The marina is just south of Golden Gardens.
Mike dreaming of a sailboat...some day...
Leif Erikson - I am a Johnson, and I used to live in Ballard - perhaps a long, lost relative?
We saw lots of Dungeness crabs like this guy in the water.
As we biked further south we hit the “restaurant zone” – including Ray’s Boathouse. A restaurant that burned down to the pier in 1987. And almost 10 years later it suffered a 2nd fire! But it reopened months later and is still there today. I have been there many times and the tables on the deck cannot be beat for the sunset view, good chow, and adult beverages!
We caught a pic of this ship, escorted by a tug boat. Her name is Alaska Solution and she appears to be a ferry of some sort. We happened to follow her all the way through to the Ballard Locks.
And what are the Locks? The Locks are a profound engineering marvel! They serve as a way to move vessels from the salt water in the Sound to the fresh waters of Lake Union and Lake Washington. This is accomplished by raising and lowering the water levels - quite a feat. Secondly, the Locks include fish ladders which assist in the migration of salmon back to their birthplace so that they can give birth and continue the salmon cycle.
While the Alaska Solution used the “big lock,” the smaller boats used the “small lock” and came out one at a time.
The fish ladders have an observation area for viewing one of the ladder steps. I have visited the ladders so many times over the years, but it is still fascinating to see what these huge fish have to go through to make it home to spawn.
Salmon in the “waiting area” to go up the ladders.
The fish ladders on the side of the Locks.
We probably spent over an hour at the Locks and fish ladders. It was so very interesting and something I’d recommend for anyone – visitors and native Seattleites!
After all that “sight seeing” we got back on our bikes and went north back to Golden Gardens. The beach was filling up and it was time to head home. Ahhh...I love Seattle!
p.s. I am going to start documenting my Kenmore Air sightings...here is one now!
5 comments:
gosh cynthia, have you considered working as a tour guide? i feel like i am getting a personal tour every time i read one of your posts about seattle. next time we have a nice sat. or sun. i will head to seattle with steve to visit some of the places you've written about recently. glad you guys are having so much fun.
hiked tiger mountain yesterday. had some awesome views of mt.rainier and the valley.
by the way, i e-mailed you on sunday so if you didn't see it, check your spam box.
have another great day in this beautiful weather. i may even go for a swim in the lake today.
teresa
p.s. so glad you continued blogging.
I really enjoyed the tour, lots of fun and great pictures. Thanks Cynthing, great post.
teresa and Gloria - Thanks! We enjoy getting out and exploring our neighborhoods. The blog is a great way to memorialize our adventures and have something to look back on.
Surprised that ole Leif did not spell his last same Eriksen, instead of "son"!
Kary and Nancy Petersen
Gig Harbor
Hello Kary and Nancy - I spent some time in Iceland and learned about names there...so maybe Leif's original name was Eriksson, meaning his dad's name was Erik? That's my guess. Thanks for checking out our blog!
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