Earning our Family Badge

Pacific Northwest

Kevin had a business trip to Washington state this past week, so August and I had the good fortune of traveling with him to see the sites. It was August's first big adventure, and my first real vacation since I was pregnant in San Francisco.

Despite flight delays with a very mobile toddler, and August and Kevin both catching colds the day before we left...which then turned into an ear infection for the little one, we enjoyed a great visit. We were in the region just long enough to get a sampling of the coastal areas, the small working communities, the tiny hamlets along Puget Sound, and of course the city life of Seattle.

We got to taste the cool, rainy weather of the northwest but thankfully had beautiful clear skies on our big sightseeing days. Having never been to Seattle, I have to admit that it was much bigger, and more urban than I had envisioned, and much hillier than I had anticipated, but every bit as exciting as I had hoped. In the crisp, northern light and cool, coastal climate everything seemed so much sharper and the colors more vivid. It was wonderful trip and we definitely look forward to going back again some day!

Dupont, WA

For the business part of the week, we stayed in the small town of Dupont, WA. It's a quaint little master planned village on Puget Sound located halfway between Olympia and Tacoma. Coincidentally this is the part of the trip where our little man felt the crummiest, so he was able to spend a lot of time hibernating and just lounging around. Most of the major conveniences were within walking distance of the hotel, so when August and I weren't relaxing in our room or the indoor pool, we went strolling through the neighborhood. And of course we became regulars at the Forza coffee shop with our morning mocha stops.

Ocean City Beach

Early in the week Kevin had an afternoon off, so we loaded up the car and drove out to Grays Harbor County to catch a view of the Pacific coast. It was a pretty drive through the green rolling hills and the picturesque fishing communities. August was definitely feeling his worst this day, so we didn't spend too much time out at the frigid beach. Just long enough to walk out to the water, snap a few pics, then let our sick baby take an accidental seat in the sea. Unfortunately I believe that will cause us to drop a point or two in the running for parents of the year...

Seattle by Car

The first day in Seattle, we drove around to the areas of town that we knew we would be less likely to visit by foot. We drove around Lake Union, and then crossed the Aurora bridge to Fremont and Ballard. While in Ballard we stopped at the boat Locks, and the Salmon ladder. We then traveled further uphill to Broadview where we had a really fun play and picnic above Puget Sound at the breathtaking Carkeek Park. Finally, we drove the other neighborhoods North of town before settling down for a delicious feast of wood-fired pizza at Veraci. It was a beautiful day for venturing out and about with the locals.

The Fremont Troll

The Ballard Locks and Salmon Ladder

Carkeek Park

Seattle by Foot

Thankfully the weather couldn't have been more beautiful on the day that we decided to hike across Seattle. Our hotel was located downtown near Pioneer Square, so after a stop for coffee at Cherry Street Coffee House, we set off for Pike Place Market first thing in the morning. There we were able to see the fishmongers fly some fish, partake in some delicious sandwiches and soup at Beecher's Handmade Cheese, and gawk at the original Starbucks and it's crowd. From there we traveled up the street to do a bit of shopping, before heading over to sample the fare at Top Pot Doughnuts. Not a bad place for August to sample, and then sample some more, of his first doughnut. After our mid-day snack, we strolled over to the Seattle Center before we head back down to the Olympic Sculpture Park. After romping around the park for quite a while, we ran back up town to pick up some individual pies at Dahlia Bakery, before heading back through the market to pick up our dinner. After dropping August and me back at the hotel, Kevin continued down to Occidental Park to grab some evening espresso from Cafe Umbria and happened upon a pep rally for the Seattle Sounders FC. We couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions for our big day out in Seattle.