Sun-basking by day, salsa by night: Summer arrives on Alki

Statue of Liberty Plaza morphed into a dance floor tonight on Alki, as a long-awaited salsa-dancing celebration finally arrived, to unbelievably perfect weather. Thanks to Debra Herbst for sharing a photo of the fun. (If you missed it, mark your calendar for two weeks from tonight, the second of four Salsa on Alki events scheduled this summer – here’s the Facebook event page.) Earlier, the beach itself grew more crowded as the day moved on toward an eventual high temperature just two degrees short of 80:

That photo is courtesy of David Hutchinson, who also reports that Harbor and Alki Avenues took on the traditional summertime backup, too – he says he was stuck in traffic for 20 minutes just getting between the West Seattle Bridge and Seacrest Pier, so from there, he detoured up to the Admiral District to make it home to Alki without too much further delay. Tomorrow is expected to be a lot like today – sunny, 70s.

Noelle June 4, 2011 (11:29 pm)

AWESOME Day! Beautiful Evening! Great Photos!

Sue June 5, 2011 (7:04 am)

This is the time of year I think twice about my office at ActivSpace. Trying to get out of the parking lot at noon yesterday to go back to Avalon (not even towards Alki) was a ordeal – between trying not to hit bikes/runners on the bike path (sidewalk), nor the cars streaming towards Alki. This is why I never even attempt Alki in summer.

Alison June 5, 2011 (7:09 am)

I tried going down there to ride my bike. WHOA!! Bad mistake! People everywhere, people not paying attention to pedestrians or bikers, very scary! This reminds me to stay away from Alki for most of the summer!

Steph June 5, 2011 (8:08 am)

Alki turns into my least favorite part of West Seattle on days like these. Couldn’t pay me to deal with that. All the “outsiders” come in.

DJ June 5, 2011 (8:20 am)

Since we have the beach to ourselves 90% of the year and love it, I think we can all understand the outsiders need to come to the beach when the sun is out. Just relax, we don’t have all that much sun in Seattle. LOL

Recall McGinn June 5, 2011 (9:27 am)

Great to be at Alki!

As for all of those “outsiders” who enjoy Alki during the warm weather, some of them spend their money in local West Seattle businesses.

And that’s a good thing.

Mack June 5, 2011 (9:29 am)

I was there in the crowd yesterday. I noticed the palm trees on the beach for the first time. When were they planted?

WSB June 5, 2011 (10:38 am)

Were they left over from the Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas movie shoot?

Diane June 5, 2011 (10:20 am)

No problem with all of the people coming to enjoy Alki, it was great yesterday altho crowded. But it would be even better if everyone would pick up after themselves or better yet pack out what they bring in. I know, I know its a ongoing problem. The trash I picked up this morning was disgusting including dirty diapers. Anyone walking their dogs should be aware that someone left onions all over the ground near where the pigeons usually are. I picked up as many as I could.

Tish June 5, 2011 (10:34 am)

Thank you for being so responsible and looking out for others Diane.

So sorry I missed yesterday’s events. We are lucky to have such a gem as our private playground most of the year. Happy to share.

David Hutchinson June 5, 2011 (11:15 am)

The palms were planted by the Parks Department near the east end of the beach.
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The trash was very bad this morning, particularly around the fire rings. Thanks Diane for your volunteer effort to keep Alki looking its best.

Steph June 5, 2011 (11:29 am)

I say it all in fun everyone. Plenty of other awesome places to be in West Seattle, don’t mind sharing Alki.

Peter on Fauntleroy June 5, 2011 (12:32 pm)

@Steph: “Outsiders?” All of Seattle pays for our parks for use by EVERYONE. There is no such thing as an “outsider” in any public park.
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PoF. Standing up to NIMBYism wherever I find it.

David Hutchinson June 5, 2011 (1:06 pm)

Actually Peter, I think that depends on the context in which you are using the term. One definition of an “outsider” is “a person who does not belong to a particular group”. That group can legitimately be defined in a variety of ways – Alki residents, West Seattle residents, Seattle residents, etc.
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Yes, we all pay for our parks and they are open to all. However, if I went to a Seattle park in any neighborhood outside of Alki/West Seattle and my behavior had a negative impact on others, I am sure that the local residents would view me as an “outsider”.

Paul June 5, 2011 (1:47 pm)

litterbugs

chas redmond June 5, 2011 (5:38 pm)

Don’t know how much trust one wants to put in lore – but here’s the June/July Farmer’s Almanac prediction for Seattle:
JUNE 2011: temperature 60 ° (2 ° below avg. north, 2 ° above south); precipitation 2″ (0.5″ above avg.); Jun 1-6: Scattered showers, cool; Jun 7-11: Sunny, warm; Jun 12-19: Scattered showers, cool; Jun 20-23: Rain, then sunny, cool; Jun 24-26: Rain and mist, cool; Jun 27-30: Sunny, seasonable.

JULY 2011: temperature 64.5 ° (2 ° below avg. north, 2 ° above south); precipitation 0.2″ (0.3″ below avg.); Jul 1-9: Scattered t-storms, cool; Jul 10-15: Sunny, cool; Jul 16-22: Showers, then sunny, warm; Jul 23-27: Sunny, hot; Jul 28-31: Scattered t-storms, warm.

mind you this may make it even more appealing to be at Alki rather than less.

I used to live in Washington DC and we always felt like Summer belonged to everyone in America and Fall, Winter and most of Spring belonged to us Washingtonians. Same is sorta true here – Alki come summer belongs to anyone in the greater Northwest – I always see lots of folks from Idaho who always wanted to see a “city beach.” Besides which, I usually walk or bike there and love crowds – especially of outsiders because you can strike up a short “howdy, whatchadoin” kinda thing and learn something.

datamuse June 6, 2011 (12:08 pm)

Chas, I grew up in the D.C. area and I never could figure out why everybody wanted to come there in the summer. May and September are the best months out of the year. There’s a reason Congress recesses in August…
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Conversely, I can understand why people would want to congregate on Alki in warm weather. I just wish we’d get more than a day or two of it at a time.

Sorry, comment time is over.