Old Seattle that's still here: Seafair

Like much of Old Seattle That's Still Here, Seafair makes me happy.

Seafair is Seattle's summer celebration. It culminates in the hydroplane boat races and Blue Angels performance over Lake Washington. I know it makes no sense that I wrinkle my nose at the mere idea of NASCAR, but I like the hydroplane races. And you know that I'm going to say the hydroplane races were better when I was a kid.

The races really were better, though! The race course was laid out differently back then, and drivers careened throgh five laps. Old piston engines were loud and not quite as fast as todays' turbine engines, and longtime random rivalries formed among brightly colored boats and drivers. Old hydros gave moments of real excitment--kind of like horse racing--with boats barely edging past one another at 100 miles per hour.

Maybe the best part about Seafair Sunday was seeing my mom in rare moments of happiness and excitment, enjoying Her Day, when she didn't cook or clean or take care of others, but merely cheered in front of the blaring TV with her potato salad (made efficiently the day before) and cooler filled with can after can of 7-Up.

And it all happened in the glare and glint of a magical Seattle summer day.

Check out general Seafair info here, the hydroplane museum here, and more cool vintage hydroplanes here.