day : 25/12/2011 6 results

Thanks to Debra Salazar Herbst for sharing the view from south of Alki Point before sunset today – and David Hutchinson for a closer view of what we believe is the same kayaker:

The waves came as the day’s second high tide approached – but today’s afternoon high tide wasn’t as high as the morning high tides coming in the next two days (here’s the chart). Tomorrow (6:41 am) and Tuesday (7:16 am) bring the highest of this season’s so-called “king tides” – both 12.8 feet. Obviously that’s before it gets light, but the day after that, you might get a good look at a tide almost that high, 12.7 feet at 7:51 am on Wednesday. P.S. If you photograph any of these really-high tides, the state Department of Ecology would love to see your photos (and so would we!).

ADDED TUESDAY: We did go out early this morning to see what the “king tide” looked like – a little dark for anything really spectacular but if you regularly visit Seacrest, for example, you can tell in our photo (taken just after 7 am) that the tide was quite high:

Share This

Who’s open, West Seattle Christmas 2011: Restaurants/bars

December 25, 2011 4:04 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants | WS beverages

If you’re thinking about going out for dinner and/or drinks, here’s who either told us they’d be open or posted it somewhere visible online…

FEEDBACK LOUNGE (WSB sponsor), 4 pm-2 am (both food and drink)
THE THAITAN, open with full menu and delivery till 9 pm
A TERRIBLE BEAUTY, special dinner menu, till 11 pm (menu here)
BEVERIDGE PLACE PUB: Open 6 pm-2 am
THE BRIDGE: Opens at 4 pm – lounge only
SHADOWLAND: Open
TUG INN: 8 pm-2 am, “Karaoke Christmas and Ugly Sweater Contest”
YEN WOR, 9 pm-2 am. Lounge only. Karaoke at 9.
(added) OUTWEST BAR (open per Facebook comment)

We’re sure there are at least a few more, so if you know of any, please add a comment. Thanks! (If you’re looking for grocery-store info, here’s the short version – the QFCs just closed, the Safeways are open till 5, then no supermarkets are open in this area till 5 tomorrow morning.)

Share This

West Seattle Weather Watch update: Blustery holiday

December 25, 2011 11:04 am

| 36 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

11:04 AM: Wind’s kicked up in a big way this past half-hour or so, at least here in Upper Fauntleroy, which is particularly worrisome on a holiday – will the power go out while the turkey/ham/whatever is baking, etc. – but so far, no special weather advisories, just a forecast that says “breezy, 15-25 mph.” At 11 am, though, the Weather Service recorded a 43 mph gust at Alki Point. We’ll update if the forecast/state of advisory-less-ness changes.

11:39 AM UPDATE: Outages now – mostly Shorewood/White Center/North Burien, with a bit of South Park affected, according to the City Light map. We also have some Comcast trouble reported.

NOON UPDATE: And NOW the Weather Service has issued an advisory – till 3 pm, gusts up to 50 mph (read it here). Also just added a bit of video, maybe most of interest if you are reading this from out of town – the wind tousling (to put it mildly) the tree across the street from us.

12:40 PM UPDATE: Things have been a lot quieter for the past 20-plus minutes, though the storm has headed northward (past West Seattle) and left thousands of people without power there too (currently more than 11,000 around City Light’s service area). There’s word of a tree down on 16th north of South Seattle Community College – so you may have to detour in that area for a while.

1:47 PM: Metro sent word that Route 125 is routed off 16th SW between Dawson and Myrtle, apparently because of the aforementioned tree.

2:41 PM: There’s one outage listed in West Seattle now, 13 homes/businesses in the 55th/56th/Alki Avenue area. That’s one of more than 40 around City Light’s service area, with almost 17,000 homes/businesses still out of power. In Lincoln Park, tree branches are down – thanks to Anne for the photo.

