Betty MacDonald in Seattle

Lorinda:

What a well-written and amusing account of a visit to Seattle!

I have a few additional facts that Letizia Mancino and others might be interested to know. Although we no longer live in Seattle (we are now 3 hours south by freeway), we still visit several times a year and read the newspaper online almost every day.

The Seattle Viaduct freeway is being replaced by a sleek underground tunnel road that will open up much Seattle's cityscape to the waterfront. While the tunnel is being dug, the ugly viaduct is being torn down and closed in sections. The viaduct has long been an eyesore because it has blocked off waterfront views and brought air pollution to the neighborhood. It was also dangerous because it was built on unstable fill dirt and has gotten more structural cracks each time there is an earthquake. Seattle and most of the West Coast are part of the Ring of Fire that includes Japan, Alaska, and New Zealand. A park will be created in place of the viaduct and the new waterfront area will slope down to meet Puget Sound. It is planned to be a pedestrian area, similar to what San Francisco did with their waterfront when they tore down the Embarcadero Freeway. At the north end of downtown Seattle there is a fairly new sculpture garden with amazing territorial views, built in a reclaimed industrial area. The newest waterfront park will be an extension of that. It's more than time to open up the waterfront to be appreciated for its natural beauty and not its traffic.

Honestly, I never tried geoduck either, during all of the 25 years or so I lived in Seattle. Just looking at one makes me lose my appetite. It looks like the appendage of a horse. People who've had it say it is rubbery anyway, so if you want my opinion, you didn't miss anything not eating it. Yuck!

My 14-year-old nephew attends school at the former Firland Sanitorium, now King's School, a private religious high school and middle school in the Shoreline suburb of Seattle. It still has most of the same buildings that were there during Betty's stay, and a number of newer buildings have been added. There is also a retirement village on campus with separate cottages for the occupants. It's very quiet and peaceful and the grounds have beautiful mature trees and shrubs.

Seattle is a big city with traffic woes, but it still has so much to offer. I never tire of its scenic views with mountains on all 4 sides of the city, sparkling lakes, and the emerald green of the San Juan Islands and Kitsap Peninsula, all covered with trees. I've lived there long enough to know that there is really no suburb or island that has easy access to downtown, due to the natural geography of the area. Even if you live on an island, you live according the ferry schedules. There are lakes and floating bridges and the narrow isthmus of land that downtown Seattle is built on. That narrow isthmus is the biggest reason for its traffic troubles. That, and of course, the area's population. Seattle has been building light rail transit for the past 15 years and it will be "finished" in another 10 or so.

There is nothing that feeds the soul quite like seeing massive Mt. Rainier looming on the horizon at sunrise with pink shades of sun hitting the snow on it, looking for all the world like a giant ice cream cone. There are always mountains, every way you turn. These are REAL mountains with snow on them and jagged peaks, not the "dead brown hills" of Southern California. There are 7 major hills in the Seattle area and this makes it easier to see the neighborhoods marching up Queen Anne Hill, for example. I've seen bald eagles at all the lakes; they go where the salmon are. Another visual treat is watching a floatplane take off or land on Lake Union. Sugarplum lights are installed in all the downtown street trees as soon as the leaves fall and stay in until spring when the leaves return. Some of my favorite viewpoints for excellent photos are from West Seattle or while on a ferryboat to the Kitsap Peninsula. It's amazing how quickly a ferryboat can take you from the bustle of downtown to the rural, heavily treed islands of Vashon and Whidbey, and many other places besides.

Can you tell I still love Seattle? Always will.

Happy New Year!

