February 21 - Field Trip to Seattle

This winter Erik realized he had two back to back weeks of meetings and conferences in Seattle, so we decided to turn it into a family outing and all go for ten days. We knew there would be plenty of things to see and do, plus two families from church had recently moved to the area and we were looking forward to visiting them as well.

Our first adventure after arriving, settling in to a small rental condo, and doing some school work was to meet the Jacksons at the Ballard Locks. This was one of the few days the distant mountains were visible.

Minutes after arriving at the locks our toes were completely numb (and seemed to stay that way until we returned to Atlanta.) But the locks were fascinating; several boats/ships came through while we watched. Oops, I didn't actually get a picture of one going through.

After watching for a while we went to look at the fish ladder. (See picture below the beach photo--accidentally posted them out of order.) If there had been fish traveling through it would have been more exciting. (On one of my two previous visits to Seattle--in the summer--I remember seeing lots of fish and it was fun to watch.)

Next we drove to the beach at nearby Discovery Park. This was the definition of raw weather. Cold, icy drizzle, wind, gloomy gray skies, damp gray mud, and choppy gray water. We would liked to have stayed longer since it was so different from any "beach" we have been to, but we quickly retreated to the warmth of the car.

Here is the aforementioned fish ladder. (There is also a viewing window below water level.) This provides salmon and other fish a way to travel to and from the Sound, bypassing the locks. They can jump from one weir (section) to the next or swim through tunnels under the divider walls. Because the locks separate fresh and salt water bodies the last several sections of the ladder gradually mix in salt water. The fish can smell the "attraction water" up ahead which motivates them to travel. Fascinating.

When Erik had some time off we went to see Pike Place market.

We saw some of the famous picturesque produce

displays at the market and also the fish throwers.

We bought spiral hair ornaments for Meg and Kate.

We also drove by the Space Needle (too cheap to buy tickets to the top). It was

so cold and windy; we could barely stand still long enough to pose for this picture!

From downtown we drove to the flight museum. We couldn't believe all the huge cranes we passed and thousands and thousands of shipping containers.