Vandrea Does America: Day 14 (Wednesday 7/4/12)- Seattle, WA (Lake Union and Freemont district)

Happy 4th of July! Today Seattle celebrated for many reasons and not just for independence. It was sunny! Apparently for the first time in years. (Clarification: Though it may seem that way, I think she means it was sunny for the forth of July for the first time in years-I). A man explained that it is always sunny the 5th of July and eight weeks after but never the day of. We started the day off at the Wooden Boat Festival which was having it's final day. We sat in the grass and enjoyed some sea shanties and great blues music and soaked up the sun. We then walked around and viewed all of the boats at the festival, even touring a few as we went. Since we had visited the festival on Sunday and already experienced some of it's offerings we decided to go back to the Freemont district. We viewed some of the funny and funky sculptures in this eclectic and eccentric district including a giant troll under the Aurora bridge, a rocket shooting off a building and a Stalin statue in the heart of the area. We ventured up hill attempting to get some Paseo sandwiches that Jeremy had recommended. They open at 11. They were sold out by the time we got there at 3! The upside (and for me the best part of the day) was coming upon Bluebird homemade ice cream. One scoop of Snickerdoodle + One scoop of Theo chocolate (a local chocolatier) = One very happy Amanda. It was the best ice cream I have ever had. Period.

Since Seattle is home to Starbuck's and Microsoft is near by they have a huge corporate sponsored 4th of July festival. It was huge. It was like a stadium crowd at Gas Works park on one side of the lake and another stadium sized collection on the other. We were lucky enough to find a spot to sit and spent the afternoon trying samples of Sabra hummus, Fuze drinks and the new Starbuck's energy drink (they just love giving stuff away around here!). There was more live music. Though the brain trust of Microsoft had, unlike "Taste of Tacoma," the good sense not to have 5 concurrent bands playing allowing every one of the hundred craft and food booths to test the volumes of their speakers with different radio stations-I. With Isaiah wired on energy drinks and a huge crowd circling our spot like sharks we left Gas Works in the evening to go back to Lake Union Park. Since it was closer to the bus. Though the people of Washington have been thoughtful and lovely the fellow tourists have not. Right as the fireworks show began everyone from the back stood up and crowded the front, completing blocking the view of everyone behind them, everyone who had camped out all day to get a choice spot. We still managed to see some very cool fireworks with many shaped liked planets, smiley faces and rainbow colors. It was awesome. And I'm usually absent from or apathetic to smaller town firework shows-I. The night ended as we, the thousands and thousands of attendees, moved along mass exodus style towards downtown looking in the words of one passerby "like zombies." For anyone who believes in the Zombie Apocalypse this would have appeared to be hard evidence. Though zombies are communists and as such would not have attended the glorious attestation of our Americaness by blowing crap up real pretty like-I. Other than getting clipped by a stroller we made it "home" safe and sound. -A