We recently got back from a week in the Seattle area visiting my sister and her family. It had been 5 years since our last visit — we had planned to go out there in summer 2020 and, well, we all know what happened that year. So while we’ve seen them a few times since then both here and in North Carolina, it was really nice to get back to the Pacific Northwest.
I’m going to write about the trip highlights up front, and the second half of this post is a photo dump for posterity! We jammed a lot of activity into 7 days, but we had plenty of hangout time too. Some highlights:
- Ivar’s fish & chips for lunch plus playground time and airplane viewing at Coulon Park. This was our third trip to Seattle since having kids, and at least our third trip to Coulon Park, so I guess it is becoming a tradition! They have a great playground, and you can walk right up to the fence beside one of Boeing’s factory facilities and see airplanes that have just come off the line.
- Ballard boat locks and fish ladder. I had never been here before, and it was really interesting and fun! The kids thought it sounded boring, but even they enjoyed into it once we were there. I liked watching the boats — both fancy yachts and dumpy fishing boats — come through the locks and I was really impressed at how quickly the locks could fill and drain. Once the boats were in and the gates were closed, it only took a few minutes to raise/lower the water level. We also spent a good while at the fish ladder watching salmon make their way from Puget Sound (saltwater) into Lake Union (fresh water) and cheering each time one successfully jumped along.
- Visiting the Fremont Troll. Another thing I had never done! This was definitely worth a stop for both the adults and the kids, who were initially confused and perhaps a little worried when I said we were going to go see a troll under a bridge. Ha!
- Lunch and a park hangout with my friend Jen. We’ve been friends since college and she now coincidentally lives only a mile or two from my sister so I always get the “bonus” of seeing her when we visit.
- Baseball part 1: We bought our plane tickets back in April, and then one day in May I thought “hmm, wouldn’t it be cool if the Astros played the Mariners while we’re out there?” Lo and behold, THEY WERE! So Katie got us tickets and we had a fun day at the ballpark. Before the game, we stood by the Astros bullpen and got to see Framber Valdez warming up — definitely the closest I will ever be to a major league pitcher throwing full speed! That was really cool, and then the experience was made ever cooler when one of the Astros bullpen coaches walked over and handed Charlotte a baseball!
- Baseball part 2: It was “kids run the bases” day, so after the game (which the Astros won!) we all got to go down to the field and the girls all got to run around the bases. They do this in Houston too, but we’ve never done it — but I totally will now, because it was such a cool experience!
- My niece’s birthday was the day after we left, so we celebrated a couple days early with Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Yum!
- Pike Place Market. We go here on every visit, but despite it being uber-touristy, we still enjoy it. We tried plenty of samples, ate donuts, bought treats, and watched the fish-throwing.
- Swimming in Lake Washington. I should note we did this on an unusually warm day for Seattle when the high temperature was in the low 90s! The water was chilly at first, but after a few minutes it felt great. The girls all had a blast, and loved jumping off the dock over and over. Eventually Katie and I joined them and jumped off the dock ourselves.
- Backyard s’mores on our last night in town. Yum! Also now I want a firepit so we can do this at home. (Well, when the Houston weather cools down at least.)
It was a great trip! I spent all spring looking forward to our summer vacations to Colorado and Seattle and I’m pretty bummed that they’re over. Already looking forward to next time!
What a fun trip! I would like to take Forest back up there some time. I would live in that area if it wasn’t so dang expensive! Just thinking about swimming in a lake without worrying about heat induced amoebas and toxic algae sounds divine.
The beach my sister usually goes to was apparently closed due to high levels of bacteria so….. We went to a different one and it seemed clean enough, but I definitely told the kids not to swallow any water!
What a delight! I loved visiting Seattle (my birthplace 🙂 vicariously! And there seems to be a definite resemblane among the Sisters x3! Thanks so much for taking us along!
Ah, my hometown. I can’t tell you how much time I spent at the locks. We used to look at the license plates and see how many states we could get in a summer.
I’m sad that Pike Place Market (you spelled it right–thank you! [no ‘s]) is touristy. It was a genuine farmer’s market at the start. We used to drive the Cadillac down and fill the (big) trunk with pickling cucumbers and dill every year.
That s’mores picture looks exactly like my brother’s yard (in Woodinville)…grass right up to the forest that’s between yards. Suburban, but we saw a mama bear and two cubs pass through.
We love visiting! I think people do still go to Pike Place for farmer’s market stuff, but there’s definitely a lot of tourists too — overall it’s just a really crowded place.
My sister is in Bellevue. It’s fairly dense, but the lot directly behind them is empty so they get to look out on a lot of greenery!
Thanks. I feel refreshed like I had a vacation too! Love all the photos and links to the space program that takes me to Infinity and Beyond! Thanks again
I just looked at all the pictures again. Come back, we miss you 🙂
So wonderful you got to hang out with your sister – you look very much alike. You’re not twins, are you? (My sister and I are twins, but don’t look alike at all LOL).
Seattle sounds awesome. I’ve never been – only to the airport. I really should visit sometime. It’s not that far.
I’m 5 years older so we are not twins, but we do get that question a lot! The funny part is that she actually IS a twin — a fraternal twin with our brother.