It's a Parade!

After five years in Seattle, we finally made it to the Fremont Parade. It's billed as a celebration of the Summer Solstice. But to everyone outside of that community, we think of it as an excuse for hippies treehuggers free-thinkers to dress up or not dress, whichever the case may be. Anyway, it's one of those things I think you need to see at least once, like Mardi Gras, Hollywood and Las Vegas, even it doesn't compare with your expectations. As it turns out, we had a great time. About 10:30am, Brandon hooked up the sidecar to his bike, we dusted off Christie's bike and the three of us headed out towards Fremont. It's a pretty short ride, only about 3.5 miles. We arrived in plenty of time to lock up and find a good place on the route to watch. Fremont is a small, artsy neighborhood of Seattle, so we didn't have to walk far to find a spot near the beginning of the parade. It started at noon and did not fail to entertain. First on the agenda were the famous nude cyclists. It's not as nearly as bad as it sounds. There were about 100 cyclists of all shapes and sizes, covered in body paint and costumes, riding en masse down the center of the street. It was a perfect showcase for the beauty of the human body and the ultimate transportation device.
What followed was an assortment of floats, bands, and dancers, all celebrating their vision of the yearly cycle of rebirth. I can't say that I agreed with, or even understood, all of the statements being enacted, but it was a blast to watch. Abigael seemed to enjoy the spectacle too. She waved, cheered and danced from the safe confines of Mommy and Daddy's laps. I think our favorites were the kids on unicycles and the belly dancers.

It was so refreshing to see a parade that reflected personality of the neighborhood and wasn't just a showcase for the town's newest firetruck and beauty queen.
Afterwards, we rode home via the Ballard Locks, which is always a treat. Abigael missed this as she passed out in the bike trailer about 10 minutes in the ride. It was a good day.