MP 1, who seems to be doing most of the talking: “So my mom called me the other day. I thought one of my relatives had died, because that’s the only time she usually calls me.”
Tag Archives: 4
Westbound 4, 6:05 PM
More good news on Third Avenue
Yesterday, the bus fam (that is, Chicklet, Nerd, and yours truly) hopped the 4 and headed to Seattle Center to attend a retro birthday party for my friend (and world-famous author) Sundee. Fellow natives of the 2-0-sickness: Remember back in the day, when the Center was the place to hang out in the summer (at 9: ferris wheel! at 13: cute boys!), and those rides and games at the Fun Forest seemed at least as good as Disneyland’s? My perspective has changed a bit since the 80s (about the Fun Forest and Disneyland), but I’m still sad that the park won’t be around for little Chicklet to enjoy.
I digress.
Instead of taking the 4 home from the festivities, we took the Monorail and transferred downtown, because, 1) I was in one of my nostalgic moods, 2) Chicklet had never ridden the Monorail, and 3) we wanted to save time. (The two-minute ride to Westlake beats any bus, and stopping downtown gave us the option of catching a faster route up the hill.)
We used our extra minutes to visit the new(ish) Kress supermarket on 3rd & Pike. I’ve been waiting for about a gazillion years for a grocery store to open downtown, and it was long past time for me to check it out. Plus, we were out of wine.
An escalator takes you from 3rd Ave. right to the produce section.
We get our produce (and a lot of other staples) from an organic delivery service, and we live within walking distance of a grocery store, so I won’t be using this Kress for major shopping trips. That said, it’s got a pretty good selection and reasonable prices. And since, like most transit types, I’m downtown a lot, I’ll certainly be using it for quick stock-ups (they carry my favorite crackers!) between transfers–and for grabbing something (chocolate) to share at a party.
Of course, as I learned on my very first visit, I’m not the only bus rider who appreciates the new Kress.
Captain finished shopping at the same time we did (which is to say, just in time to catch the 27), and all four of us enjoyed a speedy ride home with our purchases.
A good driver day
Southbound 48, 2 PM: The man behind the wheel turned out to be the same man a longtime family friend brought to my nuptials, lo, those many (oh, was it only two?) years ago. I don’t actually know him, and until that ride, I had no idea he was a bus driver.
Tandy, props for your good taste in dates. How often does a bus chick get the chance to say to a driver, “Hey, I think you were a guest at my wedding!”
Eastbound 4, 8:30 PM: I rode with Smooth Jazz for the first time in almost a year. (The last time he was my driver, I think I was still busing while pregnant.) On this particular ride, he was dispensing his cool while politely fending off a rather forceful passenger-on-driver bus mack. Can’t say I blame the woman. If it weren’t for my amazingly fabulous Bus Nerd, I’d have a crush on Smooth Jazz.
Carfree Sundays, part III
The third and final carfree Sunday took place in my original neighborhood of West Seattle, so I didn’t mind the two-bus ride (4 + 56) to the festivities. (Then again, what’s two short rides compared to an unobstructed view of the Sound and the Olympics? I digress.)
West Seattle’s event was fun, but not as fun as Columbia City’s. (Thanks to the weather, Capitol Hill wasn’t even in the running.) Some reasons why:
• It wasn’t really car free. The far east lane of the street, which was separated from the activity with cones, remained open to all traffic. It wasn’t nearly as freeing or novel to play in the street with a line of vehicles inching by a few feet away.
• There wasn’t a concentrated point of activity. The street was closed (well, sort of–see above) from Seacrest Park on Harbor Ave all the way to the mini Statue of Liberty near the end of Alki Ave. Most of the activity was happening near the south end, so folks who jumped in farther north were likely disappointed.
• There was no music. This made a huge difference in the atmosphere and (my) general enjoyment.
• The majority of attendees were riding bikes. Don’t get me wrong: I have nothing but love for my bike nerd brothers and sisters, and I certainly don’t begrudge them the chance to take advantage of a chance to ride–free of worry–in the street. As a pedestrian, though, I was somewhat ill at ease. It felt more like I was walking in the bike lane than attending a street festival.
Of course, all those issues are minor and can be worked out on future carfree days. On to the photos:
“If Seattleites drive every vehicle 2,000 miles less a year (about 20 miles a week), we can meet our current climate pollution reduction goals.”
I didn’t see the Undriving folks from Sustainable Ballard this time. (Maybe they decided one trip to West Seattle was enough for this year.) The “Yes on Prop 1” folks were out in force, though.
Despite the concerns of its manager, business at Duke’s didn’t appear to suffer:
The best thing about the West Seattle carfree Sunday was, of course, the view. There’s something about the combination of water, mountains, and sunshine that inspires romance.
Me? I’m having a romance with my city. I’m proud of our first attempts at carfree days and looking forward to more next summer (or sooner!).
