We spent last Saturday exploring Wallingford, one of Seattle's many historic walkable neighborhoods.

We headed out on the bus, which took us pretty much straight to Mighty-O Donuts, one of the best doughnut places in Seattle. A neat thing about their donuts is that not only are they very good, but they also don't use any animal products. I really liked my apple fritter. Lesley got an apple spice donut that was good. After doughnuts, Lesley got some tea, and we walked to a nearby park. We enjoyed our tea and time sitting in the park. Then we walked around the neighborhood some. Like many of Seattle's older residential neighborhoods, there are a lot of unique homes with beautiful landscaping.

For lunch we went to a taco truck called Rancho Bravo Tacos in the area and had some pretty good burritos - the best we've had in Seattle.

We then walked up the main drag of Wallingford, 45th St, which is lined with a mile of shops and restaurants. We stopped in a Hawaiian store with shirts and food from the islands. We also stopped in a stationery store, which had some cute cards, and a travel store with a lot of books and maps.

In the middle of Wallingford is the Wallingford Center, which used to be a school and now has a few stores inside. Outside are plenty of benches, as there were throughout the neighborhood. I enjoyed spending time sitting outside before walking around the neighborhood more, passing through a very busy kid-filled playground/soccer field, and by an old school.

There is a two-screen theater in the neighborhood, which we almost went to, but the movies weren't playing at a good time.

We went to Archee McPhee, a popular novelty store, for the first time. We didn't buy any bacon-scented air freshener, but I really enjoyed looking at the various rubber animals, listening to the Mr. T voice box, and dreaming of buying the bacon tuxedo for someone.

We also stopped at Bottleworks, a shop with a lot of different kinds of beer, where we bought a few individual bottles to take home and try, and stopped by a wine store. We then sat outside more at Wallingford Center and watching the cars, bikes, and people go by.

One of our favorite Thai places in the city, Djan's, is in Wallingford, but for dinner we decided to go somewhere different to Jhanjay. Lesley had pad see eew and I had a ginger stir-fry. After dinner, we stopped at the main grocery store in the area (with a giant "WALLINGFORD" sign) to get some food for the next day, and then we took the bus home.

We had a good time in Wallingford. Based on the types of stores and the playgrounds and children we saw, it's apparent that more families live there than in other Seattle neighborhoods we've spent time in. The neighborhood is more kid-friendly and has fewer apartments and condos than other dense neighborhoods in the city. Unlike other urban neighborhoods close to downtown (Capitol Hill, Fremont, Ballard, etc), Wallingford lacks a notable landmark. It's still one of Seattle's most walkable and pleasant neighborhoods.

Quick Wallingford facts:

• Population: 20,433


• Population density per square mile: 11,544


• 2009 Median Home Price: $411,000


• 2008 Median Condo Sales Price: $299,000


• 10th most walkable neighborhood in Seattle

Sources:
1. Seattle Metropolitan Real Estate
2. Walk Score: Seattle's Most Walkable Neighborhoods