Vacation - Day 6

We got off to a late start this morning, but that worked to our advantage. Had we awoken "on time," we would have been rushing to make a 10:00 tour of Seattle's underground and would have never made it. Since we were late, we were able to change our schedule to a more relaxed one.

We headed over to Mike and Majken's, and we all drove down to Seattle's new Olympic Sculpture Park. The kids were able to run around and release some energy, but no touching the giant sculptures. At one point, a freight train passed by, and the kids charged toward the railing overlooking the tracks picking up sticks and waving them like the villagers from Frankenstein.

We walked down the beach a ways, and the kids were able to climb on some giant boulders. Then we bought hot dogs from a street vendor and ate them while sitting on sculptures that looked like giant eyes.

Next we split up into two groups. Majken took Adama and Charlie to the Aquarium, while Mike, Sherry, Sana, Bassie, David and I headed downtown for our underground tour.

Our group drove around and finally found some pricey parking in a garage near Pioneer Square (it just so happened a Mariners game was going on that afternoon), then we bought our tickets for the 1:00 Bill Speidel's Underground Tour. We had some time to kill before the tour began, so we browsed through Magic Mouse Toys across the street.

The tour was pretty interesting. It took us down to what used to be the area's ground level. (It was decided to rebuild the city one to two stories higher after the Great Seattle Fire burned down most of Seattle's central business district in 1889.)

After the tour, we bought some chocolate across the street at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, then headed back to Mike and Majken's to meet up with the other group for some rest and relaxation. While we were there, David, Sana and Bassie played over at a neighborhood playground for a while.

Come dinnertime, we all first drove to a novelty shop called Archie McPhee. David bought some scary fake fingernails, Charlie got some bubblegum, and I bought some bacon flavored mints. Also, Sherry bought me a corn dog air freshener for my car.

Just down the street, we ate dinner at a fish and chips stand called Totem House Seafood & Chowder; quite tasty. Then we drove right across the street to the Ballard Locks, which lie between Puget Sound and Lakes Union and Washington. In addition to watching boats travel through the locks, we were able to watch migrating salmon swim through the fish ladder that was integrated into the facility.

Before we left the locks, the kids found a great big grassy hill that they were able to roll down. Then it was back to Mike and Majken's to say our goodbyes. Just before we left, Charlie broke one of Adama's toys, causing quite a bit of drama. However, the toy was easily fixed, and as we were getting into the van, Adama was inconsolable at the thought of Charlie leaving. Charlie and I walked back to the front door so the two of them could have a final opportunity to hug and say goodbye.