July 4th

Believe it or not, this is the first July 4th we have spent in Seattle. We were going to invite a bunch of friends over for a Par-Tay, but instead we decided to have a simple 4th, and spend it just the two of us. It was really fun.

Before dinner we decided to hop in the dinghy and cruise the lake just to see what the hub-bub was all about. I was a little nervous because we have a small dinghy and there were a lot of big boats out there. Plus, we haven't really run the dinghy motor very much. (By the way, thanks to our neighbor Sig for giving us the dinghy motor, and Mom and Pops for fixing it for us - You made our July 4th!)


Getting ready to go... We certainly won't need these oars, but we'll bring them anyway.


Heading away from the dock into the thick of it.


MOTORIN!!!! WHAT'S YOUR PRICE FOR.... Ok enough.

After getting out into the melee we realized that although we were in a small dinghy, we certainly weren't the most ridiculous. We saw several "clown boats" out on the water.


The water was actually washing up over the bow as they motored along.


Paddle? Why would I need to paddle?


This one was an actual clown boat...


In addition to clown boats there were pirate ships too... YARRR!


But to keep all those pirates in line, Seattle finest were patrolling the waters.


As were Seattle's bravest.

We cruised (putt-putted) north to see the crowds up at Gas Works Park, thankful the whole time that we were not in the middle of it.


Wow, look at that crowd.


Lady Liberty came to visit. Tweet!! Hey Lady! The fireworks are going to be over here!!!


I prefer Lady Jessica though!

Motoring around the lake was really great. Not only did we get to see a whole bunch of different boats, and give thanks that we weren't smack in the middle of a huge crowd, but we also got too see some great scenery.


Hooray rainbows!


Hooray America!


Hooray Seattle!

After touring around for an hour or so, we decided to head back to the dock to have some dinner before the fireworks started. Hilariously, on the way home we ran out of gas. This is extra funny because before we left the dock, Jessi asked if we would have enough fuel, and I assured her we'd be fine. To add to her comfort our boat neighbor Greg assured her that "these small motors use like a tablespoon of gas an hour." Apparently, we had a teaspoon in there. But, if you recall, we brought our oars, just in case the motor broke... or just in case the operator was an idiot.

Well, to make up for it, I rowed us home.


Grinning and bearing it. It turns out I was happy to have practiced rowing while on the river.

Eventually we made it back home. We rowed up to the dock to the cheers and jeers of our dockmates, who were grilling on the dock and had watched us motor out an hour earlier. It was a proud moment for us. We'll show them that we're not young and inexperienced!

We did, however, manage to recover from our bruised egos and fire up the grill.


Jessi worked her magic and POOF dinner was ready!

Just as we were wrapping up dinner, night had fallen and the fireworks began. It was a spectacular show set to music. We turned on our radio, sat on the bow, and enjoyed the festivities.


Oooooooooh!


Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I hope your Fourth was as fun as ours!

-Tom