Redmond so I don't really know about biking around it, but I suspect it must be pretty good.

I do know that biking the Sammamish River Trail is one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday morning.

Park here on 116th (or ride in, if you're more hardcore than me) and you can bike along the whole trail. It has to be at least 10 miles long, and the whole thing is paved. It's actually a pretty easy ride, but that's what's nice about it. There's tons of river scenery along the way, a golf course, and several parks. There are also quite a few places to get off the trail and grab a coffee or a bite. Try it out sometime!

I know it's cliche, but having lived in this city, I still really love to come down and do all the tourist stuff.

I love it when they have concerts at the Key arena, or at Veteran's memorial and I get a chance to come hang out down by the Seattle Center.

You have everything down here. There's the Pacific Science Center to check out. You can't miss the Experience Music Project. Then there's always the Needle or you can just sit and chill around the fountain. If there's something going on, or a crowd that's even better. I could literally spend hours people watching down here.

If you get really bored you can take the Monorail to Westlake Center and do some shopping at Nordstrom's. It's a great way to spend the day.

The only downside is you're gonna have to pay for parking.

I've been down to University Way a few times. This being Seattle, you would think the street right outside of U Dub would have some pretty cool stuff. I just wasn't that impressed. There are quite a few bookstores, and tons of camera shops, and Chinese restaurants, but really I felt like that's about all there was. I took my family down here one day to hang out, and just ended up browsing a few overpriced t-shirt chain stores, and then feeling really ripped off that I had to pay for parking.

We did come down when they had closed off the street, that was quite nice, and really enjoyable. If there is something going on, then definitely check it out. On a normal day though, you're not missing much.

My dad works for a company that does a lot of stuff with Boeing. Every now and then he'd have to go up to Mukilteo, and I had the choice of sitting in the parking lot or wandering around.

Naturally I wandered, I followed the 525 and ended up at Mukilteo State Park. If you follow the 525, at first it just looks normal, you head down a hill, and all the usual shops are there. Then you turn the bend, and all of a sudden you're staring at the Sound. It's really quite beautiful.

You can park the car at the State park and they have an old lighthouse for you to explore, along with a small museum with the history of the area.

Outside the park, past the ferry line up, are a bunch of really excellent seafood restaurants on the water.

We ate at a few of them, and they all seemed to offer about the same stuff, but it was pretty good. anyway.

If you go up to Boeing for any reason, I definitely suggest you stick around and check out the area.

If you like strange, you'll love quirkly little Fremont, self proposed Center of the Universe.

I'm not sure where that label came from, but it seems to fit. Fremont is just north of downtown, and very close to the perfect place to live in Seattle.

Fremont Ave itself has lots of little art galleries and antique shops. It has clothing shops, vintage stuff, and high end classier stuff all on the main drag. There are also lots of little cafes and restaurants, each with it's own character. Make sure you see the Fremont Drawbridge, the monument to the Center of the Universe, and the Fremont Troll which is actually under the Aurora Bridge.

If you get bored, Gasworks park is nearby, just walk along the water till you see it.

Fremont has all sorts of things going on, so keep your ears out, and prepare for something new and unique.

This small street holds two of the best brands in the Pacific Northwest.

First up is the Redhook brewery. They have a nice garden restaurant and bar where you can try out their microbrews and sample many kinds of Redhook that you won't always find in stores. The food there is pretty good, and they have all sorts of special events going on all of the time. In the summer they have a Friday movie, where you can sit and drink beer and watch a film outside. Check the event schedule if you're bringing kids, they are not always allowed.

Second is the Chateau St. Michelle winery. They produce world class Columbia valley wines. They have a luxurious house and winery with grounds here. You can walk the grounds any time, take winery tours with tasting, have a lovely dinner and even take a class. My favorite part of having the Winery in the neighborhood was the summer concert series. They get in big names to play concerts there on the ground. I was just checking and this month alone (July 2008) they have B.B. King, Steely Dan, Chris Isaak, Lyle Lovett and Ringo Starr. Get to these events early because parking can be a pain. Usually you're welcome to bring your own food and picnic stuff, but check with the venue first.

Check this little street out, you'll definitely be happy you did!

I wanted to mention 166th, not for the street itself, but because it hits a few interesting spots in downtown Redmond. This is not to say that the street isn't great. It's mostly residential, with a few excellent restaurants, typical Redmond stuff.

The first spot is Redmond Town Center. Redmond Town Center is a beautiful open air mall, with a great bookstore, clothing shops, video game shops and and a movie theatre. It also has a few wonderful restaurants. Overall this is a fairly nice place to go if you'd like an evening out. You can bring the family here, and you'll find that there's something for everyone to look at. Grab a meal then let the kids wander around. In the center of the mall they often have art installations or carts set up with interesting stuff.

Immediately outside Redmond Town center is the 520, and right across from it is Marymoor Park. Besides having the typical park amenities, Marymoor also has a wonderful dog run and off leash area. They also hold the City of Redmond's annual Fourth of July celebration there. Since parking is limited, I suggest parking at Redmond Town center an walking over. It's a long walk, but doable, a much better option than sitting in a long line of cars waiting to get out of the park.

