Seattle Trip 2007 Day 5 Saturday July 28

UPDATED: February 4, 2022

This is the 5^th of a series of posts recalling my second annual trip to Seattle. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports. Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of five years later or to add further clarification; I use “NOW” to denote such cases.

Morning Report:

Another hot to sleep because it was very humid night.  Think I blacked out a few times because a one point I checked my watch and it was later than expected.

For those of you with access to Seattle stations, the city is already setting up for the annual Torchlight Parade.  I'm not a big fan of parades in general, but a parade after sundown has a different sort of magic to it.  Some of you may know I chose the dates of the vacation specifically to coincide with this parade.  I've already been out taking photos of people setting up (a lot of progress already, with lots of spaces already reserved for people).

So if you watch Seattle stations this eve, especially news stations, I'll be in the crowd somewhere.  There will be an insane number of people so the chances of seeing me on TV are slim but it's not impossible since I will be somewhere in the crowd watching the parade.

Evening Report:

Okay, took more photos of the parade set-up, then got a Squishee/Slurpee at the Qwiki-Mart/7-11 by the Space Needle.

[NOW: As previously noted, in 2007 only, select 7-11s were converted to Qwiki-Marts to promote the Simpsons Movie.]

More photos of set-up, then I went to the Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum.  Curator was a nice old lady.  Relatively small, but only $3 and you're allowed photos. Highlight was an actual Thompson sub-machine gun (Tommy gun).

 

[NOW: This museum has now closed.]

Then I took a bus I hoped went to Columbia City.  It did luckily. Not much to speak of. Columbia Plaza is mostly shops divided cubicle-like.  A book store nearby had a surprising number of New Universe comics (a failed 1980s line).  Then I went to Subway for lunch just to have a receipt for a place most tourists don't visit.

[NOW: Columbia City isn’t really a city but rather a district in the southeast of Seattle. I can’t recall which bus number I took; however, this bus and the ones in the next paragraph were definitely King County Metro Transit. I think the bookstore was Bookworm Exchange, now closed.]

By chance after I got off the bus back downtown, another bus was right there to my next destination (International Fountain at Space Needle).  Someone had a wedding there.  Now the fountain is a half-sphere in a "crater" (no pond at bottom) so lots of kids play in the water as well as some adults.  I actually spent a couple hours there and for the first time there let myself get wet.  Lots of varying intensities of water.  Lots of fun too.

Got another DVD at Silver Platters, and then went to McDonald's briefly.  The cashier was listening to a complaint even though someone else was helping the complainer instead of serving customers so I went to Subway again. 

 

[NOW: This branch of Silver Platters has since moved to 1st Ave S]

More parade set-up photos on way downtown.  Some preachers at Pike Street, including one with a sign protesting homosexuality.  Unfortunate that some preachers preach hate.  Bought some film as running low.

As pre-show there were runners who looked pretty sick by the time they reached downtown.  One was running with a golden retriever who took matters into its own hands and sat down in mid run.  Some runners allowed “high-five’s” from audience, most didn't.

 

[NOW: I blieve this is called the Torchlight Run.]

I think I saw a news chopper above me.  One of the preachers kept ranting and probably turned away more potential followers than he gained.  I should stress I'm not anti-religion, just anti-Brimstone rant during a family celebration.

Lots of floats, one of which broke down and had to be towed.  Some dignitaries had VIP cars, e.g. police chief, military, J. P. Patches (popular Seattle clown/former children's show host; I'm pretty sure it was the real J.P., i.e. Chris Wedes and with him, the actor who played Gertrude on the J.P. Patches Show, Bob Newman).

[NOW: Sadly Wedes and Newman have both passed away, in 2012 and 2020 respectively.]

So by my standards a relatively slow day, but fun for the most part.