My dad and I did a short route in the saltwater off Seattle from Shilshole Bay Marina to the lighthouse at Discovery Park and back. Winds were calm, seas were flat, and the sun was warm.
Route map. Shilshole is the main launch point for saltwater paddling in Seattle.
The winter seabirds had all arrived. We saw surf scoters, horned and red-necked grebes, brant geese, common goldeneyes, red-breasted mergansers, rhinoceros auklets (a year-round bird but still cool), buffleheads, a common loon, ring-billed, Thayer’s, Heermann’s, and glaucous-winged gulls (another year-round resident), and hundreds of mew gulls. At least some of the glaucous-winged gulls were likely hybrids with western gulls.
Departing Shilshole marina. Shilshole was once a working-man’s marina, now transforming into a playground for the upper middle class.
Exiting marina past seawall. These clear, cold fall days are some of my favorites.
West Point lighthouse, est. 1881. With Alki, this is one of Seattle’s two original, traditional-style lighthouses—although, of course, the lights themselves have since been automated.
Puget Sound on a clear fall day. Dad illustrating his elite paddling form.
Dad was not so much in to birds, but he did enjoy the sun’s soothing rays as we loitered around the lighthouse near slack tide. I was pretty sure I caught him sleeping at one point!
—Alex Sidles