Ballard Locks, soggy style...

Sometimes Seattle can be cruel.

You'll wake up to blue skies, free of clouds.

The sun shines into your bedroom window and you know that life is good.

So you pull yourself out of bed, shower, put on jeans and a t-shirt and head down to the car for an adventure.

And then the moment you pull out of your covered parking lot, the rain starts.

This was exactly the scenario we faced when we tried to explore the Ballard Locks.

The easiest way to explain this thing is to compare it to a giant elevator... for boats.

Lake Union is higher than the Puget Sound, so when boats want to leave the lake and head out to open water, they drive into a little area filled with water and chill while the water is slowly released.

The boats go down with the water level, and when that process is complete, the elevator doors open and the boats are free to continue on their merry way.

This same process applies to boats wanting to get on the lake from the sound -- just backwards.

You get the idea, right?

I'm so scientific.

Anyway, it's very cool to watch.

I'm sure the people in the boats love being gawked at as well.

 Don't be deceived by the pseudo smiles on our faces.

Despite the presence of her beloved theebra, the rain made her soooooooo grumpy.

Possibly because it kept getting her theebra wet.

I'm not sure she quite understands the concept of an umbrella.

We found solace in the covered fish ladders, where we watched the salmon make the slow and frustrating climb from the sound to the lake.

 Back when the sun was out, I'd made lunch reservations at Ray's Cafe -- a restaurant right on the sound that's known for it's stellar patio views.

But then the rain happened.

It was still fun, but I'm jonesing for that patio...

 In the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.