Category: Seattle and Beyond

This July, Lynnwood Discovers the Super Powers of Parks & Recreation 

Carl Setzer
City of Lynnwood Logo

This July, Lynnwood residents don’t need to be bitten by a radioactive spider to discover that they have super powers. They just need to visit their nearest park or the Lynnwood Recreation Center to find super powers they didn’t know they had.

Lynnwood Parks and Recreation is celebrating Park and Recreation Month, an initiative of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), and all the ways parks and recreation has the power to transform our daily lives. From providing us places to get fit and stay healthy to fostering new relationships and forging a connection with nature, our close-to-home community park and recreation facilities provide essential services and improve quality of life.

“I invite all Lynnwood residents to get out and enjoy your beautiful parks systems. Super July is the best time to soak up the sun, splash around the spray parks, take to the slides, and get swinging,” says Director Lynn Sordel.

Lynnwood Parks and Recreation will celebrate Park and Recreation Month through an exciting new initiativeLynnwood Walks and our widely popular Shakespeare in the Park.

NRPA is celebrating the month by hosting a selfie photo contest. From July 4-31, NRPA will issue weekly challenges for people to get out in their parks and recreation facilities and discover their super powers. Weekly prizes will be awarded. The contest can be entered via Facebook or by uploading a photo to Twitter and Instagram using #SuperJuly and #SuperParkSelfie. Visit www.nrpa.org/July for official rules and details. NRPA also encourages all people that support parks and recreation to share their photos and love of parks using the hashtag #SuperJuly on social media.

To learn more about Park and Recreation Month, and local initiatives visit: PlayLynnwood.com

A Vlog Update: Thankfulness

Carl Setzer1 Comment

One of the challenges I was given recently: capture what you’re thankful for. Deliberately thinking through this really helps build a positive attitude.

Vlog post: Wooden Boat Festival 2016

Carl Setzer

The family made their way down to Seattle’s Center for Wooden Boats for the 2016 Festival of Wooden Boats.

Lynnwood folks, there’ll trolley tours at Heritage Park this weekend, and August and September

Carl Setzer
City of Lynnwood Logo

Climb Aboard!

Discover South Snohomish County’s past with a visit to Lynnwood’s Heritage Park and climb aboard restored Interurban Car #55.

LYNNWOOD, WA (July 1, 2016) – Lynnwood’s Heritage Park open house event continues this Saturday, July 2 from 11am – 3pm and again on the first Saturday in August and September. The park, located east of I-5 at the SE corner of Poplar Way and Alderwood Mall Parkway, is a cultural, heritage and visitor resource. The open house events offer a unique opportunity for park visitors to tour the various historical structures including Interurban Car 55 that have been preserved at the park.

Open House activities include:

  • Tour guides, Jeanne and Gary Rogers, will entertain visitors with tales of Car 55, one of six Interurban trolleys that ran between Seattle and Everett from 1910 to 1939.  Jeanne grew up in a railroading family; her father, Walter Shannon, was an Interurban motorman.
  • Docents from the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association will be available to provide guided tours of the exhibits currently on display in the Superintendent’s Cottage and at the Wickers Building Museum.
  • Visit the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau’s Visitor Information Center where you can walk through the historic Wickers Building Museum and view the City of Lynnwood Historic Timeline exhibit.
  • Visitors are invited to take a peek into their personal genealogical history at Humble House with the assistance of the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society.
  • Kids can make their own custom button at the Lynnwood Arts Commission booth.

A couple of WA geek events off the beaten path

Carl Setzer

A friend of mine shared a few cons that I’d not heard of yet. These are down in Thurston, Lewis and Grays Harbor counties. Anyway, check ’em out.

 

 

Man, What a Weekend

Carl Setzer

This one was pretty full. Graduation parties, that was both delightful and alarming. I’ve known these kids since they were quite small. And I know that the next few years will be filled with these moments. The main shift that’ll happen going forward, though: I’ll have known the kids since they were even younger. Pretty soon, they’ll be kids that I’ve known since babies. Which will be really cool, and a big honking clue that I’m getting older…or just old.

Father’s Day was fun. One nice thing about living this close to both halves of my family; we were able to visit both sets of dads. Or, in my son’s view, grandpas.

With both elements, both days laden with hyper-sweet stuff. This morning I really felt the effects. Almost hangover-esque. Fuzzy head, weirdly tired. I gotta cut back, way back on the sugar. And, yeah, thought I need to get out and exercise more, I did manage to get some walks in. So, I really shouldn’t get too cranky.

