Kidding aside, the southern part of downtown is in chaos due to a police standoff.

If you don’t need to be in/around 2nd/3rd/Spring/Seneca, STAY AWAY. Or really, the southern half of downtown. Apparently it’s gridlock on the streets.

UPDATE: Appears it’s ended, well, like a movie. Suspect transported to Harborview after getting shot by the police. (Thanks, mik!)

What are you guys doing this weekend?

After work, I’ll be walking around Green Lake with the boyfriend. Then heading to a Gay Porn Party (not at all like a key party, more like watching the pool boy flirting with the pizza guy while eating banana splits and drinking mojitos, then talking about girly things like orgasms and vacuuming).

Deciding if I should go to The Pride Parade. I went when it was still around Broadway, and enjoyed how uncrowded it was. I’m not big on jumping over people just to see guys wearing leather chaps. I can see that at home without saying excuse me to hundreds of people. So does anyone know how packed this thing usually gets?

I’ll be doing my longest run yet at the Shore Run. 6.7 miles in what appears to be 87 degrees of sweaty, chafing heat. I hope I make it to Monday.

Whatever you’re doing, have fun, forget to take your Vitamin D and wear lots of sunscreen.

Image by Jeanine Anderson

When my mother was in town from Florida a few weeks ago, she mentioned that there were $50 gas caps at the pumps, and above that you’d have to go inside to pay. I wasn’t sure if that was happening here, since I don’t drive and therefore have little cause to go to gas stations, but Jeanine Anderson dropped this into our photo pool, so I guess that it is.

Are you noticing this at your local gas stations, Metroblogging readers? Is it everywhere? Does it take more than $75 to fill up your car these days?

Whether you were intrigued by the building itself, hated the food or were annoyed by the staff, Denny’s in Ballard is officially gone. If you’d like to pay your respects, do the whole comment thing.

Better late than never, right?

…and then capped off by an epic sunset at Carkeek Park.

Going to Victoria, B.C. was a cinch. A few clicks on Clipper Vacations and we were all set with the perfect deal for the weekend. Here are a few suggestions, tips, what have yous:

-Don’t stay at the Traveller’s Inn City Center. Sure, calling this dump our home for 2 nights made our vacay wicked cheap, but it also came with some bumps in the road. Like no air conditioning, a scary shaky elevator, a pool we couldn’t use until the day we left and an attitude from the kitchen about bringing our breakfast to our room.

- Do go to Miniature World. It’s just so ridiculous, because every doll, scene, person, tv, plane, cars, World War II figures were the size of your pinkie. If not smaller. It’s totally cheesy fun and worth breaking up the day for.

-Walk along Government for the touristy brouhaha. If you like ice cream, there are parlors on every block.

-Go to Beacon Hill Park and then pet the cutest damn baby goats at the Children’s Farm. If you love alpacas as much as I do, then you’re in for a real treat.

-If you don’t mind the most laid back, laziest staff ever eat at Santiago’s Cafe and order the Cerviche. It was light, fishy without being too fishy and not a hint of grease in sight.

-Enjoy the music, the Sunday Markets and the friendliest people you’ll ever meet.

-When you board the Clipper to go back to Seattle, and the captain tells you it’s going to be a choppy ride, believe him and immediately take the Dramamine they sell on the boat. You will thank me.

-Come back refreshed and not at all jealous that you missed the crowds at the Solstice Parade in Fremont.

This will either be a warning to keep away or send you dancing over in glee, but either way, don’t say we didn’t warn you: tomorrow, the Queen Anne Pagliacci location will celebrate turning 20 by bringing everything back to 1988. The location–on the corner of Queen Anne and Mercer–became the third Pagliacci on June 20, 1988. The site was originally the Van de Kamp Dutch Bakery.

This means that prices will be back to 1988 prices–a slice of cheese pizza will run you $1.10, and a soda will be 75 cents. It also means that they’ll be playing 1988 tunes and wearing 1988 side ponytails and neon clothes.

Pagliacci’s delivery service was introduced at Queen Anne and proved to be popular enough that they built two separate locations just for delivery.