Seattle, WA

This was my 4th time in Seattle and it has yet to disappoint. My boy Pat and his wife Paige were excellent hosts and made all the Grease Pirates feel welcome despite the 12 square feet of bathroom space split amongst 9 people. I finally made it to the top of the Columbia building which is the tallest skyscraper on the west coast. Enjoy this view to the right side of the page; if you look closely you can see Pat and Paige streaking across the East Shelter of Qwest Field. Amazing!

We took in the 4th of July fireworks at a park called Gasworks which is on Lake Union in Seattle. Lake Union is home to a seaplane base as well as Tom Hank’s House Boat from Sleepless in Seattle……if you’re a fan and I certainly am. It’s right up there with “You’ve Got Mail” which I just can’t see too many times. Chris Sexton backs me up here although he has a hard time picking up the Hanks/Ryan series with “The Notebook” sitting right there on the shelf. And back to the fireworks which was a show to remember. Each set was an average finale in itself and the real thing was a one minute long set of pure daylight as the entire sky was seemingly encompassed in colorful explosion. A helo preluded the show with a giant American flag hanging beneath it while a spotlight illuminated the red, white, and blue. Aside from the main event the crowd was enthralled for a good 40 minutes by a giant beach ball that was bouncing off of heads and thousand dollar cameras with reckless abandon. I’ve never seen so many grown people lose their composure like toddlers only for the excitement of punching a piece of colorful rubber while thousands look on. I’d like to see someone that excited over bopping a beach ball in the privacy of their own bedroom. “Jim! Come on to bed, I’ve got the beach ball out!” Seriously, you wouldn’t believe the chaos that occurred there on the shores of Lake Union this July 4th.

We’re finally headed back east now. The road ahead is long and hot. Please lift up our safety as well as the longevity of The LBBs of LDJ.