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44-mile trail system now complete

The final segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail is open, completing King County’s portion of the 44-mile paved Locks to Lake Corridor that connects Seattle’s waterfront in Ballard to Eastside cities and the Cascade foothills

The 3.6-mile final link completes the 11-mile trail’s connection to the Burke-Gilman, Sammamish River, Marymoor Connectors, and Issaquah-Preston trails, welcoming people of all ages and abilities to walk, ride, roll, and bike.

At a trail-opening ceremony, County Executive  Dow Constantine noted the new lakeside link “allows residents from all across King County to use a safe, healthy, and accessible recreation path” that is 12 feet wide with two of gravel shoulders on each side. Construction crews also installed new culverts for salmon to swim underneath the trail to reach spawning habitat.

The trail follows the old BNSF Railroad along Lake Sammamish’s eastern shoreline. At its southern end in Issaquah, the trail links to Issaquah-Preston Trail. To the north, it connects to the Marymoor Connector Trail at Marymoor Park, which connects to the Sammamish River Trail and Sound Transit’s new Link light-rail stations in Redmond.

King County purchased the East Lake Sammamish corridor in 1997 and opened a gravel-surfaced interim trail in 2006.

The Locks to Lakes Corridor is part of the Leafline Trails network of more than 500 miles of paved, non-motorized trails across King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties.

The Senior Scene by — March 5, 2024 in Lifestyle, Home, Adventures
Come aboard for history

Naval museums, some of them on retired ships, eagerly await and welcome visitors. Not to mention any and all support that helps keep floating history shipshape.

Roughly 120 Navy vessels are official historic landmarks in the United States. And naval ship museums, some of them housed in retired warships and submarines, are helping preserve that maritime and military heritage.

Two such places are a relatively short drive or a ferry ride to the Kitsap Peninsula, where Puget Sound Navy Museum in Bremerton and Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport are doing their part to educate current and future generations by bringing to life the historic roles of vessels above and below the waves.

Maintaining and operating naval museums often falls to veterans’ or community groups with minimal or no government funding. The museums rely on the generosity and support of their members and the public.

In return, visitors get thoroughly indoctrinated in floating history such as the USS Turner Joy, anchored at Bremerton’s waterfront near the Puget Sound Navy Museum (PSNM). The 66-year-old destroyer, decommissioned by the Navy in 1982, was involved in the Navy’s first sea battle in the Vietnam War in 1964. It now is a Navy museum ship. (Information about tours is at ussturnerjoy.org and 360-792-2457.) Recent temporary exhibits included one about patrol boats that were used in Puget Sound to chase alcohol smugglers during the prohibition and for guarding coastlines, ports, and rescues.

PSNM opened in 1954 in a different Bremerton than the 6,049 square-feet building it now occupies near Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and a state ferry terminal.

Naval Undersea Museum, a few miles north in Keyport and affiliated with PSNM, sits next to a branch of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, a research, testing and engineering arm of the Navy. Museum artifacts and exhibits include torpedoes (“Torpedo Town” is a nickname for Keyport), a simulated submarine control room, a hulking portion of an actual former sub’s hull, and a deepwater rescue submersible that was used in the movie “The Hunt for Red October.”  It’s all backed by a non-profit foundation and its members who provide financial and organizational support .

Floating-ship museums, such as the Turner Joy, include famous ships like the USS Midway and USS Enterprise. Others are lesser-known but still storied. One is the USS Red Oak. Moored in Richmond, Calif., 16 miles north of San Francisco, it’s one of the last surviving World War II Victory Ships that were built on an emergency basis to carry vital supplies and troops to all theaters of war.

Well-known or not, all floating-ship and land-based naval museums “have a responsibility to future generations to preserve historic ships and to raise awareness,” said Fred Klink, who heads a committee running the Red Oak.

While naval museums need financial backing from individuals, organizations and corporations, Klink and other advocates note there are some simple ways virtually anyone can support the museums. One of the easiest ways is to visit them, buying a ticket if admission is charged (PSNM and Naval Undersea are free) and affirming their important roles in preserving history.

Another way is to volunteer for leading tours or other assistance such as working in museum stores.

Source: Brandpoint contributed to this report.

The Senior Scene by — February 28, 2024 in Spotlight
Not all protein is created equal

The American Heart Association recommends eating healthy sources of protein (mostly from plant sources); regularly eating fish and seafood; substituting non-fat and low-fat dairy products in place of full-fat versions; and for people who eat meat or poultry, going for the lean and unprocessed varieties. The reasons are plenty.

Fish and shellfish are good sources of protein. Examples include anchovies, herring, mackerel, black cod, salmon, sardines, bluefin tuna, whitefish, striped bass, and cobia. As part of a heart-healthy diet, omega-3 fatty acids in fish can help reduce the risk of heart failure, coronary heart disease, cardiac arrest and the most common type of stroke (ischemic).

