Summer in the City

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again … hot, sunny days aren’t my thing. If I travelled everywhere in an air-conditioned car, my opinion might be different, but I’m a big guy, Seattle is hilly, and I get around mostly on foot.

This being the case, sunshine equals three things, and only three things to yours truly: sunburn, sweat, and glare.

Give me 50 degrees, a thick layer of clouds, and maybe a bit of rain to keep the air clean & the Californians indoors, and I’m golden.

Alas, Summer has arrived in Seattle, at least in spirit, which means that for the next five months, I’m going to have to make peace with the toxic gasball in the sky if I ever want to leave the confines of my nerd cave, and yesterday, I did just that.

Sunday was the first day of the 2012 Broadway Farmer’s Market, so my homies and I walked over to get a few items to snack on, and also to get these swell photographs:

After the farmer’s market session, we headed over to one of my true homes-away-from-home, Cal Anderson Park, where we were greeted with what was undoubtedly the largest crowd of 2012. At least so far.

Children played on the monkey bars at one end of the park while frolicking in the fountains at the other, and in-between, scores of sunbathers staked out prime spots to relax.

Of course, this being Seattle, some people found that any moment not in front of a computer was one moment too many, so they brought their laptops along for the tanning session.

All things considered, it was a good day at The Cal. Even though the weather wasn’t my thing, the energy of the crowd was pretty cool, as was the return of the market.

Speaking of weather, now that La Nina is dead and buried, this summer is supposed to be a hot one. Yesterday’s mid-upper 70′s approached all-time highs, and today, we are forecast to actually break a record.

Summer has, for all intents and purposes, arrived.

Enjoy.

If you’re into that kind of thing.