May 18, 2013 - Bike Rack

A themed bike rack at soccer fields on Whidbey Island.

May 17, 2013 - Ferry Gnome

I'm not sure how long this guy has been here, but Friday was the first time I'd seen him.  My daughters brought him to my attention.  He reposes on the ferry dock pillar watching ferries come and go from the Clinton ferry dock on Whidbey Island.  Next time you land there be sure to give him a smile and a wave!

May 16, 2013 - Twilight Crossing

Under a waxing crescent moon, the Washington State ferry M/V Cathlamet, heads east to Mukilteo from Whidbey Island, as the setting sun illuminates clouds above the Cascades.

May 13, 2013 - There Goes The Neighborhood

Perhaps not quite the Seattle icon as the Space Needle, Silver Platters is nonetheless, one of the area's finest independent music retailers.  In the corner of their parking lot, the company's 'tagged' cargo truck fits in nicely with its surroundings.  When Silver Platters opened in 1985, it was the first music retailers in the region, and one of the first in the nation, that did not sell vinyl.  They will be relocating from this location, previously a Tower Records store, to the SoDo district in June.  This comes just months after another independent retailer, Easy Street Records, closed their Lower Queen Anne store. Easy Street Records still has a location in West Seattle.

While one might think that the age of the independent record store is numbered, Matt Vaughn, the owner of Easy Street Records seems to think otherwise.  He reported in an open letter to his customers this January that while 2012 was one their "better years", at the end of a they just weren't able to come to terms with a landlord who wanted a long-term lease.  The landlord was able to come to terms with Chase Bank for a new branch.  It won't be nearly as much fun a place to go check out....and they probably won't have in-branch concerts either!