Salmon Days

What is "Salmon Days"?

In Issaquah, Washington the idyllic town my husband grew up in, it's the celebration of the annual return of the salmon to Issaquah Creek to spawn.

It's an amazing sight to see.

Some of the salmon are amazing colors, though mostly they blend into the their surroundings. 

...making them difficult to photograph.

The eggs.

It's a great chance for the kids to learn while having a lot of fun.

1.6 million eggs. WOW!

 The life cycle of the salmon.

My beautiful kids (minus one).

What you probably don't know is that every fall my life has revolved around Salmon Days since I met my husband nearly 20 years ago. Even my wedding was scheduled around it because my husband mixes sound  as a business hobby with his father who is a serious music lover (They both play guitar). Steve is reportedly one of the best but it's a tough industry for a family man. Together they have mixed sound for this festival for 27 years. That makes my husband sound ancient but he is 42. Because of his father he started doing a lot of interesting things at a very young age.

Here he is at the sound board with his kids. Unfortunately he is tied to the stage the entire weekend and doesn't get to enjoy the festival, this huge family tradition, with us. It's a bit ironic.

Aside from the salmon, there are thousands of people (groan), dozens of food booths, great live music and incredible craft booths that line the streets of downtown Issaquah. It's a lot of fun. I guess if you want to experience it you'll have to go yourself. Though I took hundreds of photos of interesting stuff I can only share a handful here. 

I feel about Salmon Days like I do about a lot of things. It's a bit of a chore to go but afterward I'm glad we did it. 

It was great to see Ainsley out and about walking in her walker. She loved it. Our nurse worked an extra shift so we went without Ainsley on Saturday. It was freeing to be able to navigate the crowds but ultimately it left me feeling a bit sad and feeling guilty about leaving Ainsley at home (something that I normally never do). So Sunday we went again and this time she came with us and had a great time.

On occasion I've talked about how Ainsley gets stares everywhere we go. Sometimes it's uncomfortable and unwelcome but she gets a lot of admiration too. People can see she's got spirit! She got a high-five from a middle aged man in a wheelchair. I think she made his day. It was a moment of connection I won't forget. Ainsley touches people. She is happy and you can feel it.

We love to look at all the interesting craft booths. Ainsley's "point" has really improved over the past month or two as you can see here.

Another favorite. Fire roasted corn.

 Evie and I love it! I think corn is Evie's favorite food. Adrian took this picture. It was pretty funny to see people watch a seven year old boy hold my new giant SLR camera. I was a bit nervous but for once I'm in a picture so it was worth it.

Ainsley enjoyed all the unusual sights. She's a people watcher that's for sure. Here she's watching her brother break a board in half.

Pizza and arcade games with the cousins and at the Flying Pie. Beers for the moms.

 Note the upside down table on the ceiling.

 Another favorite of the kids. Pony rides.

This year Evie got to ride a real horse. It was worth the wait in line.

 The kids had ice cream and reported it was the best they ever had!

They played with their cousins and climbed trees. 

We had fresh popped kettle corn.

Elephant ears and hot chocolate, what a perfect way to end the weekend.

 Thanks Caron for prodding me into doing it. The kids had a blast!