Friday, August 4, 2017

Blue Angels and Seafair



If you live near Seattle but have never watched the Blue Angels' Seafair air show, you are missing out on unique experience!  Traffic and crowds can be a genuine challenge, but with some planning and patience, it can be really fun!  It is totally free to walk on to the bridge to watch, so if you can find the patience to deal with traffic, parking, and crowds, it is a great budget-friend and family-friendly experience!

Here are some things to plan for if going to the air show from the east side.
1. Be aware that they do a practice run on Saturday that is the exact same show.  The only difference is traffic and crowds can be somewhat not as awful as on Sunday.
2. There aren't any real restaurants of coffee stands right near the bridge.  However, there will likely be some clever ice-cream stands.  Bring cash for cold treat opportunities.
3. Because it's not easy to buy a cold drink, bring plenty of water for everyone, and pack snacks & bubbles for kids who may get bored while waiting.  We didn't bring bubbles last year, but totally appreciated the family who had thought to do so as it perked our guy up a bit.
4. Bring ear protection if you can.  If you don't have decibel-reducing earphones (they can often be found at home improvement stores near power tools), look for some earplugs at a pharmacy before heading out. The jets fly pretty close and can be loud.
5. Parking and traffic will be worse than you think they will be.  Plan to get there a little early and have a picnic at the park ahead of time to reduce the stress of waiting in traffic for 2 hours and not finding a parking spot before the show actually starts.  Parking strategies below.

Earphones!

It's fun to walk onto the center of the freeway over Lake Washington.






To walk on to the I-90 bridge from Mercer Island on the east side, plan to use the on-ramp near West Mercer Way & SE 24th St. (marked with a star.)  Traffic getting to Mercer Island from Bellevue will be slower than you expect, and getting from the east side of Mercer Island to the west side will be even slower than that.  Plan to get to Bellevue 90 minutes to two hours before the air show starts in order to have sufficient time to deal with traffic congestion, parking, and hiking in.

Some parking options include:
1.  Finding street parking within a half a mile of the on-ramp.  Most people walk around 2 mph, so even if you can find something a half a mile away, you should be able to walk there within 15 or 20 minutes. Wear comfortable shoes.
2. The Mercer Island Park & Ride looks far away on a map, but it's really only a 15 minute walk.  If it fills up, pack some patience and try to find some legal street parking.
3. If your family has bikes, one way to bypass the traffic between Bellevue and the I-90 bridge on the Seattle side of Mercer Island is to park at the Bellevue Park & Ride and bike across the island. Here are some maps with a zoomed out view as well as a zoomed in view.
4. If your family has a kayak or canoe, there is a boat launch on the Mercer Slough that connects to Lake Washington.  Lake Washington will likely be a bit choppy with all of the power boats out watching the show, but if you're comfortable kayaking in Lake Washington, this is another option to avoid parking on Mercer Island all together.  I have some very fond (and maybe somewhat hazy) memories of boating during Seafair while growing up.
5. Since the bridge between Bellevue and Mercer Island can be a frustrating bottleneck, especially on Sunday, consider getting to the island 2-3 hours ahead of time and having lunch at the Islander or another restaurant before hand.
6. Last year we went on Saturday so there was less traffic.  We got to Bellevue about 2 hours before the air show and made it across the island and found parking within an hour.  We then just hung out in the air conditioned mini-van and I put on a video for Jake until about 30 minutes before the show.  It was much less stressful than being stuck in traffic 30 minutes before go time.


If you get through traffic and parking ahead of time, the Aubrey Davis Park has restrooms, a playground, and plenty of comfortable lawn space to hang out.  It can be a nice place to wait until they open the bridge for pedestrians.


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