When I was trying to come up with something fun to do for Father’s Day, I saw some tweets about the fish ladders at the Ballard Locks. Nick and I had been wanting to visit the locks and this seemed like a great time to do it.

Elliot Bay Pipe Band

The Ballard Locks connect Puget Sound with Lake Washington and Lake Union. Visitors can watch ships, yachts, kayaks, etc. travel between Puget Sound (west) and Lake Washington and Lake Union (east). They can also watch salmon travel through the fish ladder and there’s a nice, English-style botanical garden to walk through. Oh, and speaking of salmon, Nick and I tried this grilled salmon recipe the other day and it was really, really good. 😛

Dad, Amanda, and I had been through the locks on a boat many years ago, but none of us had ever been to the locks otherwise. In addition to seeing the ships, salmon, and garden, there was also a bagpipe band and a classic car show on Sunday to entertain us.

Fremont Troll

Somehow, Dad had never seen the Fremont Troll (what?!), who lives under a bridge in Fremont, so we stopped to visit him on the way back from Ballard. The 18 foot tall troll sculpture has been around since 1990 and he clutches a real Volkswagen Beetle in his hand.

We came back to our place afterward and played Star Trek: Catan, a Star Trek version of Settlers of Catan (a strategy and resource management board game). Though Nick, Amanda, and I tried as hard as we could to stop him, Dad ended up winning. 😛