Rainbow Connection

       

PRIDE:  Sunday our main event was heading to Seattle Center to take in Pride Fest. What a colorful sight to behold that was. :) 

When we went back to Seattle Center to play in the fountains again today, Pride Fest remnants were all over - feathers, beads and such. As I pointed out to Annabelle, we could have stocked our craft drawer quite well! 

Speaking of beads, as we were leaving the celebration on Sunday, we were walking on the north side of Key Arena. I noticed an elderly gentleman off entirely by himself, standing in a shady spot. I noticed he was wearing a beaded necklace in the colors of the rainbow, and I thought about all the changes he's seen in his lifetime in the area of civil rights. As we walked passed him, he called out to us. He asked Christian if it was OK if he gave his necklace to our daughter. He said he was 80 years old and at his age, he didn't much need another rainbow beaded necklace.

It was really very touching.and Annabelle was very happy to accept it from him. 

LIKE A HEATWAVE: It's been hot Hot HOT here in Seattle. Most of the year our house is very comfortable, but when it's 90 plus degrees, it's a little less comfortable. We were sweaty by 8 this morning. 

Fortunately, we had a date to meet friends at the International Fountain at Seattle Center. The kids splashed around for a couple of hours.  Below is the International Fountain shooting nearly as high as the Space Needle.

 And here's a lovely sculpture from the wading pool, between Key Arena and the Vera Project.

Saturday, to beat the heat, we went down to a small beach in Magnolia. We watched a parade of cruise ships take off. The kids splashed around in an inflatable boat of ours. I had to laugh, as they looked like castaways trying to catch up to the cruise ships!

Here's a Holland America floating city they couldn't catch ...

 And they weren't fast enough for the Norwegian Cruise Lines one, either. 

 And the "Star Princess" of Princess Cruises was way too fast, too. 

Just so you know, the kids aren't really out in the middle of the shipping channel. They were about 3 feet from where the water met the beach, floating in about a foot of water, and anchored by two ropes. 

ROCKET GONE WRONG: You know we watch lots of rocket launches, and the VAST majority of them of off without a hitch. Tonight, there was a BIG exception.  Check out this launch from the Balkinor Cosmodrome of a Proton-M with a global positioning system satellite on board.  There's no sound, but the pictures tell the story. Yowza.