Food from plants that contain plenty of protein include beans, peas, lentils and nuts. There are many types of beans – pinto, kidney, garbanzo, soybeans – and they’re all good for you. Put lentils, split peas and black-eyed peas on the list, too. Plant sources of protein don’t have saturated fats and provide dietary fiber and other nutrients. Nuts, peanuts, and soybeans also contain healthy unsaturated fats.

Now for you meat-eaters. In general, red meat (such as beef, pork and lamb) has more saturated fat than skinless chicken, fish, and plant proteins. Saturated fats can raise blood cholesterol and increase risk of heart disease. So choose lean meat, skinless poultry, and unprocessed forms. And eat healthy portions,

such as three ounces. The size of a three-ounce portion is the size of a deck of cards for red meat, a small chicken drumstick or thigh, three-quarters of a cup of flaked fish, and two thin slices of lean roast beef.

You can get all the nutrients you need without eating meat. A one-cup serving of cooked beans, peas, lentils or tofu can replace a two-ounce serving of meat, poultry or fish. Two ounces of peanut butter equals an ounce of meat.

On that note, here are some suggestions for mixing non-meat protein and other healthy eating into the three main daily meals:

Breakfast

• Add beans to breakfast tacos, scrambled eggs, or a vegetable omelet.

• Replace bacon and sausage with low-sodium, nitrate-free turkey or veggie bacon..

• Stir nuts or yogurt into cooked cereal.

• Use non-fat or low-fat milk or yogurt.    

Lunch

• Slice leftover chicken or turkey for sandwiches.

• Have a bowl of bean or lentil soup with added veggies.

• Eat a tuna sandwich on whole-grain bread (swap out some of the mayo with ripe avocado).

• Make a chicken salad with leftover baked or roasted chicken.

Dinner

• Grill, bake, or microwave chicken breasts. Remove skin before cooking.

• Bake fish fillets sprinkled with lemon and salt-free seasonings. Or bake or grill a whole fish in foil with lemon and onion slices..

• Top a salad with beans, nuts, fish, or skinless chicken.

• Add beans to a soup or casserole.

• Make burger patties from black or garbanzo beans.

And when preparing meals, there are ways to come out with the healthiest results. For instance, flavor any type of protein with salt-free spices and herbs, garlic, and onion. Trim fat from meat and remove skin from poultry before cooking, and pour off any melted fat. If roasting a whole chicken or turkey, remove the skin before carving and serving.

One more tip: Chill meat juices after cooking so you can easily skim off the hardened fat. Then you can add the juices to stews, soups and gravy.

Sources: American Heart Association and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Senior Scene by — February 28, 2024 in Food, People

By Brandy Minks

Exercise for many people is a challenge because of limited mobility. Excess weight can be restraining and joint issues, decreased muscle mass and low endurance can be limiting factors to exercise. Reliance on a cane, walker or wheelchair may also restrict the number or types of activities you can perform.

The goal of exercise is ideally to improve “functional fitness,” or training for the daily activities of life. However, even if you struggle with mobility, there are ways to incorporate functional fitness training into your life.

Focus on these three areas to improve functional fitness:

  • Aerobic capacity refers to how much endurance you have when it comes to activities such as walking, climbing stairs, washing yourself, getting dressed, etc. These activities can increase your heart rate and breathing. When we lack aerobic capacity, daily activities seem harder and make us tire easily. By building up aerobic capacity through regular exercise, activities become easier and we have better quality of life.
  • Muscular strength refers to the strength of your muscles and whether your endurance is adequate enough to complete daily activities without problems. For example, think about whether it is difficult for you to brush your hair or push yourself up from a chair. If these activities are hard for you (or you require assistance), increasing your muscular strength and endurance will help you do these activities with ease.
  • Range of motion/flexibility refers to the ability to move our bodies in ways that allow us to do activities with minimal pain. Ask yourself: Can I reach behind my head to brush my hair? Can I stretch to tie my shoes or put on socks? Having good flexibility allows us to do daily activities effortlessly.

To increase aerobic capacity, start with simple seated exercises. You can do these on your own or in a class. Any movement that causes your heart rate and breathing to increase will work. Take breaks as you need them. Start off slowly and increase the time you exercise by a minute or two every day.

To increase muscular endurance and flexibility, practice the following exercises while seated in a chair 5–10 times. These exercises mimic activities we do every day:

  • Reach for it. Bend slightly forward at your hips and hold your arms straight out in front of you.
  • Pick it up. Pull a backpack or bag from the floor onto your lap. Then pull it up higher and hold it to your chest. You can add items to the bag to make this harder.
  • Push it. Push yourself up from your chair using your arms and legs and sit back down. Make your legs do most of the work.
  • Pull it. Reach your arms straight out in front of you. Pull your elbows back and pinch your shoulder blades together. You can do this with weights to make it harder.
  • Carry it. Carry your bag or backpack from one spot to another.

Brandy Minks, who has masters degrees in nutrition and exercise physiology, works for MultiCare Health System’s Center for Weight Loss and Wellness.

The Senior Scene by — February 28, 2024 in Health & Fitness