It was time to take a little break from nature and head back to the city. Originally, I had planned for us to take a ferry from San Juan to Victoria, Canada, but that ferry has been out of commission since 2020 so we needed to backtrack. This meant we needed something to do for a day in order to set us up for our visit to the peninsula. So, we decided to do a little sightseeing in Seattle. Patrick booked us in a fancy hotel downtown that was within walking distance of many of the main places we wanted to see. Because we were in no rush, we even got to sleep in!
The girls and Patrick got out at a reasonable time to run down by the harbor. Apparently, there was a little "we got lost" episode which meant they returned a bit salty. By the time we hit the hotel breakfast, everybody was in a better mood and we set out on our city journey. Part of what I loved about this trip is the girls are older and able to contribute. Anna found us places to eat and we gave them turns being the navigator so we could build some skills.
After a decent walk, we landed at Pike's Place Market. I had described it to the girls, but apparently it wasn't good enough because they had no idea the scale or crowdedness was going to be this high. We walked through the different stalls and saw produce, gifts, fish, jewelry, shirts and more. Anna and I loved checking it out as we weaved in between the crowds. Patrick and Paige were less thrilled but happy to oblige. We finally reached the fish throwing stall and saw them toss the fish in the air. Then we got a picture with the iconic sign.
It was nice to get some breathing room down by the water which had be redone to make a huge walkway all along the bay. We saw lots of Norwegian fans there was soccer and even watched as they boarded their huge cruise ship. Each of the piers held some cool things to look at like the outdoor tanks of the aquarium or water level slip where Paige spotted a sea otter.
We walked back toward the market to grab some Rainier cherries and see the OG Starbucks (as well as its huge line). That area was checked off on our list, so we walked several blocks to the Space Needle. Seattle is a pretty city with lots of trees downtown and murals on the walls. It's fairly easy to get around even if it has hills. The weather was beautiful in the low 70s and sunny.
Once at the Space Needle, we decided against going up, but checked out the surrounding area. It just so happened that a Polish festival was setting up so we grabbed some Polish pastries to try and checked out their native outfits. Patrick also found some watch party locations for the World Cup game later and had we had the time, we might have stayed and watched with the crowd.
It was a fun morning doing something different and I think we all liked the change up from nature to city, although Paige was definitely done with the crowds. So, we drove along the bay to head to the peninsula, crossing over the Tacoma Bridge, formerly known as Galloping Gertie. Thankfully, it's much better constructed now and we managed across even if Patrick hated every second of it.
Needing gas, we stopped at an exit to grab some late lunch and managed upon a cute local restaurant that was serving breakfast until they closed at 3. Their pancakes were delicious! As for gas, those prices were well over $5 which made Patrick gasp any time we were at a pump. We grabbed a quick dinner to make later at Target and then got back on the road.
Our last stop for the day was a little cabin VRBO past Port Angeles that was right on the beach. Paige was immediately in love with it. I spent lots of time scanning for whales or orcas, but didn't see any. We made our way down to the beach and listened to the high tide roll over the rocks to make a really unique sound. It was fun to sit around the little cabin table and eat dinner and then play a card game before tucking in for the night. The girls had a little side room with bunkbeds that was cozy and provided separate beds, which they enjoyed. I set the alarm for an early wake up because not only did we have a lot to do the next day, but low tide would be arriving at 6:30am and that was going to be special.
No comments:
Post a Comment