ski-to-sea parade

This morning we packed up a lunch, lawn chairs, and too-few layers to watch the Ski to Sea Parade downtown Bellingham. The Ski to Sea race runs from the slopes of Mt. Baker to Bellingham Bay. It's "an 85 mile relay race of seven venues (cross country skiing, downhill skiing, running, biking, canoeing, mountain biking, and kayaking). I'm already formulating a crew in my head for a team in next year's competition!

The weather, not as warm as we anticipated for the parade, held off on sunshine until the parade was over. It didn't rain either.

We did have quite a lovely time watching the different groups move through; seeing the fire trucks, the horses, and high school bands. A local bank branch even served up hot dogs with chips and pop for anyone who was hungry. I watched plenty of people too; some in the parade who were tired and ready to finish the last few steps of their route, and others waltzed their children a 1/2 block down the street so they could be part of the festivities, too, or other families gathered around with blankets and a coolers on the sidewalks like we were.