Shi-ah-ta-ru

Hey, watch that thing! I'm on a big blog bonanza. Its been awhile since I've downloaded pix off of ye olde trusty kamera, so I'm gonna stick up some picture from a couple of random sources.

First and foremost, I wanted to post some stuff about my absolutely charmed trip to Seattle, Washington, that took place in mid-May. The thrust of the whole trip up to the wooly Northwest was sheer research— to meet Shig Murao's 81 year old twin sister, Shiz, to do research on pre-war Seattle's Japanese American community, and to meet with choice JA historians, bibliophiles, writers, artists, archivists and filmmakers, all in a neat seven days. I also had a chance to catch up with friends Tim and Jessica (hi kids!- thanks for use of the airmattress!), James (ditto on the spare room! the midnight motorcycle ride across the bridges and shots of high grade whiskey was just the edge I needed to close that trip off with, and Heidi (brilliant artist, mom, and non-profit founder).

I toured and an astonishing number and variety of Seattle neighborhoods, all for the sake of getting to know the geography and the people who inhabited particular neighborhoods: Green Lake, Phinney, Fremont, Queen Anne Hill, the ID, Madrona, Beacon Hill, West Seattle, Georgetown...I even made a special jaunt out to Bellevue to pay my respects to a certain cemetery, gracing the headstones with petals and poetry.

So without further ado, here are some shots of what I saw in Seattle.

At Saito's in goofy Belltown with the creme de la creme of JA Seattle historians: Kazuko Nakane, Chizu Omori, Alan Lau and (solo on the other side of the table) the legendary bookstore owner and flyfisher, David Ishii.



Signs from the International District









The Bookstore, a Bar!



A study in two libraries (yes, i am a hopeless bookworm. help me). The quaint Fremont Public Library and the spanking new downtown main public library.




Green dogwoods in bloom. Sigh.


Outrageous icelandic poppies in bloom. Double sigh.



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