Buzz Bin

by Inlander Staff & r & & r & Hiawatha High & r & Notes from riding the Trail of the Hiawatha: & lt;ul & & lt;li & Pedaling alone through a creepy, drippy, pitch-black, 1.7-mile-long tunnel in which bears hibernate during the winter -- and with a headlamp that keeps slipping off your handlebars -- gives a whole new hopeful twist to the phrase "the light at the end of the tunnel." & lt;/li & & lt;li & If an old railroad bridge is 120 feet tall, you can watch your spit all the way down. But if a trestle is 220 feet tall, it's gone with the wind. & lt;/li & & lt;li & People who loudly announce at the outset that they're going to ride 15 miles down the trail and then 15 miles back up appear to be showing off -- that is, until you meet them halfway down (and they're already hammering up the return slope). & lt;/li & & lt;li & During the bus ride back to the top, it's kind of cool when the old-codger driver stops so everyone can see the lonesome bull moose in a remote pond, and when he displays photographs of hotels, saloons, and houses of ill repute that burned down a century ago -- along with the very spot where they once stood. & lt;/li & & lt;li & The view from our picnic spot was spectacular. PB & amp;J sandwiches and water never tasted so good. & lt;/li & & lt;/ul &





Disco Drama & r & During Saturday night's Shakespeare in the Park event in the Lilac Meadow, speakers at a Convention Center party across the river were blaring a familiar refrain -- "Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight!" -- marking the first time in history that Romeo has wooed Juliet to the sound of K.C. and the Sunshine Band.


Not iambic pentameter, maybe, but they got the emotions right.


Director Nike Imoru followed conventional scenes with all-male duets -- making Petruchio's rough wooing of Kate in The Taming of the Shrew, for example, a bit more physical and more of a wit-battle. Lounging on picnic blankets, thousands of spectators giggled and clapped. And the fireworks arrived right on cue.





Hilarity in Hillyard & r & Highlights of the 93rd Hillyard Hi-Jinks at Harmon Sharpley Park (at Market and Bismark) this weekend: Saturday's 10 am parade, with afternoon skating and boxing in the evening. Call 489-1122.





Aluminum Men & r & With all the hoopla surrounding the Coeur d'Alene Ironman triathlon, folks tend to forget that there's a half-Ironman in these parts, too. On Sunday morning, starting at 7 am in Medical Lake, about 250 hardy souls will swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles over to Cheney and up through Riverside State Park before beginning a 13.1-mile run from Riverfront Park out to Boulder Beach (on Upriver Drive) and return. Waterfront Park in Medical Lake and Riverfront Park are the best viewing spots -- since they're covering 70.3 miles, you ought to cheer them on.