Holiday Weekend

Hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend! The tourists are in full force here in Seattle. I got first glimpse of them coming off the huge cruise boat docked on the Puget Sound below the Pike's Place Market on Saturday. I've lived here long enough to know where and what to avoid with the crowds. The Market area being #1. Saturday was a beautiful day with sunshine in the afternoon. I decided to venture to one of the attractions I haven't visited yet. It's somewhat off the beaten path and wasn't too crowded. Olympic Sculpture Park sits in the neighborhood of Belltown just north of the main downtown area. It's a beautiful green area with an interesting looking sculpture and views of the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. People were out and about enjoying picnic lunches and taking in the beautiful views. I couldn't help but feel a sense of serenity breathing in the fresh air and looking out over the water.
Unfortunately the sunny weather did not follow us into the 4th. Sunday was very overcast and brought rain in the afternoon. I didn't let that deter me from my initial plans. A friend of a friend rented a boat to take out on Lake Union for the afternoon. We enjoyed snacks and drinks while enjoying the views of the skyline, the Space Needle, Gas Works Park, the boat house from "Sleepless in Seattle," and the bridges lifting for the much bigger boats to go underneath. Gas Works Park is the central area where people camp out for the big fireworks display later in the evening. Close to 50,000 people congregated there by nightfall. They bring in a big blow up of the Statue of Liberty that sits on the focal point in the middle of the hill of the park. Later at night we went over to Charlie's condo to watch the fireworks. The fireworks display was a group effort this year. The cost for the show is about 500,000 dollars and WAMU bank used to be the sponsor before they went under last year. The businesses of the Seattle came together to raise the money and the show didn't disappoint. It also didn't hurt that we were standing on the roof of an 18 story highrise to take in the view.
Today is another day of dreary but perfect for snuggling on the couch with hot chocolate and my favorite girlie movies. Hot chocolate in July. Is summer ever going to officially make its presence in Seattle??????