Fall Fun & Games

SOMETHING'S FISHY: Saturday brought one of our favorite annual events - Fishermen's Fall Festival, down at Fishermen's Terminal, at the north end of the hill we live on. 

While cruise ships and luxury boats are moored at the south end of our hill, Fishermen's Terminal is where the working boats are (including some of the "Deadliest Catch" boats). 

We look forward to the event every year. It's totally free, there are always lots of arts and crafts for the kids to partake in and they get to go fishing!

This year, an addition to the festivities was a free cruise on an Argosy boat. We made sure to get our tickets first thing, and boarded the Lady Mary a little after 11:30 a.m.

We cruised east toward Lake Union, and saw lots of working boats along the way, including this Port of Long Beach (CA) vessel.

 We saw a few modest house boats and sailboats - as well as smoke from an apartment fire in Ballard (so many sirens!),

There was a fairly large contingent of pirates on board our cruise. They commandeered the bow. 

Fortunately there was no robbing or pillaging. In fact, they passed out beads and cards (with their pictures and pirate stats or whatever) to kids.

We had nice vistas of the Fremont and Aurora Bridges ...

 and boated under the Ballard Bridge. We're usually one of the cars up top.

Back on land, the kids painted Frisbees, built wooden boats and painted shells.

And they each even had a chance to catch a real live fish!

Annabelle was a little frustrated at first. Not sure if her hook was dull or the bait wasn't properly seated, but she fed a number of fish before she got one on the line.

https://youtu.be/Gr7klm0m98U

Just look at the catch(es) o' the day!

 I turned the kids loose with the camera to capture the autopsy. Er, 'cleaning.'

 Annabelle and I threw together a dry rub for the trout. Or, "nice, big, fat, rainbow trout, delicious," as Christian called them.

ONE LAST TIME: Sunday we felt compelled to make one more march to Safeco Field, for the last home game of the Mariners' season.

The team was mathematically eliminated a week or so ago. They now hold the distinction of being the Major League Baseball team with the longest drought when it comes to going to the post season. We're #1!!!

Here is the post game celebration. I guess at this point, we're celebrating the fact the miserable season is over. :/

Here's the last pitch of 2015.

And just like that, it's over. 

There's always next year.

ROCKET MAN: Among the notable birthdays today is Robert Goddard. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1882, Dr. Goddard is considered the father of modern rocketry and a genius for his many inventions. 

Per a NASA post on social media today, "In 1914, (Goddard) received the first two of the 214 U.S. patents issued to him, one for a liquid-fueled rocket and the other for solid fuel. On March 16, 1926, Dr. Goddard successfully tested the first liquid fueled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts. On May 1, 1959, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, was named in his honor."

The photo above shows Dr. Goddard pictured with his first successfully launched, liquid-fueled rocket. Awesome!
For more info about Dr. Goddard, check out: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/about/history/dr_goddard.html