Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 8 years and 9 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

So far on this trip we’ve been tourists-for-a-day in LA and San Francisco. Now it’s time for Seattle and it’s the Fourth of July!

The morning started off with an early drive down to Pike Place Market so my wife could complete her pilgrimage to the first Starbucks. While at the market we picked up some fresh Rainier cherries for later, some hot and fresh mini doughnuts for breakfast, and showed my daughter the gum wall (eww). My sister then drove us out to Snoqualmie Falls to do a little hiking. Unfortunately the parks service had locked down the trail leading down to the base of the falls so we had to settle with walking along the river instead (still very scenic). We also drove up to the top to check out the view from there.

On the way back to my sister’s place she swung us past the Fremont Troll for a photo opp. After cleaning up at her apartment, we walked to Seattle Center and had lunch at the Armory so everyone could pick their own meal. Since it was July 4th, it was crowded like we expected but there was also a very large group of people who had just taken the oath of citizenship and were registering to vote (congratulations to them!). After lunch we went to the Chihuly Garden (amazing glass sculptures) and EMP Musem (Star Wars costumes, indie games, and Chuck Jones special exhibits).

We weren’t about to try and brave the crowds at Gas Works Park for the evening’s fireworks so instead we went grocery shopping and grilled dinner up on the roof of my sister’s apartment building (with sunset views of Elliott Bay and the Space Needle). We weren’t able to see the Lake Union fireworks from her roof, unfortunately (though we could obviously hear them) so we ended up watching on TV with the windows open.

Happy Independence Day!