Road Trip, Day 1.

Little Fox and I have hit the road to visit some of his older stuffy relatives in Seattle.
Coming into Seattle from the south lends you one of the best views of the downtown and the space needle, except for tonight.  It's a tad smoggy but if you look hard you can see the space needle way back there on the left.

We mae it safely and the older stuffies were ready to hang out with us. 

Rise and shine humans.  It's an amazing day, let's go!

In the distance you can see the Olympic Mountains.  If you go to certain places in Canada you can see the same mountains.

Our destination today is Ballard.  A neighborhood in Seattle that is known for it's Nordic heritage and it's fishing history.  Now it's known for it's hipsters and trendy shops.  Of course Ballard was first inhabited by the Shishole Native American Tribe, then in the 1880s the area became a major shipping point for timber and fishing industries which attracted many Swedish and Norwegian immigrants.  In 1907 Ballard was annexed by the City of Seattle and the rest is history. 

Lot's of back alleys.  An ship builder here. 

 Perhaps I can get a back alley deal on Salmon? 

 This boat looks ship shape. My guess is it's a fisher heading north to Alaska.  Perhaps I will see if I can catch a ride on it to Canada when I am ready to head home. 

Hanging out in town square. 

This bear needs a pick-me-up.  I'll take a venti hot chocolate please.

They have these bikes all over town. 

.

Who am I kidding, I don't know how to ride a bike. 

What?  Three sandwiches.....two stuffies?  This is the life!

To aid in the timber and the fishing industries the Army Corp of Engineers built the Ballard Locks.  The locks make it easy to travel between Lake Washington the the Puget Sound.  The Ballard Locks handle the most traffic of any locks in the United States.

Water level starts off low. 

Boats come in and the water slowly rises. 

And rises.

Till the boat is ready to go. 

Time to head home.  This bear and fox are hungry. Yes, fresh cheese from Switzerland, blueberries and crackers will do for dinner.  What, a stuffy size glass of wine too?   Sounds great. 

Ah, what a day.  Time for bed.  What's on tap for tomorrow?