Ethan flew on a plane for the first time and Mason flew on a plane while being old
enough to fully appreciate the entire experience. Mason loves everything to do
with airplanes, so getting to board the plane, takeoff, and look at everything on
the ground from up high was like a dream come true for him. Flying to Seattle was
really great. My parents were kind enough to help us pay for all the tickets
(Mason doesn't fly for free anymore), which helped a ton. After flying to Seattle
instead of driving, I don't think we will ever be able to go back to driving. With
two kids now, I can't imagine trying to survive the drive to and from Washington
after experiencing the convenience of flying.
From the moment we arrived, my parents had fun-filled activities planned. The
first thing we did after my mom picked us up was go out to dinner at Chuck E.
Cheese's. It had been a while since I'd gone there. Mason was basically on cloud
nine the entire time we were there. He loved all the games and arcades, but he
especially loved meeting the maestro himself, none other than Chuck E. Cheese live
and in person. The pizza is a little better than it used to be, in my opinion, but
I still wouldn't go there just for the pizza :)
It didn't take us long to get acclimated and settled in to Pacific Coast time and
my parents made us feel at home at their house in Lake Stevens (about 30 minutes
from Seattle). As the name connotes, there is a lake where my parents live. The
boys had so much fun going into the water and floating around in inner tubes. Mason
hadn't ever been to a beach before and it was a real nice treat for him. The water
at Lake Stevens was really warm and it stayed really shallow for a very long ways
so Mason could really walk around and enjoy the water on his own.
There is a lot to do and see both in Seattle and in the surrounding areas. There
are a lot of historic sites as well as a never ending supply of hiking and other
outdoor activities. One such outdoor activities is visiting the Northwest Wildlife
Trek. This place is amazing. It is sort of like a zoo, but in my opinion, more
hard core and thus better. Instead of having to filter out all the weird little
attractions and animals nobody cares about seeing the congest a zoo, the Northwest
Wildlife Trek had nothing but the best of the best animals. I'm talking about
Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, all 5 types of Deer, and all the coolest cats like
bobcats, cougars, and lynxes. There was also an hour long adventure bus ride
through the mountains where the animals are so that you get to see them all in
their natural habitat. I would recommend this place to anyone in the Seattle area,
it's a one of a kind place.
In terms of historical attractions, may parents got us tickets to ride a 100 year
old train up to a logging museum at Mount Rainier. This whole experience is called
the Mount Rainier Scenic Railway and Museum. It was a pretty cool experience to
ride on a train that old. The logging museum up at the top of the railway had a
bunch of old machinery and some massively ginormous 100+ year old steam
locomotives. I must admit I don't see trains very often in up close and in person,
but these massive antique trains truly impressed me. They seem like they would be
a challenge to build today, so they were really impressive for being from over a hundred years old.
One place that combined history and great sightseeing was Deception Pass Bridge and park. This
was an ama zing bridge that connects the mainland of Washington to Whidbey Island. It was a little
scary walking across a bridge that was so high up, but Mason let me hold his hand to feel safe :)
Any trip to Washington and especially the Seattle area would be incomplete without
a visit to the iconic downtown Pike's Market. This is a really touristy place
because it's really well-known for being on the Travel Channel and other food shows
for some of the fish stores and things like that. It is located right on the Puget
Sound so the fish is as fresh as it comes. Other touristy things at Pike's Market
include the original Starbucks and the amazing 'Gum Wall,' which is exactly what
it sounds like: an alleyway that has been covered from wall to wall with people's
chewed up gum. I don't know how this particular alleyway got it's start, but today
it is quite the sight. You can find all kids of creative designs people have made
with gum and messages made out of gum left for other people -- in addition to all
the regular gum all over the place. We let Mason have some gum so he co
uld all
chew up some gum and stick it to the wall. I wouldn't be surprised at all though
if our chewed up gum was already covered multiple times over with other people's
chewed up gum though, that place gets a lot of visitors!
It goes without saying that Seattle has a great professional sports scene. There
really is everything in terms of sports, and this is one of the things we miss
about living in a larger city. It's fun to have your hometown team to watch and
root for all season long. My dad got us tickets to a Mariner's game and my cousin
Elliot joined us. Although the Detroit Tigers beat up pretty bad on the Mariners,
it was a really fun game and an overall fantastic experience. Safeco Field is
right next to where the Seahawks' stadium is, so it is really just a cool place to
spend an evening. It was great to get to be part of the loyal Seattle sports
community for an evening.
Between the local beaches in Lake Stevens, the historic sightseeing and rides on
the trains, and the fun we had in downtown Seattle, we feel like we got to do and
see all of the best that Seattle has to offer. At the same time though, there is
so much more to do and see all throughout the entire state of Washington. We can't
wait til our next visit. My parents always show us such a great time and make
memories that will last forever. Spending time with my parents is such a treat!
They love and take such good care of us, it feels like home!
