Eastlake

Manuel and I, after some contemplation decided to hit up Lake Union today, namely Eastlake.
We entered the water just below those 3 rectangular boat coverings, and headed north through that small cove. We got to the farthest point north of that cove, which is where my sister's building resides, right opposite that parking lot.

Manuel and I ran into a duck even before entering the water. she was brave and hungry, but neither of us had anything for him.
she waddled around us at the car, and then flew over to where we were getting in the water.
she swam around Manuel as he began gently dipping his balls into the water with clenched shrills.
the duck was laughing, i was laughing. good times.

then it was my turn. crap.
i had no duck to egg me on, but i eventually made it in.
the water seemed cold, but it was 66-67 degrees the whole time.
i've been in 65 that felt better than this.

we swam through the boats. the water wasn't that deep, maybe 10 feet.
there wasn't too much down there as compared to other marinas like at Leschi.
but there were still bottles and tires, the usual.

i stopped to take a picture of one of the propellors of a boat as i heard the cranking of an engine.
it scared the crap outta me.
i could have been that boat!
but the cranking continued, and no boat engine started. so i don't know which boat the whine belonged to.
all i know is that i got the fuck away from that propellor!

we got spotted by a couple people. or maybe they didn't see us.
either way, no one really said anything and we just kept going.

we stopped to check out Gasworks and then made our way to the house boats.
they're all held up with these huge barrels.
i should have swam underneath to see what was there, but i wasn't thinking about that at the time. too bad.
we weaved through the boats, it felt a bit like venice.
some tight squeezes, other larger canals.
there were electrical cords and plumbing strewn about the walkways from beneath.
you had to watch to not get tangled in it all.

speaking of which, manuel took a couple movies again.
one is of the trek through the wires.
once they're uploaded, i'll link to them.

also on the plumbing was something that looked like coral.
i don't know if coral grows in freshwater, however.
so maybe it wasn't. there's a picture up of the spongey-looking stuff.

like i said, we made it as far as my sister's place.
that took about an hour.
we were freezing cold so we decided to head back.

on the return voyage we saw a small speed boat, a kayaker and the duck tours.
i could hear the conductor talking, but not well enough to hear what he was saying.
although from the looks of the pictures i took of the tour boat, people were taking pictures of Manuel and I.

back toward the marina, Manuel found a lawn chair.
we stuck it underneath the dock that was there by tucking two of the legs under some plumbing on the deck's underside.
we always have to leave a reminder of our presence...

on the home stretch i found a backpack acting as an anchor.
to weigh it down, it had a large rock zipped up inside it.
i also found a metal wheel and a small statue of a little kid throwing back a few.

Manuel ended up with a cool Sprite bottle, and i kept a cylindrical glass container that somewhat resembles a test tube, but is slightly larger in both width and height, and also has a flat bottom.

the dive wasn't full of excitement, but fun enough to be in the midst of all those house boats and see how some people living so close to you can live so differently.

on the drive back to Manuel's, we both were left with a funny metallic taste in our mouths.
mmm. Lake Union.