A weekend bus adventure
Last week, my Gail came to town to meet her new granddaughter. On Saturday morning before she returned home, the four of us (Bus Nerd, Bus Chicklet, my Gail, and me) headed to Hi Spot for brunch. Bus Nerd and I have taken the bus to Hi Spot at least a zillion times (4 + 3, 48 + 3, or short walk + 3) since we’ve been married. Unfortunately, Saturday was the first time we’d done it with an infant. Dealing with the baby in the sling, the diaper bag, and my Gail’s bus newbie status distracted Bus Nerd, and he somehow managed to drop his wallet on the 4. He realized it soon after we got off, but not soon enough to catch up to the bus.
I know from experience that losing something on the bus means waiting until the end of the day for it to be turned in to lost and found (assuming it gets turned in at all), and then waiting until the lost and found office is open to claim it. Losing a wallet is a bit more urgent than losing and umbrella or pair of gloves (my specialty), and I knew that Bus Nerd wouldn’t be able to enjoy brunch if he had to wait until Monday to find out if his wallet had been returned. So, being the resourceful bus chick I am, I suggested that he catch a cab and intercept the 4 while the wallet was still on it.
While my Gail, Chicklet, and I caught the 3 to the restaurant, Bus Nerd did just that. He called Metro from the cab, and a helpful rider information specialist kept him up to date on the 4’s progress (for once, the route’s excruciatingly slow pace was a benefit) while the cab driver gave chase. He caught up with the bus on Virginia. The driver remembered him and immediately handed him the wallet, which had been turned in by another passenger. Nothing was missing.
Wallet back in pocket, Bus Nerd took the cab to the restaurant where my Gail, Chicklet, and I were waiting, and we all enjoyed a stress-free meal. Props to the rider information specialist, the Good Samaritan passenger, and the cab and bus drivers, for making the end of this story a happy one.
An update
As promised, the rest of the story of Bus Chicklet’s arrival:
Many of you assumed from my last post that I rode the bus to the hospital while in labor. Alas! I wasn’t that heroic. The little chicklet had overstayed her welcome–enough past my due date that I had to be induced. So, on Halloween night, Bus Nerd and I rode the bus to the hospital as we had for all of my previous doctor’s appointments, sans contractions or ruptured membranes. The only difference was that we were carrying bags and feeling excited to meet our daughter.
On the day after she was born, we took our little one home on the 4. (It’s not the ideal route for an introduction to Seattle’s bus system, but at least we can be confident she’ll be ready for anything on future rides.) She rode in a car seat (you can’t take a child home from the hospital without one), but she’s enjoyed subsequent rides (on the 3, 4, and 48) in a nice, cozy sling. Of course, other than visits to the pediatrician’s office (which is a two-minute walk from our house and doesn’t require a bus ride), we haven’t taken her out much. Still, we’ve already managed to have a bus adventure. More on that tomorrow.
27 + 60 = a bus baby
Bus Baby has arrived!
Vitals
First name: Rosa, after Original Bus Chick
Middle name: Caroline, after my mom
Nickname: Bus Chicklet (thanks to the reader who suggested it last spring)
Birth date: 11/1/07
Birth time: 7:33 AM
Weight: 8 pounds, 7 ounces
We had planned a cab to the hospital, which is only a couple of miles from our house, and had also enlisted family and friends as backup transporters; however, because we had more warning than most people (more on that later), we managed to ride the bus to (27 + 60) and from (a short walk + 4) Miss Rosa’s delivery.
As you can imagine, Bus Nerd and I are a bit preoccupied (and tired!) right now, but I promise to share the whole story very soon.
Eastbound 4, 3:10 PM
Two middle-aged men, who are apparently acquaintances, are making conversation in the back of the bus. One of them takes a drink from a bottle of pop.
Middle-aged man #1: This tastes just like that orange ice cream we used to have back in the day–you know, with the cream in the middle? [Pause] “Want some?”
MAM #2: “No thanks, man.”
MAM #1: “Come on–have a taste! I don’t have any germs. Got a little cancer, but no germs.”
A third man, 10-15 years younger, gets on and joins the conversation. As the bus passes the new city hall, he gestures toward the building.
Young man: “I heard they have a misdemeanor jail up there.
MAM #1 (shrugging): “Jail’s jail.”
YM, gesturing toward the county jail: “I’d rather be in a misdemeanor jail than in there. I was in there for three weeks for a DV… My cellie had killed two people. I was like, ‘I don’t belong in this joint. We were just arguing!'”
Eastbound 4, 8:40 PM
On a particularly hot, slow and funky ride (on the 4, folks, this is saying something), a particularly funky passenger gets off at Harborview. As soon as the doors close, another passenger, red-faced and indignant, addresses his fellow riders in the front section.
Indignant passenger: “I don’t like stinky riders.”
Man across from IP: “Maybe he was doing dialysis. You know, the kidney has something to do with that gland that makes people…”
IP: “I don’t care what–I don’t like stinky riders. Most of the time, I get off just to get away from them.”
Friend of man across from IP (who happens to be sitting right next to a certain, sensitive-nosed, pregnant bus chick): “I’m with you. I worked a full day and don’t smell that bad.”