This young fellow greeted us silently the other day. Silent, because he is a cast statue. Faithful? Yes. Reliable? No doubt. Can he fetch your slippers....no he cannot!
We had an appointment with some representatives of our respective Federal governments, in a low rise nondescript building. It was located in a shopping mall. Weird? No doubt.
There was a turtle which was not in any hurry to reach his destination.
There were 2 children at perpetual play. Go figure...
Two other children were also engaged in some sort of play. They weren't talking about the details of their juvenile pursuit.
This time of year is redolent with color. Floral displays of God's handiwork are everywhere. When I pulled into a local shopping center these were on full display. I am loving this!!!
I walked several yards closer and took a close up. They look hand painted.
Someone had recommended the Club Sandwich at a local eatery, and I felt duty bound to give it a try. They bake their own multigrain bread. The verdict is in. Delicious. The bread was perfectly toasted and the ingredients fresh and delightfully arranged. Coupled with a Caesar Salad, altogether a pleasure.
Yoho, SODO. To the incognoscenti, this area is south of the Dome, which no longer exists. This is a popular spot for folks heading to the Mariners games.
After our donut break we went to one of our favorite places, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard to watch a few boats "take the elevator".
Upon our arrival, we wandered through the gardens which are adjacent to the locks. There was a Hydrangea, just coming into bloom.
One of the residents looked at us quizzically, as though we might have a nut or other tasty morsel for him. We were unable to oblige.
We ended up at the top of a staircase which leads down to the Promenade adjacent to the locks. Her is my smiling beloved, the Trippin' Sista!
The stairs are very pretty in themselves. Dappled with shade, lined with specimen trees they present a very pleasant flight down to the ground level.
At the bottom of the staircase was a Redwood tree. This healthy specimen is something to see for the locals, who haven't been to the Redwoods in California.
The small lock is 30X150 feet. For those keeping score it holds 247,500 cubic feet or roughly 2,545,714 gallons of water.
At the time we were there Obsession was locking through. She is a 70 foot Sparkman ad Stephens custom sloop that looks as fast as she is sleek. The owners use her for cruises and sailing lessons in the Puget Sound area.
One never knows when beauty may surprise you. This Rose Bush is growing adjacent to a lock keepers shack, that is in the center pier between the two locks.
The larger of the 2 locks measures 80 X 825 feet. Again the volumes are stupendous for those interested. 37,337,142 gallons!!
While we were there a towboat, one of the Foss fleet locked through headed upstream. Pacicfic Knight was built in Houma Louisiana and is a twin screw 1,700 HP vessel, that looks like she's been "rode hard and put up wet".
The deckhand looks like he's had about enough for one day, and is ready to tie up and find a tall cold one.
We started back to the car and came across this bed of lily varieties. Each varietal was labelled with the genus, date of release and breeder.
Some of them were truly spectacular, none of them were mundane.
There was a bed of Hosta. I counted 6 different varieties. They thrive in the cool wet climate and love shade.
I first saw Birds of Paradise flowers growing in Southern California. Apparently the climate has changed enough to allow them to thrive here in the Pacific North Wet.
On the way back to the gate there was this planting bed. The mix of color, height and specie was very pleasing.
By now it was after 7 p.m. and time for a bite to eat. Sadly this crab offered only decor, not delicious.
Behold the Trippin Sista. She's the best looking dish in the joint.
This salty gentleman looked like he was waiting for a berth to become available for a trip home.
The eatery for dinner was the Lockspot Cafe. It has been serving up Chowder and Chips for the past 90 years. Bit of an institution really.
It is busy all day long, but we fortunately picked a good time, both the Mariner's were playing and the US Open was on, Therefore patronage was slow, and we got snappy service and our food was sizzling hot from the kitchen.
I will leave you at this juncture. It is now already tomorrow, and I must sleep. until next time, I bid you a la prochaine. (until next time).
