It was a snowy, blustery Seattle day. At Lake Union Park in South Lake Union, people were outside with scarves, beanies and gloves. Tied to the dock was an unassuming-looking ship bouncing in the waves. Next to it was a small, wooden foldout sign with an arrow pointing to the ship that read, “Sunday Ice Cream Cruise.”

Every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the hour, Larry Kezner enlightens guests for 45 minutes about the unique history of Seattle and the events that have taken place throughout the years at Lake Union. Kezner, the ship’s captain, runs the tour in rain, shine and snow all year round.

“I thought it was fun,” said Morgan Clary, a UW alumna who braved the weather to make the tour. “There is a lot of Seattle history I saw here that I didn’t know about, and I’ve lived here my whole life.”

On the tour, guests get to see the tree next to which Bill Boeing built his first airplane, as well as the famous houseboat used in the film Sleepless in Seattle.

Chris Fraser, an Australian exchange student who took the cruise, also braved the weather for the trip.

“It’s really cold outside right now, but I liked the vibe of the tour,” Fraser said. “I liked seeing Bill Gates’ boat.”

Other notable things to watch around Lake Union are the recreational activities such as hydroplaning and sailing. The view from the lake gives guests on the tour a chance to check out the many houseboats and floating neighborhoods.

“I’ve never seen Seattle from this side before,” Clary said. “I’ve only seen it from the street side. You see everything from a whole new perspective here.”

As the guests take in the history and watch the lake through the port windows in the cabin, they are awarded with another treat: ice cream.

It could be perceived as odd to find solace from the winter cold by eating ice cream treats. But the root beer floats, Creamsicle floats and “jeffas” — root beer poured over a combination of chocolate and orange ice cream — aren’t the only treats served on the cruise.

“We have hot chocolate, coffee and hot soup too,” said Rosie Dixon, one of the first mates who assist Kezner on the tours. “In the winter, Larry likes to call it the Sunday Hot Soup Cruise.”

Even so, the ship’s cabin is warm enough to allow guests to enjoy the ice cream without the chill. Hot and cold treats consumed are equally.

“I had to try the jeffa,” Fraser said. “The jeffa is actually an Aussie treat where they take an orange candy ball and coat it in sugar. It’s like a giant M&M.”

Kezner’s version of the jeffa is slightly modified from the Aussie original, which consists of a couple scoops of orange ice cream topped with root beer.

The idea for ice cream on the tour was inspired from memories of Kezner’s childhood. It seems for Kezner, ice cream has always been tied to boats.

“When I was a kid, my mother used to take me on ferry rides for my birthday,” he said. “Every time I was on the ferry, I’d get a big scoop of ice cream.”

Kezner had always been interested in the water, too, signing up for the Sea Scouts as a youth.

“In the Sea Scouts, you did everything a Boy Scout would do except on the water,” he said. “I really liked exploring the water more than I liked exploring the land.”

In 1999, after Kezner earned his captain’s license and made the Seattle waters his bailiwick, he began searching for a boat. He found one that was built in Michigan and felt it had a “very unique look to the Seattle area.” He named it the Fremont Avenue after its first docking point, right off Fremont. It launched out of Fremont for the first time in the winter of 1999.

“People used to take the tour after visiting the Sunday Market in Fremont,” he said. “It gave us a lot of business. After a while, we got more popular and were sending people to the market instead of driving people from it.”

Since then, the tour has moved its docking point to South Lake Union, Kezner has accumulated a few notable stories that chronicle his time on the lake.

“One time an engaged couple was on a tour and wanted to use the ship for their wedding,” Kezner said. “I offered to schedule a time to sit down and discuss when they could arrange a charter to host it. The couple wasn’t interested in that.”

Instead, the couple insisted they wanted to get married that same day on the tour. When Kezner asked where their paperwork was, the couple darted home to grab it, and came back. They were married on a tour later that day. The guests on the tour at that time were excited to be witnesses to the marriage, which only really took six or seven minutes out of the actual tour.

About that story he said, “You have to be ready for those kinds of things.”

Other stories reference experiences Fremont Avenue had with the other vessels that sail on Lake Union.

For instance, the Ice Cream Cruise had a run-in with the Ride the Duck’s tour.

“The duck boat pulled up alongside our boat, and we ended up selling ice cream to their tourists,” Kezner said. “It was a really hot summer day.”

When guests board the Fremont Avenue, they should be prepared for the unexpected: Seafair pirates stopping by to say hello or landmarks that are novel to even Seattle natives.

As the Fremont Avenue pulled up to its spot on the dock right next to the “Sunday Ice Cream Cruise” sign, Kezner concluded his tour. He said his farewells to the smiling guests and shook each of their hands as they left.

Then they stepped out of the cabin and back into the stormy Seattle weather.

Reach contributing writer Eric Staples at development@dailyuw.com.