Discovery Park

Since moving to Ballard we have had our fair share of perfect shiny days. However since the winter we try to take full advantage of every sun filled day we get. During these days we try to get the dogs out and explore our new neighborhood.

We have found baseball fields, dog loving bars, patios, Golden Gardens (Beach 3 miles away), and the Ballard Locks. Recently we decided to head to the Ballard Locks. The Locks is a beautiful port which connects the Salt water of the Puget sound and the fresh water of the Ship Canal which connects to Lake Union. It is also home to the fish ladder which was built so Salmon could also make their way upstream. If you come visit during warm weather make sure I take you here!

Amtrack is one of many trains that use this bridge

Boats headed to Lake Union

Salmon making it's way to the fresh water. It looks easier than it is for these little guys!

On the south side of the Ballard Locks you will end up in the neighborhood of Magnolia. There you will find signs leading you to your next destination; Discovery Park. Now mind you it's about 1.5 miles to Ballard Locks so we weren't sure how much more difficult it would be to make it to Discovery Park. It was such a nice day we simply couldn't pass it up!

Leaving Ballard Locks.

To get to Discovery Park there is a fun short cut that takes you over a bridge which is taking you over a railroad. It is a nice pedestrian only detour which makes you feel like you are in the middle of the country rather than a bustling city.

The rest of the route is scenic with small coffee shops and boutiques. We even stopped into Shawn's new favorite running store "Seven Hills".  Before you know it, you find yourself at 534 acres that is Discovery Park.

The Dogs LOVE the open fields

Me? Well I love the view

From a wooded trail all the way to a beach with a mountain view

The day was a complete success with the pups tired and it ends up being about an 8 mile walk which makes Shawn and I both feeling very accomplished (and our fitbit count is usually pretty high too).

 These pictures were a combination of several days where we were blessed to enjoy this long walk. These days are the kind of days that make you smile, give a small sigh and realize how beautiful life can really be when you are where you should be. Every time we go exploring I begin to realize how lucky I am I followed my heart and made it to the Emerald City.

Paleo Cookies

So on Day 3 of our Paleo Challenge Shawn and I decided we HAD to have something sweet. After some searching online we discovered that dark chocolate is Paleo friendly, we were thrilled! Shawn loves chocolate chip cookies so we started there. Online there are a million recipes so we just chose the easiest one.

Recipe:

• 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp coconut flour 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk 
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

http://justjessieb.blogspot.com/2013/10/chocolate-chip-coconut-flour-cookies.html

The most difficult thing is trying to find the most natural dark chocolate chips. We ended going to the natural food store and getting some from surplus there.

The recipe is super easy, simply add all wet ingredients to the sugar. Mix them together then add the dry ingredients. Bam! Make little balls like you would any cookies and throw them in the oven!

Note: Don't use parchment paper

So we cooked them for about 14 minutes and found they were fairly crispy. The only problem was we could not get them to come off of the parchment! So we will try cooking them a different way next time.

We added pecans for some texture

I thought the cookies were really great! Shawn on the other hand wasn't as satisfied, I blame this on the lack of crunchiness on the bottom of the cookies. (Even though he managed to eat 6 of them!)

Let me know if you find a way to keep the cookies from sticking!