a favorite run

a favorite run — West Seattle (with music, beer, and good friends)

by John on August 16, 2010

If you follow a bold pace, you probably know I’m not a runner. But, I truly enjoy finding ways to help Monica with her running (mainly thru music). As Monica’s last post mentioned, I recently had surgery to give my brother a kidney (it all went very well, we are both recovering quickly), which afforded me a trip back to Seattle (my hometown). It was great to catch up with family and good friends. As you may know, Seattle is known for excellent coffee (Starbucks, Seattle’s Best…both founded here), awesome microbrewery beer (Redhook, Pyramid…my favs), and a great music scene (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse, Presidents of the United States of America, The Sonics, etc). It’s also a very eco-conscious and healthy/outdoorsy city. So it’s a perfect place to run with music (for Monica) or just enjoy the music, beer and/or coffee (for me).

On my last day there, one of my friends found (via Bing…she works for Microsoft) a great place to have breakfast together. Easy Street Records and Cafe is located in West Seattle. It turned out to be an awesome find.

fyi for tech geeks only…you might be interested to know that we probably would not have found Easy Street if we searched on Google. She typed in “Best breakfast places in Seattle”. The first search item in Bing brought her to a top 10 list in Yelp that listed “Easy Street Records and Cafe” as #6. If you typed the same thing into Google you will also find a Yelp listing, but it lists “downtown” restaurants. Not sure why Google would insert “downtown” into the Yelp search, but Easy Street doesn’t show up. And that would have been a real shame because this place (forgive me for this) ROCKED! It was enough to make me change my computer to Bing as the default browser.

At the West Seattle Easy Street (there is another East Street in downtown Seattle, but not w/ a cafe), the cafe is located right inside the record store. They have a great selection of reasonably priced new and used CDs as well as vinyl LPs. The vibe is very indie music oriented w/ lots of tattooed, pierced, colored-hair wait staff, but very friendly and fun. The food had names like “Beck Omelet”, “Gang of Four” (4 tacos for lunch), “New Wave O’s Rancheros” and even “Born to Run” (a “good to go” bfast sandwich). Of course, the music is always playing w/ interesting bands and it’s a casual diner-type place. The coffee is up to Seattle standards w/ some comments on Yelp staying that the baristas here are the “best kept secrets in the city”. We all tried different coffee drinks and I’d have to agree. Even the bathrooms made me smile. Only in Seattle at a place like this would you find reflective, eco-conscious, inspirational graffiti w/ lines like “Be Yourself–those who mind don’t matter, those who matter don’t mind” and “What r you doing? Why r u doing this? Is it a good thing? What’s it’s impact? What’s next?”. Easy Street Cafe bills itself on the web as “the best little record store, coffee bar, and diner in West Seattle”…I don’t know how many record store/cafe’s there are, but I’ll start the nomination process for the best little record store, coffee bar, and diner in the US!
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a favorite run — Amsterdam

by Jamie on August 21, 2009

Could it be the coffee shops? The bike riding lifestyle? Or the brick roads of the city center? No one was running on the streets of Amsterdam. My 3 guide books say nothing on the subject of running. Our smashing hotel staff suggest running in Vondelpark, the largest park in Amsterdam.

I take an easy-to-manage tram to Vondlepark. At 8:30 am, the park is serene and verdant. Runners are doing their thing! A 4K asphalt bike route and a dirt path ring the park (with straightforward signs to guide me.) While running, I spot a tree full of green parrots! The grand Filmmuseum of Amsterdam (with requisite café) is located mid-park. Stately homes on tiny canals line the perimeter. Some vintage Clash and New Order (thanks John!…see Best Running Music) feels right as I circle the park a few times. Want to find this run? Check it out at www.stepwhere.com. This great site lets you zoom in and follow the path step by step.

The Dutch, the tallest people on earth, are invariably fit and great looking. We see few cars in the city and nonstop bikes. People of all ages and manners of dress ride them. The bikes are often decorated with Mexican oilcloth bike bags. The fashion: think Eileen Fisher goes Scandinavian hippie princess. Men and women wear messenger bags of smart design; a jewelry of sorts.

The bike riders are patient with Karen (quirky art teacher and treasured old friend) and I as we inadvertently step into the bike lane (watch out!!) People seem relaxed, open and friendly. In a country where tolerance prevails and people are directly connected to their environment, who needs to run and run? Very often, we spot men with their children. Is there a saner work/family dynamic here?

Coffee shops are not the totality of Amsterdam. In fact, the Dutch smoke less marijuana per capita then Americans. Coffee shops have a diverse vibe and clientele. Many are quite civilized and economical. Others are filled with exuberant kids with unfortunate tee shirts.

When it comes to getting around, Amsterdam is the great leveler. The city is not built on a grid. The canals ring the city in a mind boggling manner. On any given corner, people from all walks of life can be found scowling at their maps. The coffee shops cannot be helping this effort!

