Everett, WA

City Streets

Run Time: 62:58 + 2-minute kick

I was here back in August, and I tried to return to the track at North Middle School for my run, but it was all locked up. It was late afternoon, and there might still have been students in school, so I can understand why they don’t want outsiders. The last time I was here, there were community soccer teams practicing on the soccer field, and it was later in the day, so there were no access issues.

So I pivoted. And I was glad I did, because I got away from Broadway, which is not the garden spot of the city. I have been to Everett a few times, and I did not think Everett had a garden spot, but on this day I ran toward the Sound, and found a calm and picturesque neighborhood overlooking the harbor and marinae.

Broadway is rather run down, with an odd assortment of fast-food joints, old motels, massage parlors, auto repair facilities, strip malls, and homeless people. What is the current acceptable term for the homeless? I don’t know. I also don’t know for sure they were homeless. Maybe they were just out for the afternoon rooting through dumpsters. One gentleman was having an animated argument with himself, no one, or perhaps a local spirit, pacing back and forth in front of the Safeway exit door. Seemed appropriate, or ironic. Customers were literally exiting the safe way.

I was staying at the Red Lion Inn and Suites, right on the wrong end of Broadway. What happened to the Red Lion? When I was a kid, I had the impression that the Red Lion was Swanky. Now it is Sketchy. The “lobby” had a hastily-constructed reception “desk” that was one step shy of plywood. There was literally one Pepsi in the drink refrigerator. A young man in a hi-viz sweatshirt sat at a table with a woman with a notebook having what appeared to be a probationary meeting. Breakfast had been discontinued. Twice I heard loud running in the hallway and on the stairs. Fortunately, my room was very clean, and other than the runner and the guy on probation, there appeared to be no one else staying in the hotel, so I got out unscathed.

But there is beauty in Everett, as you can see from the photos. Head toward the Sound. Follow the sun as it sinks in the sky. Appreciate the rain. Wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.