A Fun Filled Weekend

Well, it was mostly fun.  Saturday afternoon we watched on TV as the Sounders lost in Salt Lake City and surrendered their number one spot.  Other than that it was all good.

Saturday morning Tom picked up the grand kids while I made coffee cake.  We had the kids for the weekend because Jill and her brother Jake were climbing Mount Adams.  I don't have a report from them yet, except that it is now the middle of Monday afternoon and everyone has just been deposited back to their respective homes.

The kids hung out here Saturday morning while we hosted our garden group for Coffee and Conversation in the Garden.  Our members enjoyed touring our garden and then eating and visiting until well after noon.

Then it was time to feed the kids and get them involved in something so we could watch that soccer match.  After that we played and hung out here at home.

Sunday morning Tom and I were up early to meet Karen for breakfast at 7:30 at the Pancake Chef.  Karen is the former student I posted about some time ago, who found me out of the blue. I wrote about it here.

Karen was in Seattle for her 35th high school reunion.  She is a lawyer in Las Vegas.  We had a great visit over breakfast at a place she remembers well from her past.

We parted about 9:30 and and went home to get the kids moving, fed and ready for our Sunday urban trekking in Seattle.

Our day centered around the Lake Washington Ship Canal.  First we went to Fremont for the Sunday street market.  We parked up on the hill near the troll that lives under the Aurora Bridge. 

We walked down the hill under the bridge to the canal, stopping to say hello to our late local kids' TV clown, JP Patches.

 We walked across the Fremont Bridge and back on the other side, getting good views of the canal and the boat traffic.

At the market we looked at flowers and jewelry and clothes and old stuff and enjoyed funky people watching.

 Summer flowers are so bright and lovely.

When we got to the end of the stalls, the kids found a tree to climb.

 It was now a bit after noon, so Irene decided we needed to go to the Starbucks we saw on the corner.  Around here there is frequently a Starbucks on the corner.  We all agreed and grabbed a chance to sit down in air conditioning and have a snack.  It turns out the kids have their own "usual", vanilla bean frappuchinos. 

The famous "Waiting For the Interurban" stature was announcing someone's birthday when we passed to go back to the car.

 The next stop was down the canal at the locks.  Isaac had expressed an interest in them and so of course we went!

The large lock was filled with all shapes and sizes of vessels, from the ocean going tug, to the yacht, to an inflatable "Zodiac" .

 The reflections were great!

 We watched as the lock filled to raise the boats from the level of the sound to the level of Lake Union and Lake Washington.

 Off they go.

 Then we walked across the dam on the canal over to the fish ladders.

 The kids spent a long time watching the fish struggle against the current to go up stream.

Since it was "canal day" we decided next to see where the canal ends, out in the sound in Shilshole Bay.

But first we needed to find ice cream.  

 I was very bad.↓

It was getting late in the afternoon and the beach at golden gardens was packed, so we took just enough time for the kids to get their feet wet while Tom circled in the very full parking lots.

 We stopped by their house on the way home to check on the kitty cats and pick up their Slip n' Slide.  With the temp in the low 80's, it was a good way to end the day.

 They brought some distinctly Seattle toys along too.

I cooked dinner, more nutritious than our ice cream lunch, and in the evening I actually found a movie On Demand that they hadn't seen yet, Rio 2.  It was colorful and fun, but "not as good as the first one", Irene announced.  The kids went to bed late and we went to bed early, which was close to the same time.  :-)

This morning Tom helped get the kids moving and I fed them and then they found some new old toys to play with while Tom did laundry and I finally got a whole exercise routine in.  After that I helped the kids with a sewing project they each had an idea for.

This afternoon I am resting.