Eclipse, gained notoriety for riding Seattle’s red bus alone,
is seen riding the bus in October, 2021.
Eclipse, a dog who gained notoriety for riding Seattle’s city bus alone, died in her sleep on Friday, according to her owner-run Facebook account. She was 10 years old.
The big red bus with three doors had been a fixture of Eclipse's daily routine for years, owner Jeff Young told USA TODAY. Several green and yellow buses stopped right outside of Young's apartment, but Eclipse knew to take the red one to the dog park in Belltown because she had done it "a million times," Young said. He adopted Eclipse when she was just 10 weeks old.
In 2015, the black lab-bullmastiff mix dog began commuting without Young two to three times a week after sneaking on the bus alone while Young was smoking a cigarette. Eclipse knew exactly where to get off the bus by looking out the window, Young said. Eclipse would hop off the bus and "fly" straight to the dog park about a block and a half away.
"She would break off whatever conversation she was having or whatever interaction, jump down, go to the back door and start banging on the glass," Young said. And since that first solo ride in 2015, Young had to keep a closer eye on Eclipse. "The celebrity kind of got out of hand," Young said.
Young said Eclipse has been his "best friend" for the last 11 years.
"Missing her doesn't even cover it," he said.
Storytime
There was a beautiful, tiny Princess, Raquel, who met a tall, handsome Grandhunk-Prince, Jordan, and they liked each other a lot, right away a lot! She had a birthday on Sunday, April 28, 2024 and so there was a big day planned. As always, church Sunday morning, then bunch with family and friends. Then late afternoon they went to the Princess's castle up on a hill for a birthday celebration.
As the sun set, her handsome Grandhunk-Prince got down on one knee and asked if she would marry him? She nodded yes, then screamed in joy, and tears rolled down her face in between kisses and more but littler screams of joy. The Grandhunk-Prince, Jordan looked at her with such love and laughter at her screams.
All this whileSuperman,WonderWoman, the other two Grandhunks, and the Princess's great family all watched with laughs and tears. One big beautiful family.
There's something about visiting an enormous, carefully cultivated garden that brings a sense of peace. More meticulous than the national parks of the world, and more robustly floral than even the best city parks, the country's most stunning botanical gardens offer a chance to reconnect with nature amongst the blooms of the season.
Filoli looks like something straight out of Bridgerton and feels a little bit like walking through a floral-scented dream. Tended to by 14 full-time horticulturists, this is an ideal place for those who want to pretend they’re in a fairy tale.
You can essentially meet Mother Nature herself in the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
The 25-foot Earth Goddess sculpture at Atlanta Botanical Garden is certainly one of the park’s most impressive assets—not to mention most meticulously manicured, requiring daily maintenance to keep her foliage and more than 18,000 annuals looking immaculate.
More than 250 acres of natural beauty in the Bronx.
Central Park is the most renowned urban respite for perpetually cramped New Yorkers, but nothing relaxes a city dweller like a trip to the New York Botanical Garden. The park spans more than 250 acres, including 50 acres of preserved forestland and 50 gardens with more than a million species of plants.
Englishman Henry Shaw created an American botanical garden in the style of the great ones of Europe and open it up to the public. He did so by developing the 75 acres that surrounded his country home, and the results remain stunning to this day.
This is a particularly fun one; botanical gardens don't actually need to be green and lush, so long as there are cacti involved. The folks at the Arizona Native Plant Society, who established this place in 1939, wanted to educate people about the unique plant and animal life of the Sonoran Desert, as well as the people who call it home.
At a sprawling 120 acres, LA County's Huntington is less a singular garden and more a Russian doll of landscape architecture spanning continents and climates. Here, you can stroll through an Alice in Wonderland-style interactive children’s garden and a miniature rainforest, saunter over to a fully realized Chinese garden complete with waterfalls and noodle bar under a pagoda, and transition through a bamboo forest to emerge in a Japanese garden with a koi pond, zen gardens, and bonsai.
Brookgreen Gardens boasts one of the most impressive collections of outdoor sculptures in America. | Brookgreen Gardens
South Carolina's premier botanical garden might be the most educational in America. Not only is this place home to a vast array of Lowcountry vegetation, but it also boasts one of the most impressive collections of outdoor sculptures in America. These gardens are home to 1,440 works—550 of which are displayed at a given time—by 300 of the best sculptors the country has ever seen. Also, there’s a zoo!
The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has more than a dozen themed gardens and a conservatory.
With 50 acres of botanic excellence, the trails that winds through Richmond’s own Lewis Ginter will take you through more than a dozen themed gardens, including a Healing Garden, a Rose Garden, a Cherry Tree Walk, and a Victorian Garden.
Located near Gainesville's University of Florida, the paths of Kanapaha Botanical Gardens wind through swamps with live oaks draped in Spanish moss, a rose garden, rock garden, and even butterfly gardens.
Columbus, Ohio. Ohio's state tree is the Ohio Buckeye—which is why it comes as no surprise that the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens houses a buckeye tree incubator. That's in addition to 400 plant species ranging from tropical to Himalayan.
For more beautiful Botanical Gardens and further details, here.
If you are local, I thought I'd mention this great upcoming local event
The 31st Annual Floral Park Home & Garden Tour
On Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28, 2024, the Floral Park Neighborhood Association (FPNA) will host its 31st Annual Home & Garden Tour. The event will showcase vintage homes from the 1920s through the 1950s for public viewing in what is known as Orange County's "Best Kept Secret."
Apart from the vintage homes, attendees can delight in charming gardens, a classic car show, culinary delights from local eateries, a wine and beer garden, and a plethora of shopping opportunities along our renowned "Street of Treasures."
The tour hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday (4/27) and Sunday (4/28). The Wine Garden will be open on Saturday from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm and on Sunday from 11:00 am to 5 p.m.
Join the day filled with exploring homes and gardens, indulging in shopping, admiring classic cars, savoring culinary delights, and relaxing in our Wine and Beer Garden with live entertainment. Your attendance supports historic preservation, scholarships, and charitable efforts in Santa Ana and surrounding areas.
