Fourth
Well I ended up having a very pleasant Fourth of July. After work on the 3rd, I went to my parents' place in Poulsbo, where there was a very nice fireworks show that night. Dad and I wandered around a bunch, made our way to the Secret Bathrooms (where I used the men's room while Dad kept watch, and I discovered that dozens of men are perfectly content pissing into the same toilet without flushing, and leaving the one roll of toilet paper beside the sink.
We ended up on the south end of downtown, where the crowd was thin and we were right by the shuttle buses that were taking people up the hill. As it happens, we were exactly where the fireworks were, had a great view of a great show, and were the first people up the hill afterwards.
Today I met up with a friend in Kingston. He came over on the ferry. I was dropped off by my dad. We had some vague hopes of possibly finding a parking place so that Dad could join us, but this Did Not Happen. Thanks to the parade, the main drag of Kingston was closed, and cars were parked along the highway for miles. We drove around to the marina parking lot, where there also wasn't any parking. Now, that side road was also blocked where it met the main drag, and though I was able to get out and walk over to the ferry, I have no idea how the hell they expected ferry traffic to get to the actual ferry. And so, onto the ferry from which my friend debarked, only five cars got on. Literally, five cars. In the middle of the Fourth of July. I have no idea how they actually made it there. (Okay, my friend and I speculated that they were leftover from the previous ferry, which did have traffic from before they closed the road).
But hey, it was a cute parade, and we did have some lovely crepes as we watched.
We boarded the ferry together, and observed an adorable baby seagull sitting on a piling right next to the ferry. Immediately beside the healthy little chick was a less adorable, less healthy, and much less alive chick. And that's why seagulls have multiple chicks.
Back on the east side, we picked up my friend's girlfriend from her work, and lay in the sun for a while on this lovely stone bench. (And this is why my shoulders are now red) We went on to have fried chicken in a park, before floating on a lake. It was really a pleasant day. I feel like I've completed an Independence Day checklist. Family: check. Cotton Candy: check. Fireworks: check. Small Town Parade: check. Picnics and splashing around lazily in the sun: check.
And now I'm home, completely ignoring the big Lake Union fireworks which I can hear this very moment. (Dude, I need to wash the duck poop off me and get to bed so I can go to work in the morning.)
We ended up on the south end of downtown, where the crowd was thin and we were right by the shuttle buses that were taking people up the hill. As it happens, we were exactly where the fireworks were, had a great view of a great show, and were the first people up the hill afterwards.
Today I met up with a friend in Kingston. He came over on the ferry. I was dropped off by my dad. We had some vague hopes of possibly finding a parking place so that Dad could join us, but this Did Not Happen. Thanks to the parade, the main drag of Kingston was closed, and cars were parked along the highway for miles. We drove around to the marina parking lot, where there also wasn't any parking. Now, that side road was also blocked where it met the main drag, and though I was able to get out and walk over to the ferry, I have no idea how the hell they expected ferry traffic to get to the actual ferry. And so, onto the ferry from which my friend debarked, only five cars got on. Literally, five cars. In the middle of the Fourth of July. I have no idea how they actually made it there. (Okay, my friend and I speculated that they were leftover from the previous ferry, which did have traffic from before they closed the road).
But hey, it was a cute parade, and we did have some lovely crepes as we watched.
We boarded the ferry together, and observed an adorable baby seagull sitting on a piling right next to the ferry. Immediately beside the healthy little chick was a less adorable, less healthy, and much less alive chick. And that's why seagulls have multiple chicks.
Back on the east side, we picked up my friend's girlfriend from her work, and lay in the sun for a while on this lovely stone bench. (And this is why my shoulders are now red) We went on to have fried chicken in a park, before floating on a lake. It was really a pleasant day. I feel like I've completed an Independence Day checklist. Family: check. Cotton Candy: check. Fireworks: check. Small Town Parade: check. Picnics and splashing around lazily in the sun: check.
And now I'm home, completely ignoring the big Lake Union fireworks which I can hear this very moment. (Dude, I need to wash the duck poop off me and get to bed so I can go to work in the morning.)