pioneer square

kevin went out early to do some hill repeats this morning while i caught up on my latest book, robert capa: a biography. after visiting the magnum photos exhibition and trying to visit fondation hcb in paris, i felt compelled to learn more about this photographer who led a famed, yet tumultuous life, which ended at just the age of 40. i was hoping to finish the book during this trip, but it seems like i've only gotten a third of the way through.

today we visited two more lofts in the pioneer square - downtown seattle area. i think kevin and i both felt an immediate connection with this one (top floor). this photo is taken from the building's batcave-like parking garage, which is parallel to a set of train tracks. there's something industrial, tangible, and historical we both love about trains. maybe it was because we loved watching the men who built america a few years back and learning about cornelius "commodore" vanderbilt's railroad empire. with a mess of unfinished walls, outdated kitchen and baths, and hundreds of feet of commercial electrical wiring, i'm not sure if this one will be our next project, but we did both individually love it.

in the afternoon, we walked around the u-dub (university of washington) campus where kevin's father did his residency +35 years ago. it was the start of spring and the sakura's were starting to bloom, making the cherry blossom quad a spectacle with hundreds of students and visitors picnicking, tossing frisbee and football (i so wanted to join in), posing for photo shoots (LOL!!), and more. 

i was enjoying the sight, but secretly thinking back to last march when we visited the quad on an early sunday morning and had the sakura to ourselves. it was towards the end of the blossom during our last visit, and the sakura petals covered the quad paths, creating quite a magical setting.

here is a photo of kevin and his mom in front of a magnolia tree. i think it's called a saucer magnolia or tulip tree, which is a hybrid between the lily magnolia and yulan magnolia. i generally see them in shades of white with a little pink, but these were magenta.