Parading Around

Yesterday, on my way to work, I noticed a woman putting out camping chairs in a line in front of Walgreen's. I thought maybe it was for these annoying kids that have been selling chocolate there lately, but it seemed odd that the chairs would be facing the street. I was running late, though, so I switched my focus to tailgating the bus in front of me so that I could get through the green aarow light.

On my way home from work, the traffic on 105th was heavier than normal. I thought maybe there was a really gory accident, and being a bit of an ambulance chaser, I craned my neck around the cars in front of me for a better view. As I was turning onto Greenwood, I almost smacked into a police blockade. Swerving to miss them, I carried on going straight. Was there a murderer loose in the neighborhood? Could there have been a terrorist attack on a bus or something? I went further on and found that the next street was blocked, too! Starting to panic, I swung into a gas station and snuck onto a side street. As I rounded the corner by the back of our building, it hit me. I saw a huge float sailing along Greenwood. It was the Seafair Parade! Duh!

When I got upstairs to the condo, I realized that we had a cherry view of the parade from the deck. We saw drill teams, dance teams, bands (one band even had a cowbell!), the Seafair clowns and the Seafair Pirates. Arrrrrgh! There were people everywhere (some were comfortably sitting in camping chairs, ahem) and the smell of bbq was in the air. (The OK Corral has re-opened in their original location and they have been smoking up a storm!)

It was all very exciting and unlike some parades I've been to, it required almost no effort. Now that I know when it is, I will be more prepared for the festivities next year.