West Seattle, Washington
12 Saturday
Thanks to Steven Rice for the photo of the two fighter jets that flew over north West Seattle about an hour ago – F/A-18s as identified by the photographer, a texter, and image search. While we haven’t been able to find confirmation of this, it seemed likely to have been a Mariners flyover, since their game started just after 1 pm. (Anyone reading this at the ballpark who can confirm?)
11:25 AM: The report and photos were sent by CJ:
I found this two bags (near 42nd/Holly). One includes at a Dell laptop computer and what appears to be a folder containing school work from WSHS.
If you know who these bags belong to, contact us – westseattleblog@gmail.com – and we’ll connect you with the finder, who has taken them for safekeeping.
1:55 PM: As noted in comments – reunited.
1:22 PM: Just a note in case you’re hearing the cannon fire: The Seafair Pirates, aboard the landing craft Prudhoe Bay again this year, are on their way to storm Alki Beach. Updates to come.
1:38 PM: The Pirates have arrived. Lots of cannon fire preceded. We’re told they’ll seize the key to the city from a deputy mayor.
2:06 PM: Still awaiting that.
2:49 PM: All the antics and ceremony aboard Moby Duck – with Queen Alcyone (former SPD Chief Carmen Best), King Neptune (former TV news anchor Eric Johnson), and Deputy Mayor Greg Wong – has concluded. Separate report later with pics and video! (Update: See all that here.)
It’s not quite lemonade-stand weather. So this enterprising trio has set up a Pokémon-card stand instead! One participant’s parent sent us the photo, noting you can find them until 3 or so by the 38th SW/SW Barton standpipe in Upper Fauntleroy.
Sent by Lucia, who also has checked with nearby residents to be sure this isn’t theirs:
Near the corner of 36th SW and Southwest Findlay. A large plastic toolbox like one that would be in a pick up truck bed. Large gas, canisters and other debris. It is stashed between two cars that would not have had the toolbox in them.
René found these in unusual-enough circumstances, we’re mentioning them here:
I found two credit cards for Garrett H——. A VISA and a Discover card.
Found at the northbound bus stop at California Ave SW and Hanford just outside of St. John the Baptist Church.
I also found a pair of contact lenses in a blue and white case. Those were found at California Ave SW and Spokane St.
Looking to return all to their owners.
If any might be yours, contact us and we’ll connect you.
P.S. For items likely simply lost, our Lost/Found/Non-pets board is a self-post area in the WSB Community Forums, and you can get a login here.
Two “found, possibly dumped/stolen” reports:
BINOCULARS: Sent by Evan:
I found a pair of nice-looking Bushnell Binoculars in a leather case on the median outside our house near SW 17th and Trenton.
Evan took them in for safekeeping – if they’re yours, let us know and we’ll connect you.
SCOOTER: Brandon spotted this in front of Alki Dental (we don’t know its current status):
Reminder that for discoveries more likely to have been simply “lost,” we have a self-post “lost/found/nonpets” board in the WSB Community Forums; you need a log-in, which should be easily obtainable here.
(Added: WSB photos)
11:15 AM: Several questions so far this morning about a film crew set up on the SW Barton side of Fauntleroy Park. We asked the Fauntleroy Watershed Council if they had any notification, since this is salmon-release season and they routinely have volunteers in the park as well as dozens of visiting students. They hadn’t been notified in advance but did some investigating for us and volunteer John learned, “They’re shooting stills for Kia car company that will be used in a variety of marketing material. They will be there all day.”
12:29 PM: Added photos. As volunteer John added in a followup email, “They’re taking shots of a new Kia vehicle nestled under a cedar.”
The photo and report are from Laura:
A box of someone’s family Christmas ornaments / decorations was found in the alley behind my house near Admiral Safeway this morning. It looks like it was stolen and dumped. Could you post a photo of this box to see if I might connect it to the owner?
Recognize it? Contact us and we’ll connect you.
Thanks to West Seattle photographer Steven Rice for these images of sightings today:
Above, he says, that’s “Vietnam’s CB-8022 (formerly USCGC Mellon) as viewed from the north end of West Seattle around 11:30 this morning.” (A smaller US Coast Guard vessel is in the photo too.) Mellon was decommissioned by the USCG five years ago; at the time, it was to be transferred to Bahrain. It is reported to have been acquired by Vietnam in 2023.
Steven also sent this montage of “four shots taken around 12:30 from the north end of West Seattle today. This is the third time I’ve heard and/or seen it since April 4th. Apparently it’s an F-15SA used for various types of training exercises.”
We’re still researching, but F-15SA is reported to be a Boeing-built fighter jet that flies for Saudi Arabia.
(Photo by James Tilley, from 2023 Seahawks-gameday flyover by Growlers from Whidbey)
The Mariners‘ season starts tomorrow, with an evening game vs. Oakland at T-Mobile Park. And the Mariners’ media memo for the homestand reveals the 7:10 pm game will be preceded by a flyover. Since that often means the participating aircraft are sighted over West Seattle in advance, we asked M’s spokesperson Adam Gersch for specifics:”U.S. Navy, flying a pair of EA-18G fighter jets in a south-to-north flight pattern.” Those are also known as Growlers, many of which are based at NAS Whidbey Island.
