We did make it out alive, however, and walked down towards the Fremont Bridge in time to see it raise to let a sailboat underneath. Beyond the bridge was the unique, creative, off-beat neighborhood of Fremont...

 

Fremont is also home to the infamous Fremont Troll. According to the Wikipedia page, "The [Troll] was the winner of a competition sponsored by the Fremont Arts Council in 1990, in part with the goal of rehabilitating the area under the bridge which was becoming a dumping ground and haven for drug dealers. The Troll was sculpted by four local artists..." He was also featured in the movie "10 Things I Hate About You," which I totally do not remember and now need to watch that movie again to see for myself.

(I nearly sprained my ankle climbing up on his arm, too. Just thought you'd like to know.)

Following the encounter with the Troll, Lib, Mike, and I ventured further into the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle in search of lunch. My appetite had been momentarily quieted earlier in the day thanks to a stop at the Theo chocolate factory and their lovely samples of sugary confections. (I highly recommend the Chai Tea chocolate bar from the 3400 Phinney line.) Though by the afternoon hunger reared its ugly head once again. The lunch establishment of choice was Lombardi's, where I had THE. BEST. caprese sandwich EVER. I mean, fresh tomatoes, melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella, and peppery arugula layered in between a soft, toasted ciabatta bun. HEEEEAVEN.

Growling tummies yet again satisfied, it was on to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. What are the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, you wonder? Glad you asked...

(In case you can't read that, it says, "The locks control the elevation of the lakes behind the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. This allows vessels to move back and forth from one water elevation to another. Notice how the water level of Puget Sound is lower than Salmon Bay. Freshwater of Salmon Bay meets the saltwater of Puget Sound at the locks. Depending on tides, there can be a 6- to 26-foot difference between fresh- and saltwater. We raise and lower water levels in the locks as needed to allow vessels to lock through."

Salmon Bay to the left, Puget Sound to the right... Biiiig difference in water levels.

The boats and ships are lining up in the lock...

 

The water level lowering was taking a while as everyone filed in, so the three of us headed down to the salmon ladders where the fish traverse up the ladders from the saltwater Puget Sound to the freshwater Salmon Bay to lay their eggs and then die.

Sorry buddy...

By the time we tired of the fishies the water levels in the lock had severely gone down and the vessels were able to go on their way to the Sound.

Fun, huh?

Now that we were thoroughly educated in the ways of locks we headed out to Green Lake Park for a leisurely stroll. The weather was absolutely gorgeous so all Seattle-ites (Satellites?) were out in full force - new moms jogging with their babies strapped into four-wheel-drive strollers, friends walking their dogs, kids on roller skates and bicycles, couples lounging on the lake shore, etc. I took a cell phone picture of a duck waddling across the walkway towards her buddies and sent it to Michelle, completely forgetting that it was around 9:30 p.m. EDT. Oops. Sorry Chel! Hope I didn't make you jealous with the bright sunny skies in the photo background. :)

By this time I was approaching 20,000 steps for the day and my feet were on fire. We trudged across the street to a Starbucks for drinks and then hopped on the bus back to Queen Anne.

This was the night that I found the trend I'm hoping to start in the local WC bars... board games in the bar. I don't think this would take off in places like Barnaby's or Kildare's, but Ryan's and Jake's would probably be good candidates. The Nabob was a typical low-key neighborhood bar where folks came to relax, bring their dogs (I saw an AmBull puppy and some sort of foofy dog), play some Scrabble or UNO, and munch on good bar food. Divine. Plus the place has a cool name... it's fun to say. "Nabob." :)

And thus endeth the third night.