But, yeah, I need to eat better. Now that summer is starting, I’ll start planning out meals again. The end of the school year has been nuts. Hopefully, things will settle back down.

Next up: I have some ideas of things to get done this summer. I haven’t been to the San Juans, and I’d like to ride the Centennial Trail. And a bunch of hiking. Anyway, more on that soon. If you have any ideas, though, leave notes in the comments. I’d love to hear your ideas.

Thinking About Bothell Real Estate

Carl Setzer

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A few weeks ago I was enjoying a weekend afternoon with friends. I got to talk with some folks looking to buy a home in the area. As is often the case right now, they were frustrated with their agent. They had narrowly missed the cut on several homes, and they kept hearing about multiple offers and such. They weren’t convinced their agent was completely leveling with them. I was glad to let them know that, actually, their agent was spot on. Most well priced homes will get >1 offers. My record in 2016 has been 14.

Anyway, I took some time this evening to dive into Bothell’s current real estate market trends. So, the basics.

  • The median house price in May was $541,788.
  • 139 new homes came on the market, while 160 sold. Yes, more sold than came on the market. Quite the burn rate!
  • Layered with the above, Bothell has .9 months on inventory. If no new him need came on, we’d sell everything currently on the market within 27 days
  • The average days on market was 20.7 days! That speed is shocking

It’s helpful to remember that the city is in two counties: King and Snohomish. Which plays a piece in pricing. While the median price for the whole city of $541,788, the median in Snohomish county Bothell was only $524,950, yet the King county side was $650,000. As the adage good, “location, location, location!”

Bothell, in many ways, is the northern most frontier of the Eastside. Snohomish county is where that ends, as we see with the price delta. It’s a very neat community, though. Northshore schools are some of the best. Bothell is close to Lynnwood’s Alderwood Mall, and the niceties of Bellevue, etc. Pretty close to I-5, thus had solid access to Seattle. There are lovely parks, bike trails, and so much more.

Take a look at what’s available in Bothell and let me know what you like. Think of me and my team for all your real estate needs

My, it’s rather brisk today

Carl Setzer1 Comment

After the past few days of 80 F + weather, this drop to the 60s is rather brisk. Dare I say “cold”?

However, it’s nice to not sweat so much. The drop is temperature is actually quite nice.  Just wishing I had a sweater right now. I guess I, like most Seattle-folk, aren’t happy  unless we’re complaining about the weather.

Anyway, how are you dealing with the change? Happy? Freezing? “Wait, the weather changed? I better get out from in front of my monitor…”

Lynnwood Fire Department’s Disaster Preparedness Training June 11

Carl Setzer

I can’t think of a better way to be a great neighbor.

MYN

Join us this Saturday, June 11 from 10am-noon at Fire Station 14 to build and strengthen your disaster readiness skills with the Lynnwood Fire Department. Learn the basics of first aid, ladder climbing and rescue cribbing, how to turn off your gas and water, how to use a fire extinguisher, and learn how to implement Map Your Neighborhood with your neighbors.

Fire Station 14 is located at 18800 68th Ave W, Lynnwood.

To register, contact Misty Burke at mburke@LynnwoodWA.gov or 425-670-5302.

Additional workshops will be held on the following dates:

  • Sunday, June 26, 2pm-4pm (en espanol)
  • Wednesday, July 13, 6pm-8pm
  • Tuesday, September 27, 6pm-8pm

Follow us on Twitter @LynnwoodFire

Lynnwood’s Azteca Is Gone

Carl Setzer

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It closed over a month ago (according to my chums at Lynnwood Today). Well, I haven’t been by the site in a couple of weeks and, boom, I see a vacant store front. It’s been ages since I’ve set foot in there, so, well, there you go. Per the article, the signs were still up, hence why I don’t think I noticed it being vacant. Now, though, the windows are out as the storefront is being renovated. I didn’t see any signage pointing to a new store (no “coming soon” or whatnot, but I doubt the building’s owners would invest in that major of a renovation unless they had a tenant lined up. However, I’ll ask around and keep my eyes peeled.

Update: OK, went riding along the Interurban and got a closer look. There is a “Coming Soon” sign up where they’re working. Couldn’t are it closely, though. I’m sure I’ll get to see more details soon.