Road Trip 2014 {Seattle}

Prepare yourself.  This post is going to be LONG with a lot of photos.  I can't help it.  Seattle is pretty much one of my favorite cities of all time.  I was lucky enough to live there for 6 months after I graduated from college, and it will always have a special place in my heart.  I was beyond excited to share the city with my boys.  Mark and I got to hang out there back in 2004, and I can't believe it's taken us 10 years to get back. 

The idea for this entire road trip started when I was texting my friend Kayreen.  She was my roommate when I lived in Seattle, and we are still good friends.  Our friendship proves that true friendships can survive distance and time.  She and her sister live in the city near Green Lake, and she offered us a place to stay if we decided to visit.  Mark and I decided that this was good timing because we didn't have vacation plans for the summer.  Since Kayreen was kind enough to offer us a place to stay we knew we wanted to make the trip happen.  She and her sister Kendra were gracious hosts and made us feel welcome and at home.

We were in Seattle from June 11th through the 15th. I'll share the highlights from the city, and I'll do separate blog posts about the Rangers vs. Mariners baseball game and our adventure to North Cascades National Park.  

If you follow me on Instagram (@redbirdblue), I took photos and tagged the location of most of the stuff we did.  On this visit we experienced being a tourist and living like a local.  It was the best of both worlds.  The touristy stuff was on our sightseeing list because I wanted the boys to have memories of the major landmarks in the city.  Having Kayreen and Kendra as our hosts allowed us to do what the locals do.  We went to some great restaurants and coffee shops based on their recommendations.

Here's a list of the things we visited while in Seattle.  Hopefully I didn't miss anything.

Pike Place Market

downtown Seattle

 Seattle Center

EMP

 Space Needle

Alki Beach and West Seattle

Fremont Troll

Gas Works Park

We really liked these neighborhoods, too.

 Fremont, Ballard, Green Lake, Wallingford, the University District and the U Village

Some favorite places based on our hosts' suggestions.

Milstead & Co. Coffee in Fremont, Sunfish in West Seattle,  Uneeda Burger in Fremont, Hi-Life in Ballard, Molly Moons in Wallingford

Of course, I'll start with a photo of Pike Place Market.

The famous Pike Place Fish Co. in the background at the market.  Neither one of the boys got hit on the head by a flying fish. ;)

Will was super excited to see a City Target in downtown Seattle.  He was excited because that meant he could look at Legos, of course.

We travel all the way to Seattle, and we end up buying Legos.  That's the boys' souvenir for the trip.

Ben got a ride on Mark's shoulders.  This was our first vacation without a stroller.  Ben did great, but his little legs would get tired from all the walking so we gave him a lift when needed.

We didn't stand in line at the original Starbucks downtown.  I know, I know!  We were in Seattle and didn't go to Starbucks.  I'm sure that's breaking some kind of unspoken tourist rule, ha!  Instead we went to Seattle Coffee Works just around the corner where there wasn't a line, the coffee was excellent, and a helpful barista corrected our order when it was wrong.  I think it was a good decision even though I like Starbucks.

Seattle Space Needle 

Mark and I went to the top back in 2004, but we decided not to ride the elevator to the top.  It was a gorgeous day, and I'm sure the views would have been spectacular but we didn't.  The reason is that I didn't think Will and Ben would appreciate the experience.  I think having a photo with it in the background is memory enough.

EMP

This building is so crazy!

My clothes coordinated with the architecture.  Fun photo op!

This maze/labyrinth in front of the EMP kept the boys entertained for awhile.  Mark even enjoyed running around it.  Will was the first to notice that the design was actually a maze.

I didn't attempt it.  I just took photos.

The view of the Seattle skyline from West Seattle.
One of my favorite photos from our road trip.

I LOVE this photos of the boys on Alki Beach. 

If the boys look like best friends in the photo above, here's one for the sake of keeping it real.  I took this by a mural outside of Uneeda Burger in Fremont.  Will was going to stand by Ben and put his arm around him, and Ben wasn't being cooperative at all and pushed will off the curb.  Brotherly love!!!

Fremont Troll
This tops the list of favorite things in Seattle for Will and Ben.  They climbed all over the troll and slid down the sides.  The more they played, the more they discovered cool things about the troll.  Will thought the VW bug in the troll's hand was neat.  He kept saying, "He's holding a car!"

View of Lake Union and Seattle in the distance from Gas Works Park.
This is my dear friend Kayreen.  She's an awesome person!

I really like this photo of Kayreen and Kendra.  They were both super sweet to Will and Ben and made us feel so welcome.

Here's a funny story.  You can see the remnants of the plant in the background, and when we got to the park Will and Ben started making a run for it when they saw it.  They thought all of the colorful pipes were to be played on.  We weren't sure if they were for kids.  They were disappointed, but they quickly got over it.

Kendra helped the boys collect feathers all around the park. 

Houseboats on Lake Union

I'm still a fan of the movie Sleepless in Seattle and this reminded me of that movie.

 My boys were like city kids playing at the playground in Green Lake. Will and Ben liked Green Lake because they had fun playing with the excavator and playground. Kayreen did a good job picking kid-friendly places to hang out.

Molly Moon's ice cream in Wallingford

I had honey lavender ice cream with lemon curd topping.  Amazing!

We had a tasty breakfast at at Hi-Life in Ballard.  The building is a converted firehouse.  

Hi-Life

Kayreen got a more than thorough explanation of all things Lego.  

An unexpected surprise was getting in touch with my sweet friend Loretta.  She and I met in college, and she drove across country with me when I moved back to Texas from Seattle in 2001.  Loretta and I have lost touch over the years, but one thing we still have in common is our love for the Pacific Northwest.  She lives in Seattle, and not too far from Kayreen.  She took me to Via Tribunali in Fremont so we could catch up.

 I think that covers most of our time in Seattle.  

The only regret I have is that we didn't get to spend longer in Seattle.  I wish I would have had a chance to see my college friend Beth and my new friend Kerri.  I guess we'll have to plan another trip there!