Last week we picked up Kazuya. He is a Dokkyo high school student from Japan and is here for two weeks. He attends school during the week for intensive English and gets evenings and weekends with us. We let him have the guest suite in the basement.

Friday, I took an excursion to participate in the Cascade Night Ride through Seattle. Our tour left Gasworks and stopped on Elliot Bay for a night time fire juggling display. You can see my Strava entry here. I did not take a day of picture of my bike so here it is.

Our ride finished at Peddler Brewing where they stayed open just for our ride. The beer flowed till 1 PM. Try riding up Ballard (250 ft climb) in the dark with a light drizzle. It was very exciting.

Today's excursion included a classmate (staying with another host family), Takayama. The seven of us saw the new 747 cargo plane dressed up in Seahawk colors.


Mr. Redpath, Takayama, Kazuya, Veronica, Carlton, Étienne, and Mrs Redpath

Here we see the new 747 with the Dreamlifter in the background. This picture was taken from atop the Future of Flight Museum. Inside we got up close and personal with the latest generation of high bypass turbofan. They are really big and use carbon fiber first stage fan blades.

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Other exhibits included Étienne and Kazuya making a wind tunnel flight, a 747 passenger compartment mock-up, and a bernoulli air flow table. The balls are suspended in air with a small jet of air.

The boys are sitting in the cockpit you see on the left. This is an actual 727 cockpit saved from a retiring airplane.

On the way home we stopped to pick blackberries. It is hard to miss them when they grow everywhere, even on some of the center dividers of major roads.

Takayama and Kazuya trying to avoid the many thorns. When we got home I washed the berries and had the boys pick the meat off some grilled chicken. I made chicken salad for lunch.

We are on day two of warm weather. Today is topping out in the low 90's and the locals are calling it a heat wave. Go Figure. Our yard is in a very small minority with green grass.!
The way I see it, we get double benefits!

On July 11th, we headed downtown for the Ballard Seafood Fest. Veronica was visiting Cousin Jane so Judy and three boys walked down for the festivities. Streets closed to traffic and venders set up stalls along Market all the way to Ballard Ave.

Carl found a pig roast!

Seattle PD displayed their Urban Assault Vehicle and several robots.

Other activities included local businesses like Swedish Medical, Insurance companies, even a Metro Bus. Judy and the boys filled out a survey at the Geico booth and walked away with a key chain dongle. Later we happened upon a juggler about to start his act. This was the point where the juggler said he was going to attempt to jump into the lasso while twirling it, and an excellent child heckler yelled, "Light it on fire!"

Broccoli Man put on a good show. The finale involved juggling a small child. It was no coincidence he set up a block away from Swedish Hospital.

After all that fun, we had to try the food vendors.

Carl chowed down on a sausage and kraut roll. Étienne chose the classic corn dog. I am always looking for great pickled herring in this Norwegian community and found this herring sandwich.

A great day in Ballard. The City of Seattle is promoting more street closings to promote non-motor vehicle activities. Several streets in Downtown Seattle will become pedestrian walkways for a day this summer. My neighbor has a permit to close his residential street for three hours once a week allowing the kids to play in the street. Yesterday, his "Play Street" attracted kids from several blocks away. Just one more example of the Emerald City enjoying this great weather.