Third in a series of Special Reports:
In our continued quest to find out what makes a neighborhood special (so we can find a way to make Maynard Park more special), we loaded up the van and headed…well, in circles. Given the Maynard Park Neighborhood’s unique physical layout—wide in places, extremely narrow in other places, and circular, as its boundaries creep in-between other defined Seattle neighborhoods—a heated discussion ensued as to the best route to West Seattle. If Maynard Park is “West of there…” how could we head to West Seattle? Employing a bit of follow-the-yellow-brick-road logic and referencing our trusty neighborhood schematic, we finally jogged slightly east to explore the West Seattle Neighborhood.
Our next big argument erupted upon our arrival, when it was realized that there isn’t a clearly defined “West Seattle Neighborhood” at all…there’s a whole bunch of neighborhoods, all over the place. The neighborhood exploration team hadn’t counted on that. Food provisions were not at all adequate for the miles that would need to be covered, and the collective patience and attention-spans of the sojourners were not robust enough to take in the full spectrum of West Seattle’s many, many neighborhoods. So, we decided to just go to Alki and call it the “West Seattle Neighborhood.”
Citizen Leader, Gretchen Oublie, decreed that the MP Team experience West Seattle “as the locals would” so we went immediately to Wheel Fun Rentals and commandeered a caravan of Single and Double Surreys. With bells ringing, we headed out into the gorgeous sun, blue skies and surf that surrounded our entourage. The gang soon worked up quite an appetite, so we parked for some much needed refueling at Duke’s, where Ed Mantra regaled us with a word-poem he wrote to sum up what we had experienced of West Seattle. Calling it simply, “Ed’s Spring Poem” it went like this…“Bladed, tanned, shirtless, volleyed, grilled, beached, waded, families, dogs, Harleys, Low Riders, fish, chips, ice cream, dreams and a Lighthouse.”
Focusing back on ourselves, on our mission to find something to make Maynard Park as special as the Seattle neighborhoods we’ve toured, the team concluded that the only thing we could borrow from West Seattle would be the Lighthouse. But, with only 14 feet of accessible waterfront square-footage in Maynard Park, it would have to be a very narrow-at-the-base, twisty and precarious-looking Dr. Seuss-style lighthouse. As we pondered the vision, dusk began to fall and the team headed back to the MP…
Look for the conclusion of the Four-Part Series, with “Something Special This Way Flows”…
