Occidental Ave South, White Center

For some reason, First Pl. S. shares its name with Occidental Ave. South. It's not that part of the street is known as one name and part by another, the entire street has two names, though it's mainly known by Occidental. Primarily a residential street, it travels from White Center to John F. Kennedy High School on 138th St. in Burien. Ever one for consistency, the residences are just alright. Not somewhere that you'd want to live unless it's the best you can afford. Since it parallels the main arterial (1st Ave. S.), many commuters use the street to bypass rush hour traffic. Therefore, a few neighborhoods have added speed bumps, making the neighborhood that much less appealing. Many businesses line 1st Ave. South, meaning that there's quite a bit of traffic noise in many resident's back yards. While there are trees on the street, they do little to aleviate the dirty, desolate feeling the street projects. Some of the neighborhoods along the street, especially at the north end, are in close proximity to a couple of parks and Arbor Lake, though they're seldom used by kids for playing. The nicest thing about the area is it's access to Hwy 509, providing a 15-minute trip to downtown Seattle, and Hwy 518, where you can zip to the airport in under 10 minutes without the overhead air traffic noise.

I love walking occidental, usually after a hawks game or finding my car the morning after a long night out. Occidental doesn't have street traffic all the way thought, there is a good block that runs along the gold rush park that is just shops and galleries. The street closes down to foot traffic next to the stadium during games and some concerts. I always recommend filling up on food or beer along the street before paying the outrages prices inside the stadium. One thing to note, there can be alot of homeless people in the pioneer square district, so not a place for familes or walking alone at night.

Seattle is well known for it's year round festivals, though when I am in town in late January, I make it a must to attend the Seattle Boat Show. Held at Qwest Field Event Center at 800 Occidental Avenue South, the boat show is massive and amazing, to say the very least. There are boat and yacht exhibitors, boating and fishing seminars, and best of all, a parade of sailboats.