It's Bellevue's Incorporation Anniversary

Yippee!

Actually other than shopping in Bellevue, working in Bellevue and my kid being born in Bellevue, Bellevue is not all that important to me. But hey you celebrate your 56th year of incorporation only once, so here's a couple of photos of Bellevue. Both shots where taken the evening after Quin was born.

Ahh

Dan

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad

Since today is the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul transcontinental railroad, I thought I would show off some pictures of the Ol' Milwaukee Road. The CM&St.P was third and final transcontinental railroad to make Seattle its terminus. It was the most technologically advanced and poorest run of the three. The line went bankrupt several times and spent years looking to merge with some other line. Lucky for us in Washington state, they also employed lousy accountants. For several years western branch of the line looked to be losing money hand over fist, this would eventually lead to the abandonment of the line west of Montana and the eventual creation of the Iron Horse and Snoqualmie Valley trails. Only after abandonment did it come to light an accounting mistake actually was the reason the western branch was not profitable and if corrected would have shown the branch as one of the most profitable portions of the railroad. I'd like to thank those bad accountants, as it is for them I don't have trains running a block from my house. Tonight's photos are of the Beverly Bridge over the Columbia River, the old train station in Kittitas and a power substation in South Cle Elum.

Enjoy

Dan

Favorites

I started to show off favorite photos a while back, but then was side tracked by vacations and other stuff. So tonight I thought I would return to the favorites theme, with a picture from New York City. It is of the photography studio of a photographer named Tracy. I wish I could remember her last name off the top of my head but I cannot. This studio was also the were my friend Richard lived. He rented a paper walled room in one corner of the space. Anyway this photo is looking back toward the fire escape and the kitchen area. The photograph on the wall is of Moby with gold paint on his face.

Enjoy

Dan

Waiting on Spring

Spring seems reluctant make an appearance this year, as evident by this morning 2 inches of wet snow here in North Bend. So once again I give you pictures of spring flowers.

Enjoy

Dan

Sunday Night Blogging

Well after a rather relaxing weekend of watching basketball, eating pancakes and feeding ducks, I really don't have much to say. Maybe it was too relaxing, maybe not, I mean is there such a monster as too relaxing. All that aside, I have been wanting and waiting to get out and take photos of spring on a warm (ish) sunny day. It hasn't happened yet, hopefully it will soon. So tonight I give you daffodils near Puyallup or Sumner, if this doesn't look like spring on the west side I don't what does. Okay I do, it's grey skies and rain, but I'm trying to be positive here.

Enjoy

Dan

Happy Not Belated Birthday Jessica

Ah, another day and another phone call to Chase, what jerks, wait, another day and yet another birthday. Today is Jessica's Birthday, she's still young and doesn't work for Chase, so Jessica is great. Actually, Jessica would still be great if she worked for Chase, however Chase would still be jerks. Jessica is a great person to know, she's fun and interesting and all sorts of stuff like that. So happy birthday!

Dan

Ted, Just Admit It

Happy belated, seems there are lots of belated things these days, belated birthday, Mr. Artist. I'd make fun of your age, but you are younger than me. I'd make fun of your car, but I sold it to you. So instead, Happy Birthday and my sincerest wishes that this year will be your super best year ever!

Dan

So Long Post Intelligencer

Tomorrow will be the end of the Seattle Post Intelligencer at least as a print newspaper. It will be a sad day, not because the PI was that great a paper, it really wasn't, but because the PI has been here almost since the beginning.

When the PI first hit the streets in 1863, Lincoln was President, and Doc Maynard was still alive, and for that matter so were most of the guys Seattle's streets are named for, in fact those guys were Seattle in 1863, since only 250 people lived here.

Come Wednesday morning Seattle will be like most other big cities in this nation, it will have only one daily. That's a sign of the times and probably not a good one if you believe in Jefferson's viewpoint on the press.

