Sometimes we get lucky.
At the Seattle Boat Show in January I sign up for a drawing to win a month's free moorage at Foss Harbor Marina in Tacoma. As I visit their booth, I ask "Where is Foss Harbor? My friends and I always stay at Dock Street Marina." I was told the location, and then remember seeing the name of the marina as we cruised the Foss Waterway to and from Dock Street. "Yes, I will sign up for the drawing."
So imagine my surprise when I get a phone call in a few days to let me know I am the lucky winner! Wow! I am so excited, especially when I realize that it is not too far from SeaTac Airport. I ask if I might have my month start and end in consecutive months -- August 15 to September 15, so that Herb and I could take public transportation to SeaTac to fly home to Houston and attend our granddaughter Stephanie's wedding to Marcus.
Sure, I am told. There's no problem with the dates. So on Tuesday, August 15, we cruise out of Lake Union through the Locks and into the salty Puget Sound. Bruce and Vicki on our sister ship, Moon Shadow, join us hoping to make a stopover at Blake Island, but the marina looks full, with a few boats tied to pilings waiting for someone to vacate a slip.
Tacoma is not too far away, so we head on down the Sound. Foss Harbor welcomes us and we settle into our slip for a nice vacation. There is much to see and do in Tacoma, and we do quite a bit of walking. The photo below is taken from the historical draw bridge, which is about halfway between the two marinas. Without my Nikon for a great zoom, I aim in the direction of Willie's Tug. It's tough, but I really can see her.
Find Willie's Tug....
Found Willie's Tug....
Willie of Willie's Tug,
and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
For the past few days Herb and I have been glued to the TV in Tacoma, watching the weather and flooding on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts, and praying for all those in the path of Harvey. Fr. Jim, a priest in the Houston/Pearland area says we should all take a break from the stress, maybe play a board game.
So this morning I take a step back and think of a happier day:
While in Lake Union Herb and I take many walks, trying for a different direction every day. From our marina today we take the canal walking path down to the Ballard bridge, then across it into Ballard. From here we follow the Burke Gilman Trail on the other side of the the ship canal bike trail.
The trail takes us to Fremont. How often can you walk from one city to another? So I love it when I see on the sidewalk 'city limit' signs painted that tell us we have walked from Ballard to Fremont.
This puts us near the Fremont Sunday Market, where we have lunch and visit the various vendors. Looking at Herb's path on his phone, he tells me there is a troll -- The Fremont Troll --under the Aurora Avenue bridge. I think this is a must see!
This lovely creature is a very popular one, and people are lined up to get their photos taken by friends. A really close look shows a young boy peering over the top of the troll's head. He has a really big grin on his face as he turns to face his mom's camera. Herb and I enjoy the moment, but do not stand in line to be photographed.
Being fans of the search engine, Google, we are so excited to see one of their signs as we walk near their Fremont office building. The park on the ground level has a large cairn, and I ask Herb to please let me get a photo of him near it.
Finding our way back to Willie's Tug, we are awed by discovering a piece of the Berlin Wall which came to Fremont in 2001 to commemorate the role of Seattle and Boeing's C-47 in the Berlin Airlift of 1948.
Amazing!
I had had a fun conversation with boater friend Chris about the state of Washington's Fremont bridge, in comparison with Portland's Fremont bridge. I remember driving across the one in Portland and share a link here to show its beauty.
However, I don't think I told her about the humor attached to Seattle's bridge, so as we return to Lake Union, I turn around to take these photos. The sign claims Fremont WA is the center of the Universe, so we should turn our watches ahead 5 minutes.
Ha ha ha!
Willie of Willie's Tug,
and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
Sunday, August 13, 2017
