My Aunt Barb's Visit

        My pc has been down now for a couple of months. I am using my friends laptop to get on the net and backup my pics to my external hard drive. Today I installed photoshop on his laptop so I can edit, crop, and resize some photos for this blog. So here is some of the latest.

Michelle got a new du

The turnabout just a couple of blocks from our house

Yep, it's spring here and has been for several weeks. I took this photo couple of weeks ago. They are about done but other things are blooming.

These too were taken a couple of weeks ago.

My favorite photography subject has always been flowers and landscapes, so I think I am living in the right place for that.

        My aunt Barb stopped in Seattle for a couple of days on her way to San Francisco. I don't get to see her to often so it was really great to have her visit!

I met the her, and her friend Cheryll at the Pike Place Market downtown.

That's my aunt on the right!

We went to see Smith Tower, an icon of the Seattle skyline. Smith Tower was completed in 1914 and was one of the first, and tallest skyscrapers of it's day.
Here is a link for more info and history  http://www.smithtower.com/index.html

 

The tower is 489ft tall from curb to the top of it's "pyramid". The neoclassical arcitecture was typical of the time in which it was designed. The first two floors are clad in granite slab, the rest is done in terra cotta tile. It has only had to be cleaned once, in 1976.

The interior is very elaborately decorated with marble, brass, and bronze.

Interesting story about our visit. We were there are a Tuesday and wanted to go up to the observation deck on the 35th floor, but it is only open on the weekends. The "girls" asked for a restroom, which we found out, is on the 34th floor and is only accessible from the 35th floor. You have to go down a flight of stairs from the observation deck. The front doorwoman was very kind and had the elevator operator take us up. Normaly they charge $7.50 per adult to go up, but we got to see it free, along with a potty visit, ha!

The Chinese Room is on the 35th floor of the tower, and the 35th floor also has a wraparound public observation deck. The furniture and the handcarved ceiling were gifts from the Empress of China. They include the famous Wishing Chair. It is said that a single woman who sits in the chair will marry within a year.

The veiw was awesome!

You can see all the way to the Space Needle, and beyond!

Ok, so Barb had her eyes shut, still a great shot of the view.

Was kind of an cloudy day, so unusual for Seattle, ha. Notice the Ferries in Elliot Bay!

In the early nineties, workers removed a thousand-gallon water tank in the very top of the tower. This resulted in much new space, and what was formerly a small maintenance man's apartment became a three-story penthouse, the only residence in the building.

Here is one more link with info about Smith Tower  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Tower


We then headed over to the Ballard Locks.

Not all of these were taken the day we visited. I go to the locks often on regular walks and have not posted all of the pics from those visits.

This was taken from the Magnolia Hill side of the locks (south side). Wanted to put this in as it is a good view of the locks.

This view is from the Ballard side of the locks (north side)

Officially known as the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, the Ballard Locks is one of Seattle’s most popular tourist attractions, especially during the sunny summer months. The grounds also feature a fish ladder and the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden, one of the most beautiful park settings in Seattle.

The locks are part of Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their north. (Magnolia lies to the south.)


The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:

To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20–22 feet above sea level (Puget Sound's mean low tide).


To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion).


To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.


The complex includes two locks, a small (30 x 15ft) and a large (80 x 825 ft). The complex also includes a 235-foot spillway with six (32 x 12-foot) gates to assist in water-level control. A fish ladder is integrated into the locks for migration of anadromous fish, notably salmon.

The grounds feature a visitors center, as well as the Carl S. English, Jr., Botanical Gardens.
Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the locks were formally opened on July 4, 1917, although the first ship passed on August 3, 1916. They were named after U.S. Army Major Hiram Martin Chittenden, the Seattle District Engineer for the Corps of Engineers from April 1906 to September 1908. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

This sign is post near the large lock and explains the why and how of the locks. It also shows the layout of the locks, visitor center, and botanical garden. I'm posting this picture a little larger than I normally do so you can see the detail of the sign.

This is the administration building for the lock complex.

The larger of the two locks.

Large lock full of water.

Large lock down side opening at high tide.

Pleasure boats coming into the small lock on their way out to Puget Sound.

Water going down, lowering them to sea level.

Boats leaving the locks.

The spillway.

The Salmon Waves sculpture.

This rail bridge draws up so larger vessels and sail boats with tall masts can go under.

Part of the "fish ladder", allows the salmon to swim up stream to spawn.

More blooms on the locks grounds.

We got lucky on the day of our visit. The small locks were close for annual maintenance. They completely drain the locks so they can clean and take care of anything else that they need to. You can see how deep it is and all of water inlets. Very interesting!

Last but not least Barb and Cheryll infront of the "Black Donut" at Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill.

Just one other small note to make here. My camera (Sony Cybershot) automaticly numbers the pictures and when it reached 10,000 it reset to DSC00001, I renamed this photo adding on the first one after the C. This picture is actually the 10,000th picture taken by my camera, not 10,001.