nudity, puppets, wands, and sun

Friday:
Caught the ferry to Seattle at 11:30. There was a group of kids with backpack tethers and two haggard looking parents. The baby bawled but the other kids were quiet. Unusually so.

Arrived in Seattle where the sun and Llyw were waiting for me. We went to Elliot Bay Books for a quick little lunch. Caught up about work and school and travels and all that. I had grilled cheese. We went to Uwajimaya and Kinokuniya to pick up some comics, chocolate, and Pocari Sweat. Got some volumes of Kurosagi. Score!

We caught the 71 to the U District. The underground bus tunnels are open. Very cool thing. Sort of like a subway but with the comfort of being in a bus. The hammock was brought out and we lounged about in the sun chatting. He has a yard you know! It's awesome. Perfect day to kick back.

Around six Caleb and Liam swung by and picked us up for dinner. Jeanette was at home and we grabbed her and went out for Pho. The sun had gone down a bit so the hot hot noodles and soup were not insufferable. I had steak Pho noodles. Mmmm. And this time the creme puff at the end didn't explode all over me. I haven't had Pho since the last time I was in Seattle and I had trouble with the after dinner pastries (Robin can quote me on this).

We loitered around at the house watching bits of Planet of the Apes, playing games, and having a good time. Liam got a couple bed time stories, I had some tea, and we all went to bed.

Saturday:
Cooper the kitty stayed in my bed for the night. Very lovey kitty. Nice to have cats who want attention instead of whining from another room. I had some granola for breakfast. Sat about waking up. Liam and Jeanette watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

It was a muggy day. Warm but...muggy. The grand adventure was the Fremont Solstice Fair which included a nude bike ride. The streets were packed with people; blocks of persons elbow to elbow just waiting naked people on bicycles. Caleb had a "secret" spot to park. After picking up Llyw, we inched along through the crowd to the parking spot. Just across the Fremont Bridge and to the left. Some other people had the same idea and it was full up. Several residents with two parking spots had parked at a diagonal so the fair goers couldn't nick their spots. Jerks!

The parking spot we found was close by the secret spot. It was technically a red zone but we figured the parking people would be concerned with serious offenders so we took a gamble.

As we were going to the spot a group of nude riders went past us. They were mostly all covered with body paint. Some had recreated costumes of superheros(there was a nude batman) or had plant motifs. It was neat. Liam tried to get out when we were still in traffic but we got the door closed before he could run to join the nudies.

The bikers started a little early but we caught the majority of them. Hard to see through the crowds but we got some good *ahem* views. Liam had shoulders to sit on. Lucky boy. There were a couple God-loving protesters with huge signs telling us to repent because we are all sinners. Pfft.

After the ride we went through the market. Sort of a standard market set up with booths selling pottery and tie dye and what not. Liam acquired a more sturdy magic wand. There was a snow cone stand with an add-you-own-syrup feature. Mmmm!! Didn't have any though. Liam got a corn on the cob and a caramel apple. He let me have a bite of the latter. Lovely boy! So nice when he shares. Jeanette lingered with Liam while he ate and Caleb went to find some people. Llyw and I followed but we lost him so we wandered around a bit till we all met up again.

Corrine(Corraine? Corrin...) and Tim and a few other friends of Jeanette & co. were at the fair. We walked around with C. and Tim and looked at the art cars. There was a phone car, a car painted with chalk board paint, two yellow submarines (one was much better than the other), and an assortment of excessive add-ons and cool paint jobs. We tried to catch a little of the parade but our view was obstructed (not as bad as before). There were people dressed as large cakes, a self proclaimed Queen of Fremont, a troop of hula hoopers, a guy on stilts, ukele players and brass players. The hula hoopers invited people to join them and Liam gave it a shot.

From there we went back to our illegally placed van. No ticket! Huzzah! We hugged the friends goodbye and rolled out for home. Liam took a long long nap. Caleb and Llyw went for food and I took a nap as well, just not as long of one. We split a pizza, I had some tea and showed some of my Europe photos. Jeanette made a little tower out of watermelon and marinated some chicken. We packed up to meet her friend for a little birthday barbecue.

Met some new people, ate some good salmon and meat,and watched as Liam and Noah played with magic wands. Before we knew it, it was time to gather up our stuff and go to Avenue Q!

Caleb drove Llyw and I to the Paramount. Our seats were off to the left but pretty close. Fantastic! With only a couple tall people in the way. I loved Avenue Q. Hilarious. Not for everyone but blimey! I have not laughed that hard in a long time. First act was better I'd say. The musical was a sort of bitter parody of Sesame Street complete with muppets and puppets and people. The puppeteers did a great job, many of them changed puppets and kept in great character and the voices were top.

We caught the 66 back to the U District. Some people ran by us like they were being chased by something. The bus was relatively free of bus cliches. After the musical we just lounged about youtubeing and talking. When it came time for bed, I got the bed and Llyw took the floor. What a gentleman!

Sunday:
The 66 took us back to downtown. Llyw got off a few stops before me for work. I missed the Bremerton ferry by 15 minutes. Oh well. Read my comic during the wait. Ate a hot dog on the ride back. Gray day. Mum was waiting for me when I arrived. She was almost done with the new Sedaris.

A good part of the day was spent relaxing. Not doing anything after so much something. We had a double feature tonight. St Trinians and The Seeker. Mum enjoyed St Trinians like I thought she was. The Seeker was slightly better than I expected it to be(horrible). The kids acting was bad but it was almost worth with for Christopher Eccleston.

Made some cheese steak for dad using precooked steak. Turned out fairly good even though dad messed with the recipe while I was cooking. Mom had a bite.

One more full day and then it is back to PDX.