You get a strange mix of people in Duvall.

There Seattle or Redmond corporate types, living in new suburbs recently built here. There are cowboys that bought a piece of land and plunked a trailer down on it. There are lumberjacks with camps set up next to back to nature types. They all like this quiet little town, and it is indeed very likable.

The main street has a Safeway (most residents feel that it's an abomination), right outside of town. It has several gas stations, a firestation, police station, all of the normal small town stuff. There's a city hall, a neighborhood bank, and even a chain pizza delivery place.

The town also has one of the best Thai restaurants in the area, a mexican place, several rib and pizza places, and even a bar where you can still get a pickled egg.

The left over space in the town is filled by parks, art galleries, and studios. Every summer the Art galleries hold Duvall days, which brings a few visitors, and lets people see what's happening in their community.

The whole thing has a very small town feel, with the quintessential northwest spirit running through it. It's a great place to live, and very worth checking out.

I'm sure it's all in my head, but I feel like when I head to Alki Beach, the sun starts to peak out from behind the clouds and the weather turns much nicer.

I really like this street for three reasons.

1. The beach, and the park right behind it. The facilities here are older, but still pretty nice if you're just looking for a place to relax for a day. There's basketball, tennis, and good biking and walking in the area. Even if you don't go swimming (a lot of people don't, the water is too cool), you can still appreciate the view of the Sound.

2. The neighborhood is one of the older ones in Seattle. Thus the houses haven't all been torn down and rebuilt into condos. People you talk to around there live there, and know something about the history of the area. It has a sense of itself, and a cool vibe. I used to canvas (ask for money for environmental causes) around there, I didn't get a lot of money, but I did get to meet a lot of nice people.

3. You can take a bus from downtown to get there. To get to the beach, take a bus from down by Pike's place market. I don't remember the number, but someone down there can help you for sure. Buses in Seattle are pretty good, and you don't have to worry about paying for gas, or paying to park the car, which can be a problem many places in the city.

I love going downtown, parking the car, and taking a walk around.

1st Ave is one of my favorite spots.

First you have the world famous Pike Place Market. I know it's touristy, but I get a kick out of watching them toss fish, and I really like the shops underneath the thing. It's got some really great headshops with some different stuff than you might find other places in the city. There's a little park sitting area out the backside, but be careful, a lot of the time the place is crawling with junkies and homeless. They don't take no for an answer.

Walking down the street you'll see a few strip clubs. Most of those are new within the last ten years or so, but the one that's historic is the Lusty Lady. It's owned by women and may be just the aversion therapy you need.

Along the way there are tons of cool shops, and that sort of thing, it's actually quite an upscale area.

Keep walking, and you'll eventually get to one of my favorite parts of town Pioneer Square. This is the place where people lived when they first came to Seattle.

The Seattle Underground is here, and although I thought it was pretty boring, it is an interesting thing to see at least once in your live. I have to say I didn't really get why the city was built so much higher.

One of the best parts of Pioneer Square are the bars. They have bars to suit every taste. My favorite is the New Orleans Creole bar. It has great food, live music, and super drinks. Expensive, but one of the best things to do on a night out.

We lived for awhile in Anthem, and at first I was really upset with how commercialized it was. We had to have our trash can put away or we would get in trouble with the community. We had to decorate with a color scheme that matched the community. There were no plants allowed over the top of our wall. One of our neighbors hated the home society so much, that every christmas she would decorate with the gaudiest stuff just to raise the ire of the community. They could ban plants and decorations, but not Religious icons or holdiay decorations. It was pretty funny once she explained it.

The nice part about living in Anthem is that everything is right where you want it. There's tons of great greenspace with parks built in. Running behind many houses is also a desert area, that has been left unlandscaped. The first night I took my dog walking through one we actually flushed havelina, or wild boar. I was impressed that they had thought to put so much thought into the building of the community. Overall I'd say Anthem is a pretty nice place if you can get over the rules.

For some reason, I always get lost going to the airport in Phoenix. The 10 and the 17 cross each other down where the 17 bends, which makes things extra confusing. I always look for Buckeye Rd as the exit to take off the 10 to get to the airport quickly and conveniently. Be careful though, because the Buckeye Rd right off the 17 is a nasty road. It's full of rundown looking industrial buildings and other seedy stuff. Heading east this road does eventually reach the airport but it's a good twenty minutes out of your way. There is light traffic on this road, but it's just not the place you want to be when you could be late for a flight.

A special note, during Thanksgiving and Christmas the roads on this side of the airport back up. I can remember waiting an extra 2 hours to pick up my sister from the airport. During this busy time it's best to use the east side access via the 202 or 51.

They have recently extended Gavilan Pkwy and made it accessible via Daisy Mountain off the 17. Down at that end they just added a shopping center and several fast food places, including a Jack in the Box. Heading north on the road you drive past the Anthem Highschool and the new Library, On the other side of the street is the Anthem sports complex, with soccer fields, baseball and a skate park. There's also an artificial river. This is a cool place to go play sports, but super popular with all the little league crowd. You can feel free to play where you want, but realize that it might be booked up already, so be prepared to give way if a bunch of 8 year olds show up kicking the ball around.