3:15 PM: The wind advisory has expired; the forecast for tonight and beyond is quieter (then again, today’s wind wasn’t originally in the forecast, so we won’t get complacent!). Meantime, the tree on 16th isn’t cleared yet, Cecilia says in the comment section:

Just went to check out where the downed tree on 16th is. The road is blocked at the curve where 16th turns into Dawson. I talked to the officer stationed there and he said there is a live power line down at 17th and Dawson but the intersection is free at 18th and Dawson for detours and no ETA on when it will be cleared.

Share This

West Seattle Christmas Day 2011: Where to find coffee

December 25, 2011 7:56 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| Holidays | West Seattle news | WS beverages

Not an all-inclusive list, but another combination of what we found online plus what we received after publishing an open invitation to share info:

HOTWIRE ONLINE COFFEEHOUSE (WSB sponsor) open 8 am-2 pm
RED CUP ESPRESSO 8 am-noon
DIVA ESPRESSO 8 am-1 pm.
TULLY’S ON ALKI open till 3 pm
CHACO CANYON CAFE open till 10:30 am for coffee and tea (no food or juices)
FRESHY’S COFFEE opening at 8:30 am, open till 2-ish
CAFFE DELIA (in the Proletariat Pizza storefront in White Center) open 9 am-1 pm
CAFFE LADRO open till noon
(added) UPTOWN ESPRESSO/JUNCTION is open (noticed while driving by)
(added) STARBUCKS/ADMIRAL is open, per comment below

Anybody else you’ve found that’s open today? Post a comment and we’ll add to the list.

LOOKING FOR AN OPEN GROCERY STORE? There are five, all in this list we published previously.

LOOKING FOR RESTAURANTS? See the Holidays page.

Share This

Update: Stella, stolen by Christmas Eve burglars, now home

December 25, 2011 1:50 am

| 56 COMMENTS

| Crime | Pets | West Seattle news

(UPDATED with Stella back home – see below)

ORIGINAL 1:50 AM REPORT: The dog on the left is Stella – and her people are without her this Christmas morning, after burglar/s stole her (and more) on Christmas Eve. Chris sent this report late Saturday night:

My in-laws in West Seattle, on 31st Avenue and SW Holden St, [map] in the High Point neighborhood were robbed tonight. Their names are Mark and Jodi … and they are some of the kindest people I know. They were gone for most of the afternoon and evening delivering presents to their family around the Puget Sound area.

The thieves took all their Christmas gifts, family heirloom Christmas decorations, their electronics (TV, computer, etc).

But the BIGGEST loss, is their dog. Stella, a 3 year old female spayed Boxer (usually with a pink rope-style collar) was stolen by these heartless thieves. If you can help us to find her, it would mean the world to us all. I attached a photo of Stella, she’s on the left in the picture.

Gifts and electronics can be replaced, and heirlooms are only to remind us of the memories we already have. Their wonderful, kind, dog however is not replaceable. We’re all completely heartbroken that she was taken; my in-laws loved her like a child, and my own puppy (on the right in the photo) loved her so much.

Chris says they hope getting the word out might bring Stella home. We’ve added her to the WSB Pets page, too.

10:22 AM UPDATE: Good news! Just in from Chris:

Just to update: apparently Stella came home this morning. Not sure if she was just accidentally released by the burglars or if they let her go. Still traumatic to have the robbery have occurred, but with the only items missing being Christmas presents, I know we’ll have a much better Christmas. I’m seeing her return as the best present we could have gotten, under the circumstances. Family and friends (including the 4-footed variety) is what the holidays are really about.

Apparently she just showed up at the door – not hurt, Chris says, but “very scared.”

Share This

West Seattle Christmas lights: Three displays in Admiral

December 25, 2011 1:04 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Holidays | West Seattle Christmas lights | West Seattle news

Merry Christmas! We’re suddenly running out of holiday time to show you the great displays people have sent tips about, so this time around we have three, all in the greater Admiral area – two from tips, one that we spotted near a tipped location. Above, the red-and-green-lit skyline is in the yard that every Halloween is transformed into the stage for the amazing animatronics of Skeleton Theatre, 36th/Hanford (thanks to the person who texted us about it today). Not even a full block south, we found this home, where the lights (adorning its side as well as its front) are even grander than our photo suggests: