Heard from two young women cycling by as I loped around Seward Park this morning:
“This is my first time in Seward”
“Shut-up!”
How extraordinary – her first time!
Of course, there’s a first time for everything, but Seward is such an old friend, walked and run through countless times – worn-in like a super comfy shoe. It seems like I’ve always known the park.
I’d guesstimate I’ve been to Seward several hundred times – maybe even a thousand or two. Amazing! It’s a park that has no auto traffic – of course, you hear motorboats and seaplanes and cars revving in the parking lots, but generally, it is a motor-free zone – and that’s an ear soothing benefit.
I like Alki Beach – the saltwater Sound, the stunning mountain panorama, the delicious restaurants and cafes – but it’s also a motor thoroughfare and it’s busy, boisterous and bustling. I’ve maybe walked or run there a couple of dozen times.
Lincoln Park, also in West Seattle, is more secluded with some stately old growth trees that overlook Puget Sound. I’ve walked and puffed up its cliff-side a handful of times.
The Arboretum is a horticultural delight and especially stunning in the spring and the fall. I’ve been there perhaps three dozen times over the course of my forty or so years in Seattle.
Other parks Magnuson, Madison, Seahurst, Carkeek, I have spent even less time in.
When the kids were growing up, we hung out at Eastside parks close to home – Yarrow, Medina, Bellevue, Kirkland, Bridle Trails.
But Seward is my favorite. I go there to walk, to talk and walk with family and friends, to run, to sunbathe, to romp with my granddaughter, to meditate, to query, to commune, and to find solace. I know it well. I speak to the trees, to the lake, and to the mountain (Mt Rainier.)
And nature responds.
Seward is my soul park, my sanctuary.
What is your soul park? What is your nearby go to place that fills you up, replenishes you, eases your angst, and brings you to a place of accord with nature and with the world? I’d love to hear.
