I took a swing past several maritime sites in Seattle yesterday. I needed a break from stressing out about finding an apartment–which I had been handling by sitting in my temp housing watching TV for hours on end. Yeah, I shouldn’t be getting sucked in by TV, but I felt paralyzed–finding an apartment should be my number one priority, so I shouldn’t waste time on photography. Anyway, I forced myself out of it, and took some interesting, if uninspired pictures (gallery).
First stop was the Center for Wooden Boats, which is a tiny little point on Lake Union where hobbyists restore and maintain classic old wooden boats. There were some nice, brightly painted boats that made interesting photo subjects (although I didn’t quite get the repeating bow patterns I had hoped for).
Second stop was Fisherman’s Terminal, where Seattle’s commercial fishing fleet docks. Or, at least, where the smaller boats dock. Most had for-sale signs on them. I don’t think the industry is in that good shape. But the nets and ropes and anchors made for interesting patterns.
Last stop was the Hiram Chittenden Locks between Lake Union/Washington and Puget Sound. The interesting bit here was the fish ladder. One part of the ladder is equipped with windows, so you can see these 25-35 pound salmon swimming in circles, trying to get the strength up to leap the next step of the 20-plus step ladder to Lake Union on the way to their spawning grounds.
