(thanks Kim for letting me totally jack your blog post!)
Natalie is getting married! In October. And instead of a bachelorette party, she had a Bride's Day with all of her sisters, and her Mom. Beforehand, we couldn't decide what we wanted to do, and Dad in jest said "Take the boat out into Lake Union, through the Ballard Locks." We all looked at him and said "YES! That's it!" So, Dad came along to be our Captain/Chauffer/Tour Guide.
We woke up at 4am and launched in Lake Washington in Renton. We cruised through the glassy, smooth, silent water, and it was so fun being the only boat on the water. We went past UW, and into Lake Union, where it was so foggy we couldn't see the Space Needle or Seattle Skyline at all. In fact, if we didn't have electronics on the boat, the trip would have been absolutely impossible.
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| The Lovely Bride! |
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| My momma braiding my hair for me |
It was freezing cold, but fortunately we were prepared with blankets and hoodies. We got to the locks a little after 7, and were first in line. We only had to wait a few minutes before we were able to go in!
The Ballard Locks are what separate the fresh water of Salmon Bay, and the salt water of the Puget Sound. From the fresh water side, you boat into this cement box thing (the lock). They close the gates behind you, and the water slowly empties into the Puget Sound (the salty side), lowering you with it. When the water in the lock is the same level as the water in the Sound, the front gate opens, and you can cruise out into the Sound. The whole thing uses gravity to run. No pumps or anything!
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| Our trip |
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| Me tying us up to the lock wall. The wall moves down as the water lowers. The whole thing was really ingenious! |
This is a picture from the boat while in the lock. We are in fresh water. And you can kind of see how low the salt water is on the other side of the wall. On the left side of the lock (that you can't see) is a salmon ladder, that you can see the salmon jumping upstream to spawn. So cool!
The back of the lock. It's big enough for big boats, but I was surprised at how small it actually was. Going through both times, it was only us and other boat in the lock. But on our return trip, I counted 8 boats come out of the lock into the Puget Sound. I am SO glad we got there so early!
Jenny!
The lock door opening...
Natalie and Lisa
I LOVE this picture of Lisa!
I spy... a harbor seal. Can you tell how foggy it was? The water and the fog were the same color. It was so foggy, that we almost ran into a ferry. Literally. We were cruising (at a decently slow pace) when all the sudden we hear this deep long horn. Dad pulls off the throttle and directly in front of us, we can barely see a darkness through the fog. We redirected, and as we got closer we saw it was a ferry. (okay, maybe that is a little dramatic, but we were close!) Good thing they use radars and could see us, because we definitely could not see them!
It continued to be so foggy, that we almost literally rear-ended Seattle. We were cruising, and again, out of nowhere, we see this dark shape. We slow down and BAM! There's Seattle.
It was almost eerie to be the only ones in the water, and to not be able to see any land or really even know where we were. It gave me a lot more compassion for those that immigrated across the Atlantic Ocean, and were on boats for months, not seeing any land. And, we knew where we were thanks to GPS!
The new HUGE Ferris Wheel in Seattle
The Girls!
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| can you tell we like a certain color pallet? |
The Captain
The fog burned off right as we got back to the lock. The rest of the day was BEAUTIFUL!!!
My amazing and beautiful parents!
On our way back, we stopped at Ivar's Salmon House for lunch. It's awesome, because they have a dock for customers only. So we were able to dock up right in front, then walk up the stairs into the restaurant.
The view was amazing. We saw several seaplanes land and take off, you could see the space needle in the distance, and the sun was finally shining down on us.
Since we were at the Salmon House, I had to order salmon. I was SO glad I did! It was the BEST Salmon I have ever put into my mouth. Everything was so fresh! (I was a little disappointed in my chocolate inebriation dessert though :\ )
This is the entry to Ivar's. It was awesome! And just a glimpse of what the feel of the place was. SO FUN!
All in all, the day was amazing. Even though the morning was foggy, we made so many fun memories, and I am so grateful for my sisters, sister-in-law, and parents, that we can all get together and have such an incredible time! We have the best family ever!
