Double Dipping

 

IN TRAINING: I got behind/lazy earlier in the week, so this is a two-fer blog, making up for lost time. It's also mostly photos.

On Tuesday, the kids and I took a two-hour hike as part of our Statue of Liberty climb training program. It's 390-ish steps from base to crown of Lady Liberty, and that's probably not something you want to just get up out of your computer chair and conquer. So, we took to Discovery Park, a lush, lovely 534-acre expanse just a mile or two to our west.

We chose to go there, because when you park at its south lot and hike down to the beach, not only is it about 1.5 miles, it's a steep 1.5 miles down, which means it's also a steep hike up.

I decided to count our steps on the way back, to get a gauge for how it might compare to the Statue of Liberty. I only counted actual stairs up as well as really steep portions of the trail. In all it was 597 steps up. I think we're good for the statue! But, of course, we'll keep training, because the easier the climb is, the more pleasant it will be. Plus, the park trail offered a few stretches of flat walking on the way up. The statue will not.

The walk in the park wasn't easy, but it sure was pretty. The kids love playing in the driftwood forts on the beach.

CJ also grew a pair of antlers.

The dogs would have loved roaming the beach, too, but that's illegal in Seattle.

As usual, I was the only one following that rule during our visit. I kept my dogs off the beach and on their leashes. I was a club of exactly ONE following that rule. As usual. Sigh.

We saw lots of sailboats ...

We also got to watch some fishing - by a young eagle, and then this BIG blue heron. It had the largest wingspan of any heron I'd ever seen.

We checked out the lighthouse, of course.

The trail up and down also provides lots of pretty vantage points. Like this one. ...

And a big tree by the parking lot is fun to climb.

Someone - almost certainly not the parks department - installed a tire swing from one of the tree's branches. Big fun!.

SKYROCKETS IN FLIGHT: Thursday night, we did what so many other Americans do on the Fourth of July - we watched things blow up.

Of course, these explosions were the legal, sanctioned kind - the official city of Seattle fireworks show.

As has been the case in years past, we staked out our spot on the east side of Queen Anne hill, overlooking Lake Union, on the night before. Then, a little after 8 p.m. on the Fourth, we returned to our chairs to wait a couple of hours, for the 10:15 p.m. start.

The time goes quickly, as the view of the lake and city is pretty, we bring games and reading materials, and there are hundreds of people speaking lots of different languages.

Unfortunately, we got a show before the show. Just about 10 p.m., a column of black smoke rose on the north side of the lake. It grew and grew, and soon the sirens sounded. Turned out to be caused by some illegal fireworks, shot by careless idiots on a hill above a boat storage facility. They managed to destroy 14 boats and do upwards of $1.5  million worth of damages.

In happier news, the official fireworks were pretty.

 

This was part of the grand finale. ...

I think we were home by 11, but the blasts and crashes continued long into the night.