A while back while we were having that string of lovely weekends, dear husband and I were exploring and came upon the Des Moines Marina and Creek. It is a lovely area with a marine (you might have guessed), a large parking lot, some public art (including a way cool mural) and to the north end trails and beach. The Fish/man in the mural is also a statue elsewhere in Des Moines.
The Day Island Yacht Club at 2120 91st Ave W # 1 Tacoma, WA 98466 was established in 1949 per their gate. There is a history of the club here (scroll down to find the article).
It was a lovely day at the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (the Ballard Locks) at 3015 NW 54th Street, Seattle, WA 98107. Dear daughter and her dear friend had one last day at their Seattle conference and I had time again to explore Seattle. I got wildly lost getting there (darned that GPS woman!) and ended up on the wrong side, but that was just fine since there was ready parking and it gave me more of a chance to stretch my legs. I went down to see the fish viewing area and saw two little bitty salmon swimming gamely along. The causeway over the spillway connects the two sides of the locks and is an invigorating, misty walk. Then on the other side is the visitor’s center and gardens. I walked on through the park to the fish and chips place right outside the gate, then with lunch in hand I returned to a sunny bench in the park for an alfresco lunch.
The ship canal was built in 1917 and connects Lake Washington, Lake Union, and Salmon Bay to the Puget Sound. While I was there, it was mostly pleasure boats. The locks were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
There is a wonderful sculpture at the locks named Salmon Waves by Paul Sorey.
I was lucky to have a little time to myself to explore downtown Edmonds, which is a charming town. I walked down the hill to the ferry landing because I remember going there years ago when I still lived in Texas and seeing sea lions or seals. Let me tell you, it was pretty darn exciting to see something so exotic after the flat inland of Texas! I fell in love with the area.
Brackett’s Landing Park is adjacent to the ferry landing and per the informational sign George Brackett founded Edmonds in 1876. This park was dedicated to him in 1963. In 1970 a 27 acre underwater marine preserve and sanctuary was developed, one of the first on the West Coast. Information about the underwater park is located here http://www.edmondswa.gov/services/education/discovery-programs/edmonds-underwater-park.html The way I understand it, there are a bunch of underwater features, like sunken ships and they can be readily found by divers by following the lines attached to the buoys.
A spring day during spring break, what a gift! So I made my dear daughter on a walk along Dock Street an East D Street (the East D Street Grade Separation Project) to look at the concrete images honoring Washington State Ferry Boats. We walked from Freighthouse Square along East D Street which is elevated over the rail tracks. Along the way are depictions of various ferries and Fire Boat #1. Each one has the general outline of its named boat. It is a nice touch. On Dock Street I stopped to snap the panorama above.
We took an evening stroll today along the Thea Foss Waterway and I took this quick photo of the Dock Street Marina with the Murry Morgan Bridge in the background. The website for the marina says “Dock Street Marina is the leading all-weather metropolitan destination on the Puget Sound. Completed in 2005, Dock Street Marina was publicly commissioned to provide first class, year round quest and permanent moorage. Brand new concrete docks, marina support facility, and the ideal location make Dock Street Marina the leading destination marina on the Puget Sound.
http://www.dockstreetmarina.com/
While we were there I stopped to admire the new to me exhibit at the Museum of Glass.
There are over 500 vintage vehicles at the LeMay Family Collection at 325 152nd Street East, Tacoma, WA 98445. Our family signed up for the 1:00 tour and I figured it would be over by 2:00 so the next group could begin. But they must stagger tours because ours went until 3:30! The tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students and kids under 5 are free. A tour guide takes the groups through, which is great because he was happy to talk about the cars, tell stories about how they came to be at LeMay and answer questions!.
Their literature says that they have the largest privately owned vehicle and memorabilia collection in the world. I believe it! Instead of writing more, I’m just going to post a bunch of photos 🙂
The LeMay website can be found here: http://www.lemaymuseum.org/
