Summer is beach season, and Seattle has some stunners.
Despite the fact that Seattle is on the West Coast, and that I knew it had some spectacular scenery, I still hadn't really contemplated that it would have so many stunning beaches.
Lia and I were taken on a tour of some of Seattle's most summery spots by my stepmum, who'd grown up in Seattle. We spent a day being beach bums and worrying about sunburn (at least on my part) while being shown around some of the prettiest and most northwestern parts of the PNW.
We began at Alki beach, which stretched around the northwestern-most point of West Seattle, with views of some of the islands close by, and a beautiful coastal road parallel to it. Following that road around, we headed further south, down the West Seattle coast, and hit Lincoln Park. The actual park, not the band. Har dee har.
After watching the ferries go about, and Lia becoming smitten with all the large black crows that made up the aerial vermin in this part of the world, we drove past downtown, and up into Seattle's more residential neighborhoods, to reach Discovery Park, where we made some discoveries!
The main discovery was that it was also very pretty! And quite big! And also that children are annoying, but sometimes when they all wear fun colors, they can look good in a photograph.
From Discovery Park, we went on to a park called "Golden Gardens," that I couldn't remember the name of, so kept referring to it as "Golden Arches." There was a chill sandy beach area, filled with people playing volleyball, and a thicket of cool trees that had many people relaxing in hammocks strung among them. We hung out on a rocky part of the beach a little further around, that was even quieter, and more relaxing. And less sandy, which meant I was happier.
Lots of cool dead logs on Seattle beaches, we noticed. Excellent for sitting, and overall aesthetic.
Our penultimate destination was arguably the most stunning of the locations we visited, and definitely the most northern. Carkeek Park not only had a beach, but also a functioning railroad track that ran between the beach and the parking lot.
The railroad wrapped right around the water's edge, making for what I imagine must be one of the prettiest train rides in the world. I hung out on top of the bridge over the tracks to wait for a train, and a great photograph.
We made our final stop at Madison Park beach, and watched the sun set into the smoke from nearby wildfires while grown men swan dove off the Lake Washington pontoon.