Sent by Kersti Muul:
No hints at the owner’s ID, but she spotted this while passing by at 35th/Holden (see Station 37 in the background) and propped it up against a utility pole. She says the contents include medicine, sunscreen, personal-care items but “seems definitely stolen and dumped.” (When items seem just plain lost, this is our board for those.)
If you’ve been in The Junction today, you might have seen the workers hanging lights in trees. As reported here recently, the West Seattle Junction Association is expanding its tree lighting, and this is phase 2, along California SW between Oregon and Genesee. Phase 1 of the expansion added lights to trees along SW Alaska.
(WSB photo)
It wouldn’t be St. Patrick’s Day in West Seattle if we didn’t get a chance to visit 41st Avenue SW north of Admiral Way to check whether the mysterious green stripe has been refreshed. Yes, it has, and our photo above shows the proof. Who does this? Still a mystery … but a commenter in the ’00s said it dates back to the ’70s! (The Seattle Irish Week celebration downtown includes a green street stripe too, but that’s done a bit more ceremoniously.)
We don’t cross the bridge often, so we hadn’t seen this sign until Lisa texted this photo today:
We have noticed this sign a few weeks ago. It’s so hopeful. We love West Seattle! It says “Your mistakes don’t define you.”
Love, Lisa, Ben, and Max The Third
Commentary on the crashes? The concrete? Or? Lisa says it’s on both sides of the southwest end of the bridge.
From the WSB inbox this Valentine’s Day:
Jerry Simmons photographed the Steller’s Jay, above; below, Gabe Cadwell shares the pic of “Cupid Lilly”:
Hope you and yours are having a love-ly Valentine’s night.
Thanks for the photos, both sent this afternoon:
ISS OVER ALKI: The photo is from Steven Rice, who explains, “This was around 6:15 pm. The International Space Station was visible for well over 5 minutes (moving from right to left) and reached a height of 48°. I also noticed the sandbags in place awaiting the coming tides.” If for some reason there’s a break in the clouds tonight or tomorrow, here are the next ISS-viewing opportunities over Seattle.
DUCK ACROSS THE BAY: That photo is from a texter who looked across Elliott Bay from West Seattle and spotted the giant “rubber duck” atop the Lumen Field Event Center, where the 61-foot-tall duck has been placed as a promotion for the upcoming Seattle Boat Show.
Sent by Chris:
Saw this guy put a box down for a PS4 on Hanford Street between 44th and 45th. He put the box down right in the entrance to the alley on the north side of the block in the middle of the block. Box contains PS 3 with all of the hardware … (Then) on my way back from the store checked the box and it was still there. I put it under a tree at the entrance to the same alley.
Sent by Justin:
I found this on SW Glenridge Way. I’m hoping to get Anne her bag back which has a freezer pack, a make-up kit, and some other stuff. I moved it to my house, so you can have her reach out to me if we can track her down.
If yours, email westseattleblog@gmail.com and we’ll connect you. Glenridge is a secluded side road, so it’s more likely to have been dumped there rather than simply lost.
Thanks to Conwell for the photo. If you see that unusual protrusion outside Easy Street Records – it’s an inflatable “tentacle,” part of a Seattle Kraken promotion. We got a note from the team saying they were placing various promotional curiosities around West Seattle and the rest of the region, looking ahead to the hockey team’s home opener next week. The Kraken also had planned to place another “tentacle” at Admiral Pub, and there’s an inflatable bobblehead outside The Westy (added after comments: on Alki too).
Last time we published a photo of prescription eyeglasses found by a reader, it turned out they had been stolen in a car prowl … on Lake Union. Somewhere out there, whether via car prowl or simple misplacement or some other unforeseen circumstances, somebody is missing these glasses, and the finder is hoping to return them:
A nice pair of glasses was found on Sunday afternoon 9/22. They were in the middle of the road at SW Charlestown and 53rd SW, but luckily they were not run over. They are gold-rim prescription glasses in a hard black rectangle case.
The finder has posted myriad other places, including the Lost/Found/non-pets board in our Community Forums, so this is one last try. Email westseattleblog@gmail.com if yours & we’ll connect you.
That’s one of several reader photos we’ve received of an unceremoniously strewn pile of stuff on the sidewalk and street in front of the Westside Flats apartment building at 3233 SW Avalon Way. The first reader to mention it said the pile showed up sometime last night. Police logs indicate it’s been reported, but it’s still there as of a short time ago. We advised one concerned reader that sidewalk/street obstructions can be reported to SDOT‘s 24/7 dispatch line at 206-386-1218; they called but got stuck on longterm hold. The city of course has mechanisms for reporting illegal dumping, but this seems more urgent than Find It Fix It. What led to it, we don’t (yet) know.
(First two photos by Steven Director)
Thanks for the photos! This turned some heads in the Alki area this afternoon, particularly once it was airborne:
Information in the top photo points to two websites, neither Seattle-based – the Airtime Aircraft site (Florida) says this is a “Light Sport Amphibious Trike,” calling it “The Perfect Recreational Aircraft.”
(Photo by Javier Fosado)
This one is registered in Florida, too, to Amphibian Air, whose social media page mentions a road trip – with a photo taken here today – but no details (we’re sending a message to ask).
ADDED: Dave responded to our message with this comment below, saying he’s in the area offering “introductory flights.”
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