Independent Boating Plant Day

The post title reflects the fact that this past Saturday was Independent Bookstore Day, Opening Day of the Boating Season, and the Master Gardener Plant Sale -- all happening around the UW.  It was a beautiful warm, sunny day, too, so Truman and I saddled up and headed out for an expedition.

Our first stop was the Montlake Fill for a walk around the Loop Trail, where we saw lots of Savannah Sparrows, the lovely little birds that grace our area only in Spring and Summer:

I paused to sketch a barge out on Lake Washington which was flying a huge flag as part of the boating festivities.  Then we tootled over to the campus and past the stadium and hospital to the Montlake Bridge, from which we had a lovely view.

Next we walked along the canal, where there were food tents and a grandstand (and a bandstand across the way), the better to view the crew races from.

We had a snack break, and I did more sketching here.

Throughout the day, Truman remained his usual self, meaning he was unimpressed by all the activity and just put up with it until we could go home.

But we did not go home -- we kept on going!  I had loaded up his stroller with food, water, art supplies, bins, camera, camp stool, sunscreen -- we were prepared to stay outside all day if needed!

Our next stop, which I had timed very cleverly, was inside my building at the U for a bathroom break (much preferred to the Porta-Potties at the boating festival that folks were lining up for).  We then exited the other side of the building and continued our walk through the main campus and into the shopping district, where we stopped at the University Bookstore.

They had a raffle going (free tickets) in honor of Independent Bookstore Day, but I failed to win a prize.  However, they had free blueberry scones, which were wonderful.  After perusing the art supplies, Truman and I headed back through the campus and back down to the Fill, where he remained unimpressed.

He also seemed a little concerned at this point that we might never be going home.  We were, in fact, heading for our final stop on our expedition -- the Master Gardener Plant Sale at the Center for Urban Horticulture (which manages the Fill).

At this point, he just wanted to take a nap.    Luckily, the car was parked right across the street.

We wound up spending seven hours on our expedition, and we walked around five miles.  Well, I walked five miles -- Truman walked about 1-1/2 miles and strolled the rest.  We had plenty of rest breaks, sketching breaks, snacks, and entertainment along the route.  A delightful outing all the way.

When we got home, it was only 1:30pm (we left the house at 7:30am).  And it was still sunny.  So I replenished the sun screen and lounged in the back garden for a while, pulled a few weeds here and there, and worked on the toolshed painting project (more about that tomorrow).  I certainly know how to relax on a Saturday!