An Edmonds Kind of Fourth

For the first time in I don't know how many years, I worke up on the 4th of July to a beautiful, sunny day.  It was a fine summer day---in the Northwest.  That is just so weird!  Usually it is overcast, often drizzly, on the 4th.  Blue skies, sun, balmy weather is as rare as can be----and oh-so-appreiated!

My pots out back were looking perky and beautiful in the morning light.

The sun hitting the leaves of the Japanese maples was gorgeous.

It was sunny even in the dappled shade.  And warm.  Did I mention it was actually warm and that I didn't have to wear a sweater?

I have my flags flying out in the front, in preparation for the hundreds and hundreds of people who will be walking by my house on their way up to the playfield later on this evening for the fireworks display.

The mock orange (Philadelphus)  out back is just now in full bloom, a full three weeks late.  That's what sort of a spring/summer weather we've been having.....(We were calling is "Junuary.")

And then, in the late morning, the festivities began!

I actually got a little sunburn at the Edmonds 4th of July parade this morning.  Nonie and I put out chairs in front of the theater last night and so we enjoyed both the children's parade and the "grand" parade from our comfortable, front row seats.

Before the parades started we watched the 5K fun runners cross the finish line......

and then all the children began to arrive in their decorated wagons, strollers, bicycles, unicycles, Dad's shoulders......and the Childrens' Parade began.

I loved the ferry "float" and the two little darlings riding on it.

Lady Liberty was pretty cute, too.

There were more American flags than you could shake a flagpole at.....

and lots of candy being tossed about....

...and even Harper, the daughter of friends of my son & daughter-in-law, was there in her decorated conveyance, looking oh-so-adorable!

After all the darling little kids, the adult parade was sort of anticlimactic, but we watched all of it, too.

The pipers were good.

J.P. Patches was there.  J.P. is a NW fixture.  He had a long-running children's TV program when I was young and his career had just gone on and on and on.  If I'm, ummmm, 61 now, how old is J.P.?

It did, I will admit, give me a thrill to see him.

We had mounted posses....

...and REAL celebrities like Kermit the Frog!

And this space alien who was more than happy to pose for me.  (I have no idea who or what he was supposed to be....)

The fire-breathing dragon boat float, courtesy of the Sons of Norway, was pretty cool.

The local Tae Kwon Do college had some really good young board breakers.

And this young unicycler could jump his unicycle up and down.  How do they do that?

All in all, it was a pretty darn good ol' Fourth of July parade and it was only a block from my house.  

Tonight....FIREWORKS! 

China Report, Part 3: Visit to a Hutong

I never, ever thought I would ride in a bicycle trishaw.  Having some poor man peddle my hefty carcass around town seems to be just too much to ask of any human.  I mean, my legs work fine!  I know it is the man's job, and all those arguments, but it just feels wrong to me.  Since this outing was part of our package tour, and since it was obvious that these gentlemen do really earn their living by carting people through the narrow streets of this old neighborhood of Beijing, I want along.  I'm glad I did, too, as it was great fun.

The driver was surprising speedy.

The start of our tour was along this lake, part of a park.  Where, you ask, is this park located and where is this neighborhood you visited?  I haven't a clue.  It was very pretty and not too terribly far from our hotel, but where exactly?  Don't know.  Don't know the name of the hutong, don't know the name of the park, don't know much!

Oh, I do know what a hutong is....it's a narrow street or alley in the old parts of Chinese towns, the way things used to be.  Too narrow, mostly, for cars.  And that explains the bicycle trishaw businesses.

This is a Mongolian Hot Pot restaurant.  The enormous copper hot pot out front was a dead giveaway!

The Chinese government is helping people refurbish their old style houses in about 40 separate neighborhoods in Beijing, as part of program to preserve some of the old style homes.  This house is in the midst of the process.

A bicycle remains the easiest way to get around the narrow alleys of the hutong.

Many of the houses were still sporting good luck decorations from the Chinese New Year and looked very festive.

Love the mail in the door!

Oh, wait!  I DO know something!  Here's the name of the hutong we visited!

Don't you just love the "smile" on this gate pull?