134) Bike series (3/10). I REALLY DON’T KNOW WHAT IT GOING ON HERE. Sure, we have a standard mailbox, a standard green relay box, and then this hybrid that is a mix of standard green and a trendy lavender blue! I’m certainly not one to judge, but like I said, I just don’t know what’s going on. Maybe it has something to do with it being so close to Trader Joe’s. Huh.
133) Bike series (2/10). I think I may have set a new personal record for the shortest amount of time between two mailbox photos. Faithful readers will remember that yesterday’s photo was on this very street, but just at the other end of this long block. I shot photo #132 and then was here for #133 about 90 seconds later. And I’m just now noticing how clean this box is, quite a rarity for the area!
132) Bike series (1/10). If there’s one thing I know about you people is that you love my bike series photos! Well strap in, folks, because I have an amazing 10-part series queued up for you! I noticed that there was a whole section of the University District that I had not hit yet, so I decided to saddle up and rectify that situation with an early morning ride. At this first stop, you can tell I’m somewhat preoccupied with this old hitching post… listen, I could spend hours playing with this post, but I had a lot more mailboxes to visit, so I had to cut my fun time short and move on.
131) This is a very unfortunate photo. Why? Because it completely hides the fact that Lake Washington is literally right behind this mailbox, close enough to serenade the box with sounds of lapping waves and tooting boats. But try as I might, I couldn’t get an angle that highlighted this watery proximity… so I just crouched down, got the shot, then ran away.
120) Faithful readers will remember just a couple days ago when I learned of the existence of Hawthorne Hills, a nearby neighborhood that I had no idea sported its own majestic name. Given that excitement, I’m sure you’ll understand why I was even happier to find this box next to a sign that leaves no doubt as to where it is. This is, without a doubt, the least geographically-confused mailbox I’ve encountered in recent weeks.
118) One of benefits of this project is that it takes me to parts of the city that I didn’t even know existed. Hawthorne Hills? Not only is that a real place, but it’s been hiding in plain sight all these years, just east of Bryant and south of Pontiac. This particular box sits at the tip of a pointy block on the edge of a lovely traffic circle, forever enjoying a majestic peekaboo view of Lake Washington. This is one lucky box.
97) See that apartment window above and to the right of my head? I’m pretty sure there were people in there watching me as I took this photo. Things like this don’t usually happen in the University District, so I guess they were just monitoring things to make sure I didn’t cause any trouble. You’d better believe I got out of there pronto.
90) Let’s have a geography discussion. I took this photo on Roosevelt Way NE at NE 57th Street. I often see references to this area still being part of the University District, but for my money it’s too far north and too far east. It’s in some weird hybrid land where Roosevelt and Ravenna overlap. Roovenna, maybe. Yeah, let’s go with that. Roovenna.
86) Did you know that there’s a local ordinance in Laurelhurst that requires everyone to carry a selfie stick with them at all times? It’s true. It also comes in very handy when you’re strolling through the neighborhood and you come upon a fine mailbox, like this one on NE 41st Street at 51th Ave NE. Those Laurelhurstians know what they’re doing.
79) One thing you should know about those green relay boxes is that they can be really cranky. This one was not at all happy to learn that my project focuses on blue boxes, so I literally had to hide from it when taking this photo in the University District. If you find yourself near 17th Ave NE and NE 52nd Street, try not to say anything that will upset it.