There's a saying, I think from a poem or a song, that has a line in it that says "The bluest skies are in Seattle".  I think that's because it doesn't happen very often, and when it does... they look BLUE!

We went down into town to have lunch with the Shadow Lady's sisters and mom.  I'm not a big fan of "the city", but it was a beautiful day to be downtown! 

The little guy, as always, was a willing tester of as many arms as would hold him... :-)

With the weather being so nice, after lunch we decided to take a ride on a ferry to fully enjoy the view.

Down on the waterfront, you get a view of the skyline, and on a clear, sunny day, the buildings are a striking to the sky!  Smith tower, at 44 floors was the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it was built, around 1900 or so.  It held the mark until the Golden Gate Bridge towers were completed.  The Bank of America Tower, at 88 floors, is the current second tallest building west of "Old Muddy"... the tallest being the Library Tower in Los Angeles.

I saw this Survey Monument out on the pier, which I thought was a strange location for a monument to be.

 
The views over the waters of the Puget Sound were quite incredible!

 

It was fun to watch the ferries come in... since we had some time before our ferry was due, I went to Ivar's and picked up some pop, clams and fries... the clams were for us to snack on, and the fries were for the gulls once we were on the ferry.

 
While we waited, we enjoyed the ever-changing view before us.

 

Before too long, our ferry arrived, and we loaded up.  I got to park in the front of the starboard side 'wing' area...

There's quite a few cars!  This isn't even the largest of the ferries... the largest of them have two decks in the wings... its amazing how much weight those things can carry!

 

as we pulled away from the dock, it wasn't long before the views got even better!

Seattle is quite the picturesque city... I think, anyway.

 

Out on the water, the views were no less amazing!

Its always nice when you're able to see the Olympic Mountains... they're typically shrouded in clouds and rain.

 

Everywhere you looked, the awesome wonder of God's creation was out on display!

The view back on the city was one to remember, that's for sure!

Every time I see Seattle from this view, I can't help but wonder what the settlers who came here 155 or so years ago would think...

Along the way, we cruised past the Salmon Farm pens... Atlantic Salmon are farmed in the Puget Sound, much to the dismay of more than a few greeners!

They provide access to fresh, tasty fish without the expense of shipping them across the country, and without depleting the wild stock. 

The biggest beef the greeners have is food and waste debris, and the "escapees" have formed small colonies of Atlantic Salmon in a couple rivers... the worry is that they will displace the local varieties - even though most of those have been fished out already.

All along the trip, there's ample opportunity to view wildlife living as our neighbors...

Closing in on Bremerton, the view of the Olympics is no less grand than the Cascades on our side of the Sound.

 

Bremerton is home to Bremerton Naval Shipyard...

The little guy enjoyed the different scenery -- he's fascinated by ceilings, and the different structures you find on them -- he's typically checking out the line created at the wall and the ceiling.. and the Ferry had a lot of interesting features on its ceiling.

After a while, though, it was too far into his nap time for him to be to concerned with things... and he's long since learned how to ignore any sounds a camera might make.  :-)

 

Back on the ferry out of Bremerton, the Sun was starting to sit low on the horizon... we'd picked the perfect run to go back on!

 

The ferry back takes the same route it took to get there... the colors of early evening changed the whole scene, and made it new.

 

The moon seemed to follow us over the trees as we cruised by...

Ducks and geese were returning to their bedding areas from a day out on the water... and as we passed the harbor seal, he was taking a nap, too.  :)

 

as we rounded the point and headed towards Elliot Bay and Seattle... the view was quite spectacular.

It almost looks fake.

 

I REALLY like the sunset cruise on the Ferry...

What a nice view, eh? 

The full moon really sets the scene, along with the sun reflecting off the buildings...

It was a fun afternoon, and we had a great time!

Oh... here's a video I took during the trip:

   On The Ferry (wmv, ~12.5mb) 

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