January was unseasonably cold for Seattle. The temperature fell as low as 27°F (-2.7° C), about 10°F (5.4°C) below average for this time of year, and several winter storms passed through. Except for a quick long weekend in Honolulu, we spent much of the month closer to home trying new restaurants and returning to old favorites. We also attended some Seattle Kraken NHL games and the final home game of the season for the Seattle Seahawks, watching the team reach the playoffs in an exciting overtime win against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Below are highlights from January 3rd through 31st, 2023. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a map with our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

1/3/2023

ATL Skytrain Position: 33°38.36’N, -84°25.19’W Riding the Skytrain between terminals at Atlanta airport on our way back to Seattle from Buenos Aires.

Wyoming Position: 42°53.88’N, -106°20.64’W A view to snow-covered Wyoming on our flight from Atlanta to Seattle.

Boeing Field Position: 47°51.90’N, -121°45.66’W Over 2 dozen Boeing 737s on the ground at Boeing field. The planes are painted in the livery of the purchasing airline, and include Southwest Airlines, Russian airline S7, and the Chinese companies Schenzen Airlines, 9 Air and China Airlines.

Deep Dive Position: 47°36.93’N, -122°20.36’W Deep Dive is a speakeasy underneath the Seattle Spheres. The ultra-popular venue usually requires reservations days in advance, but we occasionally stop in on our way home from dinner to see if we can get a table and were in luck tonight. We’re not big cocktail drinkers, but really enjoy the ones here, and their snug and eclectically-decorated space.

1/4/2023

Olympics Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W The Olympic Mountains with a thick coat of snow.

1/5/2023

Maiz Position: 47°37.02’N, -122°20.59’W The Mexican restaurant Maiz recently opened in the base of our apartment building, and we stopped in for dinner tonight. We loved the atmosphere, and their food and margaritas are delicious.

1/6/2023

2120 Position: 47°36.93’N, -122°20.39’W Dinner outside at 2120 with a view to the Seattle Spheres. The restaurant has tried several generations of tents for outdoor seating and the current one is very effective. We were almost too warm sitting under the patio heater.

Teku Tavern Position: 47°37.13’N, -122°20.76’W An after-dinner drink at Teku Tavern. We love this 1950s-style seating area, and their excellent selection of local craft beer.

1/7/2023

Utility Hole Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.57’W A deep utility hole outside our building was opened for work on the power lines.

Old Stove Brewery Position: 47°36.57’N, -122°20.58’W Lunch at Old Stove Brewery on the Seattle waterfront near Pike Place Market. The popular restaurant is almost impossibly busy in the summer, but not so early January.

QR Code Position: 47°36.57’N, -122°20.58’W Instead of a paper to scan for the menu, Old Stove has attractive wood QR codes.

South Sound Series Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W Sailboat racers off Duwamish Head in the first race of the 2023 South Sound Series.

Here Today Position: 47°36.90’N, -122°21.24’W At the recently-opened Here Today Brewery and Kitchen near the Olympic Sculpture Park. We enjoyed the atmosphere and the beer, and are looking forward to returning when their patio is open in the summer.

1/8/2023

Helicopters Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W Four large helicopters returning back to Joint Base Lewis-McChord after passing over Seattle. The aircraft are quite loud and we can hear them coming a long way off. They were practicing for a fly over for the Seahawks game later in the day.

Garage Floor Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W While we were away, the garage floor at street level in the 4th & Bell construction site was completed and another garage floor has been partially built above it.

Seahawks Position: 47°35.78’N, -122°19.89’W At Lumen Field on a rainy day to watch the Seattle Seahawks take on the Los Angeles Chargers in the final game of the season.

Overtime Position: 47°35.71’N, -122°19.94’W In an closely-contested and exciting match, the game went into overtime. The Seahawks eventually beat the Chargers 19-16, sending us to the playoffs as a wild card.

1/9/2023

Storm Coming Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W A squall moved into the area today, bringing high winds and heavy hail. The water in Elliott Bay is streaked from the wind (click image for a larger view).

1/10/2023

Roxanne Position: 47°37.20’N, -122°20.29’W Amazon’s first package bundling machine, nicknamed “Roxanne”, on display in lobby of the Amazon South Lake Union office building of the same name. The machine flashed a red light to signal an operating malfunction, a common occurrence as the line team was learning to use it. In response to the red fault light coming on, the team started singing the Police song Roxanne, whose opening lyrics are “Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light”.

