By Abby Heinicke, UW News Lab
When people retire, there are a few stereotypical things they may do. They move to Florida. They start playing pickleball. They travel around the world. But retirement looks a little different for Ballard resident Chris Mills.
Mills worked as a software engineer for over 20 years for companies such as Indeed. Happily retired for three years, he now spends his time doing whatever he wants. His most recent project? Sea Lion Radio, a station of sea lion noises.
“It probably started with one too many beers at Olaf’s with some buddies one night,” Mills said. “But it turned out to be surprisingly easy.”
Mills started Sea Lion Radio in April, compiling self-recorded audio footage of the Ballard sea lions barking. While the majority of sea lions have now migrated away for the season, back when there were dozens, he would spend about an hour per visit recording the sound.
“Once I started recording them and then listening to the recordings, there was a new way of understanding them that I didn’t really get just by watching them,” Mills said. “You can kind of hear different personalities,” Mills said.
Sea lions often migrate north to the Puget Sound from California in the winter season, according to the Puget Sound Institute. The institute also identifies that in the past few years, sea lions have begun creeping up on docks and the breakwall in Ballard, likely in an attempt to stay safe from orcas. Their barking travels from the water up into Ballard neighborhoods, creating an almost constant symphony of yapping.
He recalls a time when some paddleboarders got too close to the colony of resting sea lions, sending them into the water in a frenzy. His recordings captured the moment the sea lions erupted.
“It’s even in the recordings,” Mills said. “I’m probably the only one who would really know what it is.”
Mills isn’t aiming to go viral. Having lived in Ballard for a few decades, he recognizes how special the sea lions visiting Ballard are. Their barking has become background noise in Ballard, but he doesn’t want locals to take it for granted. He also hopes those who don’t get to listen to sea lions loudly expressing themselves daily can experience it through his recordings.
While the station averages about 15-20 listeners per day, they tend to stick around for 15 minutes, which is Mills’ recommended “dosage” time. Some days have yielded more than 200 site visitors. Listeners come from all over the globe, according to Mills: 34 out of the 50 states plus D.C., and 18 countries outside of the U.S.
Though the numbers seem low, Mills’ listener base makes its presence known. He’s opened up an email for the station and responds to inquiries from listeners, whether they are requesting his free stickers or praising the barking background noise. He recently emailed the Puget Sound Institute.
“I sent them a note because I learned a lot from their articles,” Mills said. “They mailed me back saying that [the radio] is on heavy rotation in the office.”
Mills proclaims that he is no sea lion expert and consults online resources to learn more about the species. He is done recording for the year as the sea lions have moved on from Ballard, but he has a few hopes for the radio station’s impact before the barking bunch returns next year.
He recalls that back in the early days of the internet, some websites were around just for fun, such as The Million Dollar Home Page or The Infinite Cat Project.
“The web back then wasn’t about all advertising everywhere and all this stuff,” Mills said. “It was more about people just seeing what they could do with it, and I always liked that.”
While he admits the “old” internet was a source of inspiration, he hopes Sea Lion Radio will live on to uphold a legacy of bringing fun back to the web. He is keeping it simple on purpose: stickers and sounds.
Mills’ daughters, Katie and Olivia Mills, both live in Boise. They were completely unaware of his sea lion undertaking until he sent a link to the radio station in their family group chat.
“He just does this, in a great way,” Olivia Mills said, “he’ll just come up with an idea, and he’s so determined, he’s like, ‘I’m gonna make it happen.’”
“It’s not about the money for him, it’s about ‘why not,’ you know?” Katie Mills said. “There’s no reason not to.”
Katie and Olivia Mills identify their dad as a brilliantly intelligent person with a profound ability to tap into his creative side.
“For the last 30-ish years, when he was doing [software engineering], he had to be on the logical side of his brain the whole time,” Olivia Mills said. “So I think now that he’s not tied down to anything, he can do whatever, he’s expressing his creativity through this.”
In their childhood, while their house was mid-construction, Mills encouraged them to draw on the plywood walls and stairs before they were covered up. The sisters identify it as one of their fondest memories of their dad, especially knowing that their youthful scribbles still live in the walls of the house.
“He was just like, ‘Not only is it cool now, but that’ll be cool in 100 years,’” Katie Mills said.
The same line of logic runs through this memory from Katie and Olivia and through Mills’ philosophy for Sea Lion Radio. If you can do something, especially something with longevity, why not just do it?
“My plan is, this will be there forever,” Mills said. “The sea lions are pretty much gone for this year. So it’ll probably wait till next year, but it will just be there.”
Mills’ focus until the sea lions come back? A former Icelandic Coast Guard Gunboat named Albert. He wants to write a book about the boat’s extensive history.
“He’s flown to so many places, to the National Archives to look up stuff about this boat,” Olivia said. “He’s literally gone to London.”
It’s tough to identify exactly what inspires Mills in his undertakings, but he explains it pretty simply.
“Well, I have a background in doing whatever the hell I want,” Mills joked.
Tune in to some of Mills’ sea lion white noise on SeaLionRadio.org.
Photo by Chris Mills