We visit the Van Gogh Museum. Only 1 wing of the Rijksmuseum is currently open due to renovation. We take in the spectacular Rembrandts, still lives and Vermeers. The fantastic modern art Stedelijk Museum is also currently closed for renovation. Some of its art can be found in the Van Gogh Museum.

We thoroughly enjoyed:
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a favorite run — Cape Cod

by Jamie on May 31, 2009

Beach at Dennis, MA. Courtesy of Boston.com

Dennis, Massachusetts, a sylvan mid-Cape town, has less name recognition than its glitzy cousins, Provincetown and Hyannis. Its charms are singular; exquisite light and color, understated, yet elegant New England architecture (think old shingles reminiscent of grey cashmere) and a small town vibe.

Dennis boasts the Cape Playhouse, the oldest professional summer theater in the US. Gregory Peck, Humphrey Bogart, Ginger Roger, Lana Turner, Helen Hayes and Jane Fonda made their professional stage debuts there. NY theatre professionals continue to appear, proving this local gem to be a performance space of quality, particularly on a sultry summer evening following today’s catch and a chilled Riesling. An 8/08/09 NY Times article, Where Broadway Takes its Vacation, recounts the frantic theatrical preparations of the Playhouse. They liken the process to a bank foreclosure: There is always potential for fiasco —let’s hope!

The Cape Cod Museum of Art and Cape Cinema are located on the same lovely grounds. The cinema presents a weekly indie or foreign movie, as well as mainstream fare. Currently, the charming and instructive documentary Every Little Step is playing. The theatre is replete with linen seat covers and Rockwell Kent murals.

While summertime on the Cape is a classic pleasure, I particularly love Dennis in the fall. The landscape is gilded with the colors of cranberries, mustard seed, asters and Russian sage. The weather defines crisp.

I’ve experienced some perfect running moments there. Map My Run lists several pages of Dennis runs, here’s mine:

Begins at the Dennis Village Green on 6A. Heading east, towards Brewster, signs point to the oddly named Cold Storage and Corporation Beaches (all on the Cape Cod Bay), as well as the Howes Street Beach, Scargo Lake and the Dennis Yacht club. After encountering a sign, I run through each distinctive neighborhood until I reach the destination. I return briefly to 6A, where I will encounter the next sign. Because I am so directionally challenged, these runs tend to stretch out for hours. They culminate in a (private) outdoor shower.

Could there be anything more welcome?

The perfect Dennis jaunt; the dream rental house (each home we’ve visited offers an outdoor shower), forays to Bucky’s Underground for lattes and biscotti, hours of beach reading with occasional warm water swims (when the tide cooperates!) and long, leisurely dinners at home. We buy produce at the organic vegetable store on 6A in Dennis. There is an excellent Stop and Shop and a yuppified food emporium, Ring Brothers, located at the shopping centers on Route 134 (near Route 6.) If it happens to be a rainy day, check out the unbeatable Marshalls.

Bring lots of books, magazines, sunscreen and those running shoes…

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a favorite run – Washington DC

by Monica on April 14, 2009

courtesy of Alexander Anderson photography

Spring in Washington DC is magical. Cherry blossoms, magnolias, and rows of tulips sit at attention among beautifully manicured lawns. I spent a fabulous weekend there for Easter with family and friends (visited the must see Newseum and spent my injured early mornings hours engrossed in The Help by Kathryn Stockett-a great read). And although I was unable to run this time, I have fond memories of the trek we made last year to run the National Marathon. A few days before the race I ventured out from my hotel room alone in the early am to try and find a few miles to get the blood moving. We were staying at the Westin Grand on M street and the hotel provided a running map card sponsored by Runners World (some Westin locations actually provide a running concierge who takes you on the run! -see RunWESTIN for locations).

I stayed true to the map as it took me down M street to the waterfront near Georgetown and found myself on the path along the Potomac river. I stayed on the path past the Kennedy Center until I could see the Smithsonian mall ahead. Surprisingly, I was almost alone as I began my loop around the mall. It was almost spiritual being among these great monuments with only a few people in shouting distance. I have been there so many times with thousands of other tourists.

It was the perfect pre-marathon moment and one that stays with me. I re-ran a shorter version of the route the next day and had a great marathon a few days later, but that was the run I remember most. (@5 miles round trip)

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a favorite run — Philadelphia

April 7, 2009

When it’s time for a long run, my long distance friends and I head out to Philadelphia: Kelly Drive and the Wissahickon Park. We start out at Lloyd Hall on Kelly Drive. At 6:20 am, there is usually free parking nearby. Lloyd Hall is located on the east side of the Schuylkill River, next to [...]

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{Travel-Rome} When running in Rome

January 14, 2009

As we flew to Rome on Christmas night, my 12 year old daughter woke up from the Alitalia stupor to say, “Mom, when we get to Rome, let’s do some serious eating.” Perhaps a modicum of running may be in order. We arrive on our ancient street at 9:00 am and immediately see a group [...]

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