Sounds of Puget and Sights of Alki
Urgent work popped up in Seattle, so had to postpone the next leg of the beach tour to the New Jersey shores. Checking out the things to do in drizzly Seattle wasn't exactly at the top of my to-do list, but I'd heard a lot about Alki Beach, so I decided to spend half a day checking out the Seattle beaches.
The thing about Seattle is that if the weather Gods smile, there are very few places which can compare to a fun day out on the beaches, or shopping or just hanging out at the malls and street side cafes. The only other comparable environment I can think of is the Millenium Park in Chicago. And luckily enough, I seemed to have chosen the right time to hit Seattle, in between storms, so to speak...
Anyway, after doodling around Pike Place Market for a bit, I made my way down to Alki. The Alki Beach Park extends for about 2.5 miles from Alki Point to Duwamish Head on Elliott Bay. All the Seattle nuts were out in full force to take in as much of the last vestiges of summer as possible, and I had to weave my way in through an obstacle course of joggers, bicyclists, roller blade fanatics and all kinds of sun worshippers and beach bums. Most seemed to be Seattle residents, and very few tourists. In fact, nobody seemed to be paying any attention to anyone else.
The Puget Sound water was beautiful, and so was the view of the Seattle skyline and the Olympic Mountains. Now I know why they make such a big deal out of Puget Sound and Cape Cod. I wanted to hang around till the evening to see how it looked like with the lights twinkling across the water, but that would have to wait for another visit. There's a restroom at the south end of the beach, and fire rings too, but the entire beach seemed more geared towards what the locals wanted, rather than any attempt to attract tourists.
As such, I'd give points for beauty, but deduct some for giving a cold shoulder to visitors. I suppose that's what happens when you have a beach so close to downtown Seattle with all its restaurants and shops and attractions. In order to be an attraction all by itself, a beach needs to be at least some distance from the urban bedlam.
