Summer Stretch

SUMMER FUN: Busy weekend 'round MPA. We spent Saturday working long and hard with a neighbor on the ongoing "alley beautification project."  Sunday, we were ready for some fun, so we headed to the Engineer It "weekend" (the quotes become important later) at the Pacific Science Center.

So, we got to the center around 11:30, and walked around a bit, but we couldn't seem to find the engineering event in the usual spots we'd expect to find a special event like that.  Christian and I wondered, "What gives?"  

In the meantime, the kids were having a blast looking at displays we haven't paid much attention to on previous trips. For instance, in the Wellbody Academy exhibit, they got a real boot out of seeing gnarly virtual wounds on their arms.  

CJ was also brave enough to risk getting 'sneezed' on, in a big way. 

They also enjoyed playing educational 'drive in.'  Christian didn't hold back, super sizing most everything, to CJ's delight. The order wound up being an entire day's worth of calories, and then some. 

Eventually, as we ran out of places to find the engineering 'weekend.' Turns out the 'weekend' was Friday and Saturday only. :/  Next time I'll pay a LOT more attention to the fine print!

It certainly wasn't a wasted trip. The kids had a great time learning, and CJ got to participate in a Seattle rite of passage - riding the bike over the ponds in the courtyard of the Pacific Science Center!

He was Super Duper reluctant at first, but to his credit, CJ soldiered on and made the circuit! And he enjoyed it so much, he did it again. :) This photo doesn't do a good job at all of showing how high up it is when you're out there on that tiny rain on the bike!

MONDAY FUN: We started our morning by watching a few more lectures for our class, "The Camera Never Lies."  Afterward, we were ready to take our first quiz of the class - a midterm, really, because we're halfway through the 6-week class. Fortunately, we all passed the exam with flying colors. 

That out of the way, we set out for what wound up to be a two-hour workout. We parked near the Fremont Bridge along the west side of Lake Union and then walked and walked and walked down around to the south end of the lake, by the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). There, awaited a fun water feature, which the kids frolicked in for a good 45 minutes plus. 

After the fountains, we headed over to the beach/swimming area of South Lake Union Park. Along the way, we stopped and talked to teens who were jumping off the bridge clearly marked no jumping, swimming or diving. 

They were really sweet to CJ and Annabelle, and not rotten teenagers at all. ;)

The kids enjoyed lounging in the shallow water at the beach, watching sea planes come and go. 

  
They were splashing around when all of the sudden, a pirate ship appeared!! I honestly think they were a little freaked out for at least three or four seconds. :)

Turns out it wasn't pirates, it was the Hawaiian Chieftain, out of Grays Harbor. 

Per the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority's Web site, the ship was built of steel in Hawaii in 1988, originally designed for cargo trade among the Hawaiian Islands.  Designed by naval architect Raymond H. Richards, it was influenced by the early colonial passenger and coastal packets that traded among Atlantic coastal cities and towns.

Pretty cool when your view includes something like the Hawaiian Chieftain, an electric boat and sailboats!