E University Drive down by Tempe has some great food options. Tempe is one of the only parts of Phoenix that is actually walkable, but you'd probably need a car to get there. Park on the west side of Mill, or in a pay lot or at a meter. If you try and park down by the university the spots get fewer, unless you have one of ASUs color coded stickers. Don't park on their lots without one!

The food options on University are great. There's a Thai place past Mill, a ton of Mexican and Italian joints, and sandwich shops galore. In one of the strip malls on the west side of mill there's even an Ethiopian restaurant, honestly can't say I've tried it, but it's cool that it's there!

Take a Saturday afternoon and go explore for some lunch!

Carefree Highway runs from the 17 all the way to Cave Creek and then to the town of Carefree. It's 55 the whole way, so you can move almost as fast as if you were cutting across the 101. There is hardly ever any traffic, and it's goes through some pretty country. As you're driving there is your usualy assortment of suburbs and strip malls, but things are pretty sparse. There are some fast food restaurants and such but they are mainly few and far between. It's worth checking out if you want a good way to get around north Phoenix without getting bogged down in the traffic on the 101.

Happy Valley Road used to be a quiet street. Then they added a Walmart. Most recently they are fleshing out the rest of the Happy Valley Towne Center with other big box retailers. They have also added some great restaurants. It's a nice place to stop if you live outside of Phoenix. It's also a great place to stop as you're leaving Phoenix on the 17 to get supplies for camping or fishing, there's easy access from the freeway. If you're coming into Phoenix it's a nice shortcut from the 17 to the 101 via 7th St.

Camelback Rd is huge, it stretches all the way from Scottsdale to the Litchfield Park. To be honest I'm not sure I've ever driven the whole thing. The nicest part in my opinion is the part it's named for. If you'd like to see the actual 'Camel's back' you have to be down by N 56th street, just outside of Scottsdale, close between the 51 and the 101. If you look north you'll see the Camel's head and his back on the rock formation. I think the actual best viewing is from the airport, but you can certainly see it from the road. If you head back into the neighborhood there you can actually drive up it a little ways and get some cool views of that part of Phoenix. Don't park in anyone's private drive though, or you might get sent away by security.

As you head out on Cave Creek north out of Phoenix, you'll notice that the urban sprawl slows down quite a bit. It doesn't exactly stop, but you'll see that fast food joints turn into butcher shops and country bars with motorcycles parked out front. You are approaching the town of Cave Creek, and it's nearby neighbor, Carefree. As you're driving, (nobody strolls down this road, this is Arizona, nobody walks anywhere), you'll start to see some really cool rock formations. This means you're getting closer to your destination. Finally when N Cave Creek turns into E Cave Creek you'll see... Art Galleries! That's right, you might never would have guessed it, but rural Arizona is populated with artists of every shape and size. Stop at any of the galleries and have a chat with the owner, he'll probably be working on something in the back. Meet a few artists, and if you're so inclined, pick something up. This is in my opinion one of the best ways to spend a Sunday. Hope you enjoy!

Anthem is a quiet suburb north of Phoenix on the 10. The main street W Anthem Way leads into the neighborhood through a nice waterfall sculpture. As you come into Anthem there is a Safeway on the right, with the usual amenities, a Blockbuster, Domino's pizza, dry cleaners and some really decent restaurants. As you proceed further along Anthem Way there is another little strip mall on the left with a Hardware store, gas station and other little shops. Continuing further you come to the Anthem Community Center. It has baseball fields, a multilevel fishing pond with ducks and swans, and it's own waterpark. Inside the community center there is a heated swimming pool, a gym and lots of sports equipment.

Overall this is a really cool idea for a neighborhood, there's only one problem.

Anthem was designed to have lots of central amenities, but it's so big that it's simply not walkable. If you have small children or older relatives you have to load them in the car to take them anywhere in the community. Also, a lot of the space in the community is given over to parking for this very reason. It's a great effort though, and it looks wonderful.

S Mill has something for everyone. It's got great shopping, ample parking, super food and a spectacular night life. Sitting right next to ASU there are a ton of college kids out partying it up on any given night. Every college town has a bar called 'the Library', but the one sitting on Mill Ave is the best, if not the original. If hardcore party is not your style, you can try Long Wong's for great wings, be warned the atmosphere is definitely 'dive'. S Mill Ave definitely has something for everyone, go check it out.

The Marquee Theatre sits on a big patch of land right on the canal off N Mill Ave. It's one of the best venues in the Phoenix area to see live bands, hip hop, comedy, and other cool stuff. The security guys will try and charge you $5 to $10 to park at the venue, but get there early and you can park inside the venue for free. If not head a little further down E Curry Road and park at Moeur park. If there's no concert on you can chill out on the lake, watch rowers from ASU or even walk across the bridge into Tempe.