Monday, August 2nd, 2021 – Safeway
We are travelling this week to Walla Walla and Spokane, Washington to visit friends and family. However, we did our Safeway walk before we started our five-hour drive to Walla Walla.
On Saturday after our walk down the hill into Bothell, we were running an errand and spotted what looked to be a McLitterer bag that wasn’t there when we walked. Later, we walked down to retrieve it.
It was complete with McCafe tea cups, two clean platters, unused utensils and three butters. The only things that were missing were the syrups, go figure.
A mask tree.
The mask was almost ripe. Wait for it.
On 112th by the apartments, someone placed a construction cone on a tree branch.
That is not very constructive, you conehead.
We pulled it down and carried it to the end of the street where the construction is winding down. It later disappeared with some of the other construction trash.
We picked up two car mats.
They were about a block apart. We are guessing someone washed them and left them on the tailgate or bumper to dry. They are in our Goodwill pile now.
We found a lost doll.
Qaahir? With Google’s help, this is Muslim baby name meaning conqueror. It doesn’t look much like a conqueror to us. Replace the heart with a tiger and add a shield and sword. Of course, they probably would not sell many of them, which is why we are not in marketing.
As we were entering the Safeway parking lot driveway, a car drove in and the driver flicked a cigarette butt out the window.
The car disappeared into the Safeway parking lot. The cigarette butt in seen just below the driver’s door handle. It was still smoking when we picked it up. We quenched it in a nearby puddle. The world is his ashtray. And yes, it was a he.
We did find some money.
A penny! A nice start to the week. Okay, we found it on a walk later in the day after we arrived in Walla Walla. Okay, we found it in a Walla Walla Safeway parking lot on a beer run. But it’s a penny, damn it, and we are taking credit for it anyway.
August 3rd and 4th, 2021 – Walla Walla
Walla Walla was very hot.
104°F (40°C). There were also wildfires in the area so there were both excessive heat and bad air quality warnings. We picked a great time to visit. We did some walks during the early morning to the Whitman Mission and the Fort Walla Walla park. For some reason, the City of Walla Walla has no links to the Fort Walla Walla park. Trash-wise, Walla Walla is very boring. That is, clean. We enjoyed the wineries, breweries and pubs, but the trash was pretty much nonexistent. We couldn’t live there.
August 4th, 5th, and 6th 2021 – Spokane
After Walla Walla, we travelled the relatively short distance to Spokane. The first day was still warm, at 100°F (37.8°C), but the second day dropped to closer to 90°F (32°C), much more comfortable.
We visited the Onion Taphouse and Grill. They have fifty beverages on tap.
We tried a couple, including the Nectar of the Gods IPA from White Bluffs Brewing in Kennewick that we liked very much. On the menu was Harley’s Mega Third Wheel Burger.
No, we did not go for it. However, we have a good friend who, when he is ready, we will fly to Spokane and buy him a Harley’s Mega Third Wheel Burger. We want to find something he cannot overcome!
We did go on a short early-morning walk. The air quality was still bad as shown by the muted sun.
Trash-wise, Spokane was slightly less boring than Walla Walla, but still not at the Bothell level. We saw some trash, but we did not pick it up since we were not in uniform.
Near the hotel, a lost pet.
We think it was a beaver, but it was a bit ratty. We left it on a nearby fire hydrant, hopefully for its rightful owner to find.
A kid’s soccer shin guard.
Ho, hum.
This is a bit more interesting.
A broken hairbrush. Okay, no it isn’t – interesting, that is. That’s all we got, folks. Back to Bothell.
Saturday, August 7th, 2021 – Riverside Drive & Brickyard Road
We are back in Bothell and to our normal Saturday routine. Today we removed a bird and a crow from the road. Yes, we know a crow is a bird, but we set them in a class of their own. We also found money.
Two pennies. One is a bit blurry, but it still counts.
Two nice tools.
A pair of pliers that were not run over and a small crowbar that may have been run over, but so what, it’s a crowbar.
There is a Bothell 5K Run/Walk event today.
We walked about 8 miles (12 km) today. We should have stuck around for the start, but it was still three and a half hours away.
We found a couple of sports bags.
A golf bag and a ski bag. The guy is probably practicing for the new Summer Olympics Biathlon event where they play a round of golf while wearing skis.
At our favorite trailer park, a mess was left for us.
It was too much for us to carry, so we left the bottles and picked them up later with the car. This area is always a mess.
They also left us a treat.
One for each of us. Tempting, but we decided against it.
How does this work?
Pochi Bubble Tea Cafe litter from a Grubhub order. “Thanks for delivering the milkshakes on time, here’s your tip. Say, can you litter this for us on your way back?”
At our turn-around point, someone took out the Welcome to Bothell sign.
Probably some Woodinville resident trying to get us to continue picking up trash past the city limits into Woodinville. We weren’t fooled.
Another lost padlock.
It is in very good condition but as usual, no key. We have picked up several of these lost from trucks and trailers that folks forget to lock when they start traveling. We recycle them, but we could “Love-lock” them. We could write some made-up story of a love lost or love found. It might be fun; we could work more trash into the mix. Stay tuned.
Walking up Brickyard Road, we started finding bits and pieces of measuring spoons.
Each had a measurement and a belief. The first was one tablespoon and “Believe.” Subsequently, we found “Faith” and “Hope.” After some research, these are Ganz Cross Spoons. We are missing “Trust.” Yes, we have a problem with that. You try walking along a road with a semi passing within five feet of you. We could use some more trust.
Near the end of Brickyard Road, there is a bus stop with a ditch behind it. Periodically, as trash from a nearby Jackon’s service station builds up, we dive in to clean it out.
On the left was a random collection of cups, red straws, and other trash tossed into the ditch from the bus riders. But there was also an empty carton of Trojans. Guess that is a viable option while waiting for the bus.
By the freeway offramp, someone lost a gallon of paint on the sidewalk.
First off, that is the wrong color for the sidewalk, we are leaning toward mauve. If we had been thinking, we would have walked through it and left our footprints for posterity. But we didn’t and set the can and lid aside to pick up later in the week.
For several weeks, a Home Depot shopping cart was at the park-and-ride. Today it was gone but replaced by a child seat.
Really? Did they forget the child too? We tried, but it didn’t fit us. And it has cup holders, too.
Okay, this was a unpleasant end to our short week. You who are faint of heart may want to leave now.
You have been forewarned. Near the end of our walk, we found a bucket filled with rags.
We hauled it home. In addition to the rags, the bucket contained human excrement. It was pretty disgusting. The rags went into the garbage can along with a heavy dose of Lysol spray, and the bucket was rinsed and emptied in our back 40. What a load of crap.
Trash Walking 