Along the Waterfront

SCENIC STROLL: This morning's attempt to get several thousand steps in took us to the east side of Puget Sound waterfront.

Specifically, we started off near the grain terminal in Centennial Park. 

 A huge ship from Hong Kong was in port. 

We checked it out while admiring nearby flowers. 

The kids climbed all over an art installation with enormous rocks. 

 It seemed like a piddly climb compared to the mountain we scaled a couple of weekends ago.

We encountered a couple of sprinklers along our walk. At first, the kids tried to stay dry ... 

 but pretty soon they didn't care about a little water.

We wound our way to the Olympic Sculpture Park. We had planned on turning around at the white lady, but when we spied a little cabin we'd not seen before across the way, we had to go check it out.

When we got there, we found out the cabin is a temporary, summer installation and a site-specific work by Seattle artist Dan Webb.

The cabin will be built over the summer, and it's incorporating some of the park's felled Douglas fir trees. 

I had the kids take the dogs on the porch of the cabin so I could get a photo of them there. Imagine our surprise when the artist popped out of the cabin and started talking to them. 

Specifically, he was encouraging his kids, a boy and a girl a little younger than CJ and Annabelle, to come up and check out the dogs.

We had a nice, protracted conversation with the artist and his kids about dogs. For better or for worse, they learned a lot about the Havanese breed this morning. 

Eventually, an official Seattle Art Museum tour came along and so we bugged out. But what an interesting stop it was.

Another item we noticed for the first time today was this 'file box.'

It's not just a cardboard box someone left behind. Rather, it's been in the park since 2004, made of steel with porcelain enamel, by artist Roy McMakin. What's funny is I also thought the ugly plastic chair out of place. Turns out it's part of the art installation. 

Here's the sign describing it all. 

Eventually, we headed back toward Magnolia on foot. On the way back, we stopped to admire Centennial Park's rose garden.

 The orange roses were especially appealing to my eye today.