Three days of boats and music

This weekend was the Wooden Boat Festival on Lake Union.  Of course, we had to be there.

Saturday

Wake up at 6:30am, decide to start getting ready right away, before the family wakes up.  End up reading EPAiC# for a 1/2 hour, miss my window; they are up & active.

Before going to the docks, we need a good breakfast.  Clean the kitchen, cook a meal, eat, clean, play with son.  3 hours have gone by.  Start packing stuff for the day.  Consider taking the bus; sit down at computer to research bus schedules.  Help son poop. Start working on food to pack, realize that family is hungry.  Clean the kitchen, cook a meal, eat, clean, play with son.  Finish packing, planning, researching, and preparing.  Son falls asleep for afternoon nap.  Father, exhausted from a day of getting ready, falls asleep, too.

After nap, wake up, diaper son (chase naked child in circles), dress, eat more food, load up the car, and go.  Arrive at CWB at 6:15pm.  Festival ended at 6:00pm.

Walk around the now-empty festival.  See beautiful boats on empty docks.  Sit in Puffin & chat with crew for an hour, eating sandwiches. 

Drive around Lake Union to Gasworks Park.  I've never seen it from the land-side before.  Explore park.  See barge & tugboat anchored in Lake Union, surrounded by a no-go zone marked with bouys.  2 police boats guard the area with flashing blue lights.  Note to self: park is great for kids.  Bring mine back some day.

Go home.  Watch Queer as Folk.  Go to sleep.

Sunday

July 4th = really bad traffic in downtown Seattle.  Committed to not being part of the problem, I print out bus schedules & maps.  After cleaning / cooking / eating / cleaning / packing / etc., we hop in the car & drive to a Park & Ride.  Arrive 5 minutes after the bus left.  Sit around talking.  8 minutes before next bus arives, son announces “I got poopers coming!”  Hike 1/4 mile in hot 2pm sun to a park with restrooms.  We're carrying son, full backpack, 1gal of drinking water, and a copy of the Marlinspike Sailor so people know I'm salty.  While waiting for son to poop, bus goes by.  Afterwards, walk back to the bus stop to wait again. 

Catch bus.  Ride across Lake Washington into the city.  Get off at last stop, walk 0.7 miles to festival.  Only 6 hours from wake up until arrival!

I bum around at the docks while wife & son explore.  Eventually offer my help to the volunteer coordinator who puts me to work.  In the height of irony, I am assigned to direct parking. 

After festival closes, I work security for another hour.  My job is to stand in front of a fence and make sure no one crosses it, unless they have a good reason. 

Meet wife & son.  Son has built a toy boat, and wife says she's had a great time.  Dinner at a restaurant with rowdy son.  He hasn't napped and is fighting sleep.  My apologies to the other patrons.  Traffic outside is atrocious.

We walk back to the docks, arriving at the end of CWB dock B around 9:45.  It's getting dark & cooling off.  Water lapping on the docks makes a pleasant sound, as the dock gently rocks back and forth.  Just before the fireworks start, son says he's going to sleep, and then goes to sleep. 

My most enjoyable fireworks show ever.  The perfect setting.  Various fireworks shows in a 270deg arc around me, including a great one right in front of me.  Beatiful wooden boats all around.  Family.  A nice time.  Too bad my country is carrying on large-scale terrorism around the world, on my behalf.

After the show, hike back 0.7 miles with full backpack and a fresh gallon of water on my back, and son on my front.  It's easier when I'm balanced.  Catch the last bus out of Seattle back to P&R.  Drive home.  Guess what, I'm tired.

Monday

Seems like we know the routine by now.  Eat, clean, pack, etc., drive to CWB.  The festival is quieter today.  We explore together, as a family. 

Son & I sit in the cockpit of Dominion (picture) with a mom+son.  Our sons argue about relative rank (“I’m the captain.”  “No, I’m the captain.”), until they finally decide that one is captain of the radar, while the other is captain of the steering wheel.  I’m assigned to be captain of the throttle.

We explored the inside of the Mallory Todd, which is amazing. 

We eventually end up at the CWB docks & rent a Peapod.  We don’t go far, but we do explore the boats from the water side, which is very cool.  Lots of floatplanes go by, too.  After an hour of rowing my back is tired.  Glad we won’t have to carry the little one 0.7 miles to the bus.

At the end of the day, we head home.  Dinner, more QAF, and sleep.

I had an excellent time, and I’m very glad to know that my family enjoyed it, too.  It’s odd that after spending all that time at the center, I didn’t go sailing at all.  The festival is about exploring things on land, and (for me) about helping other people get the most out of their experience there.  I’ll have to take a weekday off soon & go sailing when the lake is quiet.