Last Week's Parks

Friday morning we had our park adventure.  Auntie Cheryl was in town so she and Grandma came with us and that made it oh so much more exciting and special!!

We started out at the Maritime Heritage Park behind the Bellingham Museum area.  It was a park I didn't know existed back there, but Sally had told me about.  The first half was beautiful, but at this time of year the other half was not so exciting for kiddos.  I think in the fall it will be exciting to go back and watch the Salmon swim up the ladders, which is what the whole park seemed to be centered around.  There was also hatchery there that wasn't functioning, but I wonder if they start it up again in the fall.  We'll have to go back and find out.

Auntie Cheryl understands Brandons love running fast and is always willing to join in!

The walkway around the park is very informative about different plants in the area.

I got a tiny start on my Fushia project for my kitchen.

This bell had salmon carved all around it and made a beautiful sound.

Brandon rang it so much...

...that the donger came out and Auntie Cheryl had to fix it.

The totem pole tells the story of the Salmon Mother giving humans her children, salmon,
after the flood when they were starving.

See the metal fish sculptures? 

Looking up at the falls.

"Hmmm.  How do I get over there?"

"Auntie Cheryl will help me!!"

Micah was fascinated with the falls and water sounds.

Standing on the bridge looking up at the falls.

The empty hatchery.

Auntie Cheryl taught Brandon how to blow his first Dandelion. 

The Salmon steps.

The map says there is supposed to be a playground there, but we're pretty sure they've taken it out and not changed the map.  See the bold green path?  That's the path to Elizabeth Park that we decided to go check out since it was only supposed to be 0.5 miles away.  My direction abilities??  Ha ha.  Let's just say we should have taken Sally's route.

There were several of these pillars with "fossils" in them.

We stopped for a snack and to watch the train on the walkway for a couple minutes.

After stopping in a store to ask where the park was and getting a map to follow, we found the Elizabeth Park and it was worth the walk.

Terribly blurry picture, but I love Auntie Cheryl's expression!

Brandon loves discovering new play equipment--especially if there is any kind of steering wheel he can pretend into a boat.

Micah enjoyed the whale ride that didn't ride very well. 
He also loved playing with the textures of the bark on the ground.

While Grandma stayed and played with the boys, Cheryl and I hoofed it back down to the Maritime park and brought the cars back up to the kids, instead of getting Brandon to walk all the way back.  We actually found the path we were supposed to take in the first place--right where Sally thought it would be.

Elizabeth Park was a real hit.  I didn't take pictures of it, but it has a nice green grassy area, a few picnic tables, a fun fountain to sit by and watch (not a kids play water foutain), a couple of tennis courts, and a gazebo.  It's a great place to go if you need to kill some time in Bellingham.  While at the first park, I got a text from my brother Bryan that he would be flying in to Bellingham earlier than originally expected, so it was a great place to hang out for a while before going to pick him up.

Our park this week will be in Seattle on Thursday as we have the kid's appendage doctor's appointments--thankfully they are both with the same doctor and we were able to get them in on the same day.  It will be an interesting day of transition, though, from their old doctor to a new doctor and a new hospital.  But I'm told Children's is a wonderful place to go so I'm not too worried.

Blessings on your day.