Lorinda

Letizia Mancino's website
http://www.letizia-mancino.eu/

Letizia Mancino, beloved artist and writer, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Member
http://letiziamancino.blogspot.com/

Letizia Mancino's Homage a Betty MacDonald
http://www.letizia-mancino.eu/index.php?page=gallery

Hilde Domin Fan Club
http://hildedominfreundeskreis.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter, Betty MacDonald's friend, described as Kimi in The Plague and I, honour member of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://monicasone.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Society
http://monicasonesociety.blogspot.com/

Monica Sone Fan Club
http://monicasonefanclub.blogspot.com/

Gwen Grant's website

http://www.gwengrant.co.uk/

Gwen Grant, beloved writer and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Member

http://gwengrantsociety.blogspot.com/

Eva Vargas, Eva Vargas Fan Club, Eva Vargas Society, Künstlerin, Autorin, Komponistin, Sängerin, artist, author, composer, singer
http://evavargas.blogspot.com/

Alison Bard Burnett, Betty MacDonald's and Mary Bard's brilliant sister, beloved all over the world. Her very funny and witty interviews with Wolfgang Hampel about her famous sisters Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard are real treasures.

http://alisonbard.blogspot.com/


Ma and Pa Kettle Society
http://maandpakettlesociety.blogspot.com/2010/05/betty-macdonalds-ma-and-pa-kettle.html

Betty MacDonald Fan Club
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bettymacdonald/

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Alison Bard Burnett, Betty MacDonald's and Mary Bard's brilliant sister, beloved all over the world. Her very funny and witty interviews with Wolfgang Hampel about her famous sisters Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard are real treasures.
http://alisonbard.blogspot.com/

Darsie Beck Artist and writer of Your Essential Nature - A Practical Guide to Greater Creativity and Spiritual Harmony - nephew of authors Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard - Honour Member of Betty MacDonald Society and Fan Club
http://darsiebeck.blogspot.com/

Linde Lund created the Betty MacDonald, Monica Sone and Wolfgang Hampel Blogs
http://www.blogger.com/profile/15388942569315864610

Betty MacDonald Interviews on CD and DVD

http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/06/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items-comments.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-fan-club-items.html
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/betty-macdonald-interviews-on-cddvd_17.html

Betty MacDonald Community
http://bettymacdonaldcommunity.blogspot.com/

You can find more info about our Betty MacDonald projects and events in the future.

Wolfgang Hampel, author of the Betty MacDonald Biography and winner of the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award founded Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Society in 1983. We are the largest Betty MacDonald Fan Club in the world - with members in 30 countries. Join our wonderful international Betty MacDonald Community!
We have tons of fun!

Betty MacDonald - Fan Club of Betty MacDonald and Society of Betty MacDonald
http://bettymacdonald.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Fan Club
http://bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Forum
http://bettymacdonaldforum.blogspot.com/

Betty MacDonald Society
http://bettymacdonaldsociety.blogspot.com/

Mary Bard Jensen Society
http://marybardsociety.blogspot.com/

Alison Bard Burnett Fan Club and Society
http://alisonbard.blogspot.com/

Nancy and Plum Fan Club
http://nancyandplumfanclub.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Fan Club
http://pigglewigglefanclub.blogspot.com/


Darsie Beck Artist and writer of Your Essential Nature - A Practical Guide to Greater Creativity and Spiritual Harmony - nephew of authors Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard - Honour Member of Betty MacDonald Society and Fan Club
http://darsiebeck.blogspot.com/

Wolfgang Hampel Founder of Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society
http://wolfganghampel.blogspot.com/

Wolfgang Hampel Society
Wolfgang Hampel, winner of first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award, author, journalist, artist, poet

http://wolfganghampelsociety.blogspot.com/

Wolfgang Hampel Fan Club

Wolfgang Hampel, interviewer of Betty MacDonald's family and friends and many other famous artists and writers. Wolfgang Hampel is also famous for his satirical poems and stories.

http://wolfganghampelfanclub.blogspot.com/

http://wolfganghampelsociety.blogspot.com/

Wolfgang Hampel Fan Club

Wolfgang Hampel interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends and many other famous artists and writers. Wolfgang Hampel is also famous for his satirical poems and stories.

http://wolfganghampelfanclub.blogspot.com/