Down the Rabbit Hole

My friend dropped me off in Old Town Thursday because I had time to kill between meetings and I was going to annihilate that time in a coffee shop. I planned to show you that shop as a revival of my Coffee Shop Quest. But the shop (Seattle's Best on Raymond) had apparently bit the recession dust some time ago (I'm so out of it) and my friend had driven away.

I generally don't fret at happy accidents. This is why I always have a) book; b) laptop; or c) a camera with me. Thursday I had all of the above.

I thought I'd try the Fuller Seminary Bookstore coffee shop (Coffee By the Books), so I started walking. If I hadn't I never would have come upon the buildings at 159 N. Marengo Avenue where this sculpture by Billy Al Bengston (called Puka o ka moku (Port Cochere)) draws you down the passageway, making you feel like Alice just after she sipped the "Drink Me" potion.

Here's a detail of half the sculpture.

The sun was setting so my pictures are a bit dark. But look down the passageway: what's that blue thing?

More by Billy Al Bengston. This one's called Pua'l wai (fountain).

If I hadn't been walking I wouldn't have known about the art, or about the walkway that cuts through from Marengo to Memorial Park. Honestly, did you know? Am I the last one to figure this out?

By the time I got to the Coffee By the Books it was two minutes 'til closing. The place is too small for setting up my laptop and sitting anyway.