Seattle by Kayak

Ben asked if we were planning to use our kayaks to explore downtown Seattle. We laughed. He explained that it was actually a really cool way to see the city. He told us of a little spot where we could put in and row out to Chihuly's boathouse, under the I-5 bridge. How cool is that!

So we went downtown to Gasworks Park. This part of town is run down and colorful with lots of characters. Neat street murals adorned little ghetto stores on the industrial outskirts of town. 

When we arrived at Gasworks Park there was no boat launch, so we traveled up the lake until we spotted the little Marina used by the tourist Ducks (car/boat hybrids). We pulled up to find parking. The local homeless folks told us exactly how to park and not get a ticket, and assured us they would watch over our vehicle. The one fella was living out if his broken down car adjacent to where we parked, so we felt certain he would still be there when we got back. 

We launched our boats and paddled out among shipping vessels and the cute little houseboats that dotted the seawalls, making our way to the I-5 bridge.

Look! The Ms. Amy!

It was obvious that Seattle was bursting at the seams as we watched traffic crawl along the highway bridges and exits. We had found the perfect place to be during rush hour for the down town area.

 

Paddling up to Chihuly's boat house we could see beautiful handblown glass in all the windows. I could only guess who was working and what amazing art was being blown. 

We went a little further under the bridge, checked out some more house boats and ships along the sea walls. Then we turned around and headed towards Gasworks Park. 

Rowing back we passed by our launch spot.  Our homeless buddy waved. One of the amphibious ducks was entering the water. Lotus was thrilled to watch the car become a boat. As the duck passed by, the captain gave Lotus the Hawaiian hang loose sign and everyone on board gave us a wave. We rounded the corner to Gasworks Park. Here we saw the old grafitti covered industrial tanks and pipes that had been turned into a city park. There was no where to dock, so we tied our boats together and had a snack as we drifted around Union Lake. We gazed upon the Space Needle and the city skyline, knowing that we would soon be exploring those very same streets. 

~ Sky and Sarah