Industrial

S declared a few days back that we will go canoeing today, so we do.

She hasn't decided where to go, so, as we start our portage, I ask, "industrial or nature?"
S replies, "industrial, we haven't done that in awhile."
So we turn left at the end of the block and head up and over the hill to the dead lake.  The Lady Washington, a replica of a 1840's sailing ship is in and that is our first stop.  We sit a few moments under the bowsprit and I field a few questions about sailing ship rigging...it was something I memorized when I was 10 years old.  Sometimes, I can pull that stuff out.

Then we head up lake and out the ship canal toward Ballard. This takes us through Foss Tugboats and puts us under numerous fishing boats of various purposes...crab boats, seine pursers....  Work boats fascinate me...they do stuff, they have purpose.  I see my canoe as a work boat.  It certainly shows the wear of a work boat.  It seems to have a purpose.

It is a sunny warm day and being at the end of a summer without warm sunny days, it brings all shapes and sizes of visitors to the water.  We bounce in wakes and keep our eyes on the motor boats knowing that the level of seamanship is inversely proportional to the amount of horsepower in the vessel.  Back at the dead lake, every possible rental kayak seems to be on the water.  It is like canoeing on the midway at the state fair...weird, but okay if you don't have to do it all of the time.

We head for the south end of Portage Bay to take out.  The last 15 minutes of the trip is remarkably peaceful as we exit the ship channel and paddle towards the shallows.

The two of us very much enjoy the two  mile portage up the hill to our house.