Exploring Ballard & Discovery Park

Good evening!
We are winding down this Sunday after a nice weekend, hopefully you are doing the same! Friday night we had a great time out on the town with some of my co-workers, don't worry we didn't stay out too late! We had to get up bright and early the next morning for a vet appointment for Peach & Herb, as you can see they were thrilled to be there:

After our vet visit we met some of my coworkers for brunch. We have developed a weekend brunch club with these wonderful folks and it's been a great way to try out a lot of different places around the city. I think that's one of my favorite things about Seattle, we have yet to have a bad meal yet. There are endless choices for delicious food on every corner. We have pretty much been eating our way through the entire city. Saturday night we decided to continue the food fest and head over to explore the Ballard neighborhood. 

First we stopped at the Ballard Locks to see the "Salmon ladder." The Ballard Locks allow boats to pass between the salt water in Puget Sound and the fresh water in Lake Union/Lake Washington. We watched a few boats go through the locks but the main highlight was watching the salmon run "upstream" through the ladder. Without actually seeing it in person, it's a bit hard to visualize. The water was flowing so quickly, it was amazing to see how much strength the salmon had to get up through the ladder.  

Today we went to Discovery Park for a hike and spent some time down at the beach. It's amazing to find a park like this within the city, over 400 acres of beautiful land, hiking trails and shoreline just 15 min away from our apartment. The tide was out so we took the opportunity to explore the tide pools and a nearby lighthouse. 

We finally found a beach house we can afford...I think the roof would be a little leaky though. 

After a nice hike, Trav really wanted a coffee. Real men drink their Starbucks out of their hiking boots...

Here are some other random highlights over the last few weeks. One of them being the purchase of our very own meat slicer : ) Every girl needs a meat slicer, right? For those of you who know me well (and know my Dad), this is not going to come as a shock to you. Travis and I are both big fans of delicious fresh deli meat and we are quite picky about buying it. This is a result of my Dad providing us with a constant supply of delicious Hormel deli meat every Sunday when we'd head over for dinner at my parents' house. However, now that we aren't in Minnesota anymore, we had to take matters into our own hands. Sort of...the "Meat Fairy" did pay us a visit and send us a whole deli turkey (and a smokey pork loin) via overnight mail in a foam cooler. My dad clearly knows the way to his daughter's (and son in law's) heart! We put the meat slicer into action and made some delicious smoked pork hot sandwiches. 

A quick shot of my two new favorite spices I discovered at the market. The smell of the smokey sea salt alone is enough to make me hungry. 

A quick stop at the rose garden on the waterfront trail while out for a run. 

Not a bad place to stretch after a nice run on a sunny day. 

And a closet dwelling cat just for kicks...

Hanging in the grass on a sunny afternoon by the waterfront trail. 

We miss you all, hope you are gearing up for a great 4th of July! We will miss being out in the sun and jumping in Lake Minnetonka for a dip, but we are excited to explore and relax a bit out here for our first Independence Day in Seattle!

Cheers!
KP