Matterhorn Position: 47°36.74’N, -122°20.17’W An image of the Matterhorn inside a Burberry display at the Seattle Nordstrom department store. We’re still pretty excited to have seen the Matterhoen in person on last year’s trip to Switzerland.

Sunset Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.58’W Spectacular sunset over Elliott Bay.

1/12/2023

Honolulu Position: 21°17.31’N, -157°50.52’W On a whim, we made a last-minute decision to visit go to Honolulu for a long weekend earlier this year. We’d both visited Hawaii many times, but hadn’t been back since we departed for Palmyra in 2013 on our trip around the world in Dirona. We had a fabulous time, and left with more warm memories of the Aloha islands. Read more …

Holiday Lights Position: 47°37.05’N, -122°20.40’W Holiday light display at the Amazon South Lake Union Campus.

1/20/2023

The Eagle Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°21.29’W The Eagle by American artist Alexander Calder, with the sun setting over Elliott Bay in the background, viewed as we walked out to dinner at nearby AQUA. The work is one of 18 permanent exhibits in the award-winning nine-acre Olympic Sculpture Park along the Seattle waterfront.

Father and Son Position: 47°36.94’N, -122°21.30’W The fountain and sculpture Father and Son by French-American artist Louise Bourgeois at the southwest corner of the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Echo Position: 47°36.93’N, -122°21.24’W The monumental sculpture Echo by Spanish visual artist Jaume Plensa in the Olympic Sculpture Park stands over 46ft (14 m) tall. We saw another of Plensa’s work, Anna, at the Pilane Sculpture park on the west coast of Sweden.

AQUA Position: 47°36.88’N, -122°21.40’W Looking out to Elliott Bay from our table at AQUA seafood restaurant. It was our first time there and we had an excellent evening.

Evening Position: 47°36.88’N, -122°21.40’W The sculpture Echo lit up at night, with the Seattle Space Needle visible in the distance.

1/23/2023

Sunset Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W Elliott Bay painted orange under a spectacular sunset.

Waxing Crescent Position: 47°36.99’N, -122°20.58’W A waxing crescent moon a couple of days after a New Moon.

1/26/2023

I-5 Position: 47°36.45’N, -122°19.74’W Traffic on I-5 as James walks back to work from a medical appointment. I-5 is perpetually under construction.

Maiz Position: 47°37.03’N, -122°20.59’W We quite enjoy Maiz, the new Mexican restaurant that opened in our building, and come here often. Their margaritas are particularly good, and the painted tiles and figurines make the setting unique and appealing.

1/28/2023

Seattle Kraken Position: 47°37.33’N, -122°21.24’W The Seattle Kraken warm up during the pre-game show, which ends with a large Kraken tail lowering onto the ice.

Flag Position: 47°37.33’N, -122°21.24’W Fans supporting a huge Kraken flag between periods. In an exciting game, the Kraken beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2.

Lake Union Position: 47°37.01’N, -122°20.71’W Lights reflecting into Lake Union on a calm evening.

1/29/2023

Brrrr Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W It’s a chilly 31°F (-0.5° C) this morning in Seattle.

Olympic Mountains Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W Small boats in Elliott Bay with the snow-covered Olympic Mountains in the background.

1/30/2023

27 Degrees Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W The temperature is well below freezing this morning at 27°F (-2.7° C). That’s about 10°F (5.4°C) below average for this time of year.

Water Fountain Position: 47°36.43’N, -122°19.74’W Some well-intentioned administrator got the great idea of “reducing disease spread” by padlocking every drinking fountain in the Polyclinic Madison building to prevent the fountains from being used. We’re suspicious that the upside of being well-hydrated might exceed the risk of disease transfer through drinking fountains. And, if it really is better to shut off all drinking fountains in the medical facility, shutting off the water might be cheaper than a padlock on each.

1/31/2023

Topmost Garage Floor Position: 47°36.92’N, -122°20.66’W The forms are in place for the topmost garage floor at the 4th & Bell construction site, ready for a layer of concrete.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map. And a map of our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.