We here at Rain or Shine Guides don't consider ourselves particularly superstitious although we also don't make it a habit of walking under ladders or opening umbrellas indoors. And while deep down we do know it's all a bit silly, we'll go out of our way if it means a little extra luck and good fortune. So when we heard about a wishing tree in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, we figured we should take our chances and go check it out. And boy is this wishing tree done right!
For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept, it's basically what is sounds like: a tree that grants wishes. People tie their hopes and dreams in some format onto the tree and BAM the tree God grants it. Or the tree fairy? Or maybe it's a Grandma like in Disney's version of Pocahontas? We aren't exactly sure.
Capitol Hill home owner, Jane Hamel, has created her very own adorable wishing tree for Seattle to enjoy, complete with seats made out of tree stumps, a bench and table, and a jar of markers and cards for writing your wishes. After creating your wish, place your card in the gold jar and she will take the card and laminate it and add it to the tree. This keeps all of the wishes protected from Seattle's rainy weather. The tree has thousands of cards hanging on it in six different languages. Some wishes are funny, some are sad. As for our wish, we can't tell you..but it might have been food related.
Wishing trees tend to spring up all around Seattle, but the Capitol Hill location is the only one that seems to stick. We heard about a wishing tree at Carkeek Park. It was painted red, and while we did find the red tree (above the salmon slide), there were no wishes tied to it. We also heard about one on the Ship Canal Trail, but, sadly, we were unable to locate it. If you know about any other wishing trees around town, please leave a note in the comments! You can find the Capitol Hill tree at 1251 21st Ave. E. (cross street is Galer), and if you want to make an afternoon out of it, the tree is located very close to Volunteer Park. We encourage you to go, write down your heart's desire, and see your wish come true*.
* Rain or Shines Guides is not responsible for failed wishes, including, but not limited to winning lottery numbers, new Teslas, and weird family members skipping out on Christmas.
