A little family time

Today, the kids and I headed to the Seattle area for an adventure with my baby brother, Freeman and his wife Elizabeth!  The kids and I got up early (for a day off) and hit Burger King for breakfast on our way north.   We picked up Freeman and Elizabeth at their home on Beacon Hill, then headed to Ballard.  Traffic was at a crawl on our way in, due to an accident on I-5, so Freeman navigated us through some surface streets.  I really enjoyed driving through areas I'd never been!

First stop was Golden Gardens Beach and Park.  We'd been there once before and both times really enjoyed the great play area and a stroll along the beach.  We were blessed with beautiful weather, all day long!

From the park, we went right down the street to have lunch.  I was in the mood for fish and chips so Freeman suggested Red Mill Totem House, right across the street from the Ballard Locks.  They also had some amazing burgers so Addison and I ordered one of each and shared. 

Probably the best fish and chips I've had in quite awhile.  The breading was light and the fish was delicious!  It really hit the spot.  After lunch, we headed to Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.  The kids had a great time watching boats pass both directions through the locks. 

We also checked out the fish ladders, but there wasn't much going on this time of year.  There was, however some really cool sculptures that the kids had fun playing around.

 



 

You'd think that would be enough for the day, but we still had time and energy, so we drove around Ballard a bit, sneaked a peak at the Troll under Fremont bridge, then headed over to the new, south Lake Union home of Museum of History and Industry.  What a treat!  My kids all found something fun there (especially my history nut, Raymond) and I enjoyed seeing all the PNW history...some of which I could say "I remember when..." 

View of MOHAI from across the way
 

I'd post pictures from inside, but I gave Raymond the camera and there too many to choose from!  What a day! We had lovely sunshine all day long and walked what felt like a million miles...exhilarating, really.  I think we were all happily exhausted on our drive home.