BALLARD HAS A 'COAST'?

A native Seattleite, I’d never heard of Ballard’s coast.  Seattle didn’t have a coast.  Neither did Tacoma, Edmonds or Everett. Hoquiam was on the coast as was Westport.  Not Ballard.

But long ago, for my first job, I moved to Yakima and spent a decade there one year.  When I’d go back on the weekends headed to Bellingham or Seattle, my friends would say, “headed over to the coast this weekend?”

“No, Seattle”

“OK, Have a great time on the coast!”

As much as I would say it’s Puget frigging Sound, they would insist it was the coast.  East of Snoqualmie pass, I couldn’t win.  It was the coast.

So, far more recently when I moved onto the boat, I’d say I lived in Ballard.  Then the inevitable question.

“Where in Ballard?”

“Off the coast of Ballard” would usually get the great scrunched up face that says “where the hell is that”.

So that’s where I live.  Off the coast of Ballard on a sailboat.

It sounds more rugged than it really is.  It’s only a block from one of Seattle’s great restaurants, Rays, with a decent happy hour and a pretty good pint selection.

But, if you use mapping software to track my movements, it looks like I walk nearly due west for over 100 yards into the water off Ballard and that’s home.

Off the coast of Ballard.