If you go to the PI's web page or the Times' web page there are plenty of classic PI front pages from throughout the years. I thought I'd toss in my personal favorite. Why is it my favorite, no its not because of the Italian earthquake, its the picture of my parents on the front page. You see my dad was in a motorcycle accident on I-5, so the PI sent a reporter and photographer out to interview him, I remember thinking it was funny that it was a PI reporter, since we got Times.

RIP PI

Dan

Happy Belated Birthday North Bend

North Bend turned one hundred years old on March 12th, one hundred years is also how long it will be before I do business with Chase again, but that is a different story. The audacity to charge somebody $78 for their mistake and then only offer to credit $39 of it back. Sorry that is supposed to be a different story, because we are all super excited for North Bend's 100th birthday. Yup back in 1909, Taft was President, a Model T was a rather new idea and construction of the Titanic had just begun. Oh so much as changed, but North Bend really hasn't, except its bigger and the highway doesn't run through downtown. So here's to the next one hundred years North Bend.

As for photo's of North Bend, I really don't have much, not that I don't think it is picturesque but I just have never taken many photos of it. So tonight's photo is the real place to get a damn good piece of pie, before fire and change of ownership.

Enjoy

California

What can I say, a week in the California sun, makes it easy to ignore your 401k and the state of nation and for that matter the world. It was really nice to get away. We kept very busy for the entire time, I'll let Cicely fill in the details on what we did however so check out the Team Williams blog. There is a link on the left side. Anyway its tough to be back in rainy cold Washington and it was tough giving up the Lincoln too, but that's another story. If you have read Blog you know I have purchased a new lens for my camera. So this trip provided a great opportunity to break it in, and it is really wonderful. Anyway tonight I thought I'd put together a few shots from our week in California. Again, check out the Team Williams Blog for the details on the trip.

Enjoy

Now that I'm back from vacation please be advised that I'll be returning to a Sunday, Wednesday and Friday blogging schedule.

The Return of America's Finest Blog

Welcome back readers of this delightful blog. Your blogger has returned from San Diego and is ready to resume blogging, shortly. However due to flight delays today, I really don't have much new to post, so today I'll just say that we had much fun over the last week and that today's photo comes from the personal favorites file. "Jesus Saves," was once painted all over the rocks along old US 10, in Grant County.

Enjoy

Dan

The Stock Market Blues, Is GM Still Good for America, Disneyland and Debbie's Birthday

Oh, its just not very good times here in America, and things just don't seem to be looking better anytime soon. Greedy and powerful people of all political leanings have derailed the American Dream, baby boomers retirement, and the means of just getting by for many Americans. Hopefully our leaders can lead long enough help get the nation pointed in the right direction. Now is the time to nationalize our banks and the mortgage system to return confidence in the system and to give all American homeowners a chance to put money back into the economy, through lower interest rates on their mortgages. If you are really working for us Obama, you'd do it.

It is behind this dark cloud of economic gloom that we take a family vacation to San Diego. I'd like to travel during happier times but I can only do so much. Since on this trip we will be making our first family trip to Disneyland, I have pulled out some photos from the last family trip to Disneyland. The kid with the California Angels cap is my sister Debbie, it's her birthday Saturday, so happy B-Day Deb. Anyway enjoy the photos and I'll resume blogging again sometime after the 12th, unless Obama nationalizes America's Finest Blog.

Dan

Annie and Karli

Today's photo is of my nieces, Annie and Karli. This photo is from a couple of weeks before Christmas of 1998.

Enjoy

Dan

Mom in the Great Outdoors

My mother wasn't really an outdoors person, after all the outdoors contained bugs and dirt. I don't really remember my mother being flexible on this subject either, other than we owned a travel trailer for a time. I remember her lamenting about the fact the trailer required cleaning all the time when we went camping. So to see my mother in the great outdoors and actually giving it, "the old college try," with regards to enjoying herself, is surprising. It also is refreshing and proof that just about anyone can do anything.

Dan