I graduated Oregon State in Pharmacy in 1979, but left a year later to live in Spain. After 2 years in Pamplona (my family comes from that area), I got my MBA in Barcelona at IESE then landed in Seattle in 1984 for a Medical Sales career with Merck.

Today, I work for Humana, as a field sales associate for Medicare health plans. For fun, and to help raise funds for Senior Centers in our neighborhood, I cook paella for 90 people using two weber barbecues. I also MC small auctions and fundraisers that support seniors.

I used to run Greenlake (2.8mi) every day, but now choose to just run in the neighborhood for the quiet, and the fragrant gardens. I used to ride my bike on the Burke-Gillman trail (40-50 miles long around Lake Washington and east to Redmond), only about 5-6 minutes down the hill from our house. I enjoy sailing small boats, and of course, any opportunity to practice Spanish I can find.

Jim Yragui purchased this house in 1987

I chose this neighborhood because it is full of people, just like my memories of Spanish cities. While in Spain people came together for food and people watching, Seattle people also come together for outdoor activities: to run or walk, or to ride bikes, or to hike or ski the mountains. I believe in daily exercise, preferably outdoors, and our neighbors mirror this. I also find many of these people to be very creative, probably because of the proximity to the University of Washington. And, just as in Spain, there are many small unique and interesting places to eat.

Another reason why I chose this neighborhood was its convenience. Driving to work or to events downtown is quick and easy on Hwy 99. Driving to work outside the city in the morning or returning from outside the city in the evening is easy because most others travel in the opposite direction at those times.

We raised two kids in this house, and when they were little we would hike to the Ballard Locks to watch the salmon come up the fish ladders, or hike across the locks to get to the beach below Discovery Park. We flew kites at Gasworks Park, rode bikes to the UW, or just walked around Fremont to see the troll or the Sunday Market or the Solstice parade. Like in Spain, the Solstice parade is a parade of PEOPLE in costumes, walking or on bikes, not of cars covered with flowers. Greenlake was always a great place for the kids to swim in the summer. Now, I guess, I am staying in this neighborhood because it is full of families with kids –once you have kids of your own, you always get a kick out of watching others !

Lately, I have walked south to Fremont (20 min) ,crossed the Fremont Bridge, and climbed to the top of Queen Ann (another 20 min) for an incredible view of downtown and the Space Needle. To the north about 2 miles walk (or run ! ) is Carkeek Park, a ravine with a Salmon stream that gurgles down to another beautiful beach on the sound. Ballard is west, only 15 minutes’ walk, and another 20 minutes takes you to Shilshole, with Sailboats and lots of sand on Puget Sound. Coffee shops abound in all neighborhoods. One of my favorite little coffee shops is Canal Street Coffee, where one can sit and watch the parade of boats motoring to and from the Ballard Locks and the Sound.

The local Phinney Neighborhood Association sponsors many activities for all ages. An interesting one is the annual “Gum-Shoe”, where people walk a route mapped with 20 stops across the neighborhood. Each stop has a riddle which can be solved only with the clues available at that stop. It’s a great way to explore the neighborhood.

After enjoying the outdoors, boating is the next traditional pastime in Seattle. Small sailboats can be rented at Greenlake, and at the center for wooden boats on Lake Union. Of course, there are the traditional tourist activities involving boats, such as the hydro races in August, or local water tour of Lake Washington to see Bill Gates house, or simply renting kayaks to paddle around the Arboretum. But the best boat attraction is simply taking a ferry ride on a beautiful day, either to Bainbridge Island to tour a winery, or to Vashon Island to ride bikes and enjoy locally grown foods. My second best boating activity is watching the Duck-Dodge (all-comers) sailboat race held every summer Tuesday evening on Lake Union.

Airplanes are also big in Seattle, thanks to Boeing. Tour the 787 plant in Everett or the Museum of Flight at Boeing field, or just watch the float planes take off and land on Lake Union, always somehow dodging all those sailboats !