Seattle: Day 3

Day three started with another long bus ride out to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. Call me sheltered if you will, but I had no idea about the purpose of a Lock and learned quite a bit on our journey!

The boats about to go through the Locks (this happens each time a boat needs to transition from the freshwater to salt water and vice versa.

The water level was lowered--see how low the boat is now? Surprisingly, the process is pretty quick.

The other side where the boats will soon travel. Now they are at the same level and the gate opens to let the boats through.

A sculpture at the Locks.

Big smoochers near the entrance!

Amelia thinking she was in a castle--hence the cooperation and smile.

More boats docked near the Locks.

Although I didn't really get a picture of it, one of my favorite parts about the Locks visit was searching for sea lions in the water. They were waiting to catch the fish coming through the fish ladder. We saw several, but their heads were only above the water briefly before they would dive down to catch a snack. We also visited the fish ladder display where we saw lots of salmon swimming through.

After our visit to the Locks, we apparently boarded the bus at the wrong stop. The driver made a comment, "Boy, no one ever rides with me to the end!". We didn't think much of it, until she in fact reached the end of her route and asked, "You guys aren't getting off here?". We explained that we wanted to get back downtown and she explained that this was her break. She was so incredibly nice, though and even encouraged Amelia to run up and down the bus while we were waiting to start the route again.

I noticed time and again how nice the people of Seattle were--particularly the bus drivers. I remember thinking the same thing about the residents of San Diego. At the time, I thought it was the beautiful, year round weather that kept them in such a good mood, but now I think that perhaps its just the West Coast mentality.

Once we finally made it back downtown, we headed back to the hotel for a rest time--Amelia loved pressing the elevator buttons each time we got in.

The view from our room!

By Day 3 the Seattle weather had turned--well, more Seattle-like. The temperatures were in the slow 60's and a chilly wind had moved in. After dinner, Jason, Amelia, and I decided to make the 5 block walk back to the Rocky Mountain Candy store. This time we opted for a delicious assortment we could all share, including an amazing apple covered in white and milk chocolate, caramel, and peanut butter.

After dessert, we did a little more goofing in the room until bedtime. Amelia thought she had found the perfect hide-and-seek spot, but one (actually two!) thing gave her away!

Trying to see if she could fit in one of the draws. As you can see, Amelia though Seattle was a blast!