Survival of the hottest

Oh the heat- how you are my enemy! It's been a HOT week out here and it's been a struggle to find the coolest areas to pass the time. I've found myself venturing to the grocery store and the mall just to take advantage of the air conditioning as these are some of the few selected places with air. On Thursday we actually had a blackout and lost power for a while. I'm wondering if too many fans trying to go at the same time could have been the culprit? Poor Nala has also been struggling to stay cool- lounging in the sinks and on the tile floor. She has been looking at me with a look that says "please make it cooler." Or maybe that is just my interpretation of the look on her cute little face.
Thursday was Joe's birthday. We spent the afternoon at Madison Park Beach along Lake Washington. The sun was out in full force and it seemed that many people had the same idea that we had as the place was really crowded. We made it about 5 minutes in the sun before we braved the chilly temperatures of the water just to cool off. We then spent the rest of the time laying out in the shade and it was quite comfortable. Later we enjoyed a delicious sushi dinner with Charlie (his birthday too) down in the International District.
Saturday night I was fortunate enough to get an invite to another Seattle Living Room Show-live music in someone's living room. The band that I saw was called the Sweet Remains and I have been playing them on my IPod for about a year so I was so excited to finally see them live. They are able to create this amazing 3 part harmony that I could listen to for hours. For two hours I forgot about the heat and just listened to the music. Such a great night!
We escaped from the city on Sunday to visit Mt. Rainier. We went to a different lookout point from where we visited last year. The sun came out on our drive and by the time we parked the car we were surrounded by lots of people, sun, and snowy white. We attempted to hike up part of the glacier in the snow. It was like 2 steps up and 1/2 a step sliding back. We got to take in some amazing views while walking in the sun with our short sleeved shirts. I was really entertained watching all the different groups of people from the prepared (hiking boots, treking poles, hiking pants) to the unprepared- (designer purses, heeled boots, puma sneakers). Let's just say there was lots of slipping and sliding as attempts were made to go up and down the mountain. It was such a great feeling standing in the middle of the mountain in the snow, breathing in the fresh air and taking in the view.