4th of July in Little Dubai

Unlike Seattle, Bellevue has a downtown park (Orin O’Neill photos)

Fireworks displays in Seattle were down to one, at Lake Union. It’s the economy, dontcha know. No corporate sponsorship.

However, the show in downtown Bellevue was being hyped relentlessly. It was worth checking out, I thought.

Or at least worth taking the GTS on the 520 bridge. Not much traffic, but then it was about 1:30 in the afternoon. I used to do the 520 commute, which has a totally undeserved reputation for being the Commute From Hell. I always made it from Queen Anne Hill to the cubicle farm in about half an hour, and from the cubicle farm to home in about 40 minutes. Driving. It took over an hour on the bus. It’d probably take less time on the GTS, since I could use the HOV lanes.

But on a 4th of July Saturday, it took no time at all to get from West Seattle to downtown Bellevue. Even going the back way through Medina, where the usually ruthless speed trap on 84th (once known as Medina Way) was absent.

There’s almost nothing old in Old Bellevue these days

Turn left at the Chevron station, then bear left at the “Y” and you’re in Old Bellevue. When the city was founded, this was the central business district. In fact, before Bellevue Square came along, this was the whole city, the surrounding area consisting of strawberry and blueberry farms.

These days, there’s almost nothing old in Old Bellevue. The irony is lost on most Bellevueites (Bellevueans?).

I stashed the GTS in Bellevue Square’s cavernous parking structure and walked to Downtown Park. This park is only a few years old, just like downtown Bellevue. It doesn’t have the patina you’ll find in most of Seattle’s parks, but then it doesn’t have the grafitti, either.

When I told people downtown Bellevue would look like this in the 21st Century, nobody believed me. Hate to say, “I told you so,” but…

I’ve come to realize being in downtown Bellevue makes me feel like I’m in the 22nd Century, not the 21st. Everything is so new, and so upscale and so… shiny. It’s only when you get to the street and see there are still cars on wheels, instead of hovering or flying, that reminds me it’s 2009.

There’s not as much going on as the hype suggested. There are all kinds of inflatable things for kids bounce around on (no kids in my house), a Honda Insight to check out (if you’re claustrophobic, probably not a car you’d like), a sparsely-populated food court with pretty much the same vendors you see at every street fair in Seattle. In fact, the pizza vendor was a restaurant on Aurora Avenue.

Had a slice of pizza, an ear of corn, and a piña colada smoothie. It’ll be over seven hours until they shoot off the fireworks. Do I want to wait? Uh, no. Think I’ll check out Lake Hills.

Lake Hills was created to be Bellevue’s first master-planned neighborhood in 1955. Parts of it look like other suburban areas built in the late 50s or early 60s. Parts of it are kinda seedy. Other parts have these oddly upscale houses built on lots that previously held the ticky-tacky boxes Pete Seeger sang about.

Lake Hills Boulevard. When I was living here, the trees were a lot smaller.

The streets of East Bellevue are where I spent my junior high and high school years. So I can find my way around blindfolded. Still.

What’s changed the most is the vegetation. The saplings of my youth have grown into a lush, green canopy, the ground cover thick and verdant.

The streets themselves are billiard-table smooth, Bellevue having a street maintenance & replacement plan it actually sticks to. Bicycling would be easy, so would scooting. Except I haven’t seen a single other scooter. A few Harleys, yes, their riders offering Secret Motorcycle Waves.

In Kirkland, make way for ducklings…

I swing by the cubicle farm, then head for Kirkland. There would be no fireworks anywhere for many hours, and I really want to refresh my memory. Seven and a half weeks off the GTS is a long, long time.

Ending up in downtown Edmonds, I realize I need to use the facilities, and getting dinner wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. Unfortunately, the only place open is Starbucks at the traffic circle. The have facilities and bottled water. My favorite Mexican place is closed, as are just about all the other businesses. There’s supposed to be a fireworks show, but I see no signs or other evidence of such a show, or where it might be.

Motorcycle parking in downtown Edmonds

I spent a few more hours noodling around Snohomish County before deciding to head home. I dunno, I could live a very full and happy life without ever seeing a fireworks display again. In any case, there’d be all kinds of fireworks going off at West Seattle High School and other places in the neighborhood, legal or not.

I can’t not swing by Alki Beach after a trip like this. Independence Day in Seattle is rainy much more often than not, so 2009 was a notable and welcome exception. It was rather puzzling to see people on Harbor Avenue setting up chairs facing downtown Seattle. Haven’t these people heard there aren’t going to be any Elliott Bay fireworks, I wondered.

Maybe that didn’t matter.

The Police Department thoughtfully provided these reminders…

On a warm, sunny day it seems almost everyone in Seattle heads for Alki Beach, no matter what holiday it might be. And it turned out you could see the Lake Union fireworks from one of West Seattle’s scenic viewpoints…

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