Summer! Finally!

I know there seems to be a running theme here of me complaining about the weather in Seattle. I've never been someone who is particularly pleased to be living in this Northwest climate, as I feel as though I am a California Girl at heart. I spent my summers on the beaches of Laguna as a kid and I don't think I ever got over the annual heartbreak at the end of summer when it was time to go home.

That being said, when Seattle comes in to it's own on July 4th (I swear, it's like clockwork) it really seems to make up for testing our patience. In most years, we have a real spring and we don't go as stir-crazy as we all did this year because spring miserable. And then wouldn't you know that as soon as my family and I left town to go to Hawaii, Summer arrived on July 4th and my instagram was inundated with pictures from friends and family at home experiencing AMAZING weather. And with most of the country unbearably hot, to the point of dangerous, Seattle is sitting pretty with perfection.

I thought I'd share some of the photos that don't even start to capture how pretty this city is in Summer. I should also mention that because we have been so starved for sun, you can actually count on the city being on a European-type schedule where stores close, people leave work incredibly early and our phones go straight to voicemail.

Before I get to Seattle, I have to include a picture of m'boys enjoying Hawaii for the first time:

And this shot my husband took at the airport after our SEVENTH hour of waiting for our plane to take off for home. It was such a cluster that we later decided to forget about going home and extended the vacation by two days. Certainly not normal circumstances, but after that much time in an airport and the alternative being spending the night in SFO's airport lounge with two kids, we pulled the trigger. 

On to Seattle, in all her glory:

Taken from my parent's sailboat in the marina. This is on Puget Sound and in a few weeks it will be up in the San Juan Islands and Canada for an extended sail. 

One of the amazing things about Seattle are the houseboats on Lake Union. They are some of the craziest things you've ever seen and then at the same time so unique and endearing. My sister hits the lakes as soon as it gets above 70 and spends the weekends jumping off boats and getting tanner than me (hate her). 

Sister's photo again: Transitioning from Lake Union to Lake Washington you go under a series of bridges that as a driver have you cursing boaters as they constantly raise and lower, stopping traffic. As a boater, it's the best. This is en route to dinner in Kirkland -- Moscow Mule's in hand for an evening ride. Public docks are a must for this town since many travel by boat across the lakes -- a boater's parking lot. 

And finally, nightly sailboat races that you can see from the various bridges and homes. This one is the beginning of what will be the Duck Dodge. On any given night, your commute home has you passing 30+ sailboats in controlled chaos racing for who know's what.

So next time I'm about to go crazy during the nine months of clouds and rain, I'll remind myself of this post where I admit that this town is totally unlike so many others.

And most importantly, the weather is nice so I'm making like a Seattle-ite and turning off my computer to get outside.