Thursday Paul and his son picked us up from the airport and we went straight to downtown Seattle. We started at the space needle (although we didn't go up it) and walked around and then rode the monorail over towards Pike's Market. We ate lunch and walked around there for an hour. It was fun to see them doing the famous fish throwing you hear about and fun to see all the shops and what people sell. They had the most gorgeous flower bouquets and for soo soo cheap. I wanted some so bad but didn't want to carry them around the rest of the day. We of course also had to go see the famous gum wall...gross but so interesting to see...and no I didn't stick any gum there.
After that we went and did an underground tour of Seattle which has such a fascinating story/history to it. They have all these shops that used to be above ground and now are underground and not used, so it was fun to see all that. Afterwards we walked along the water's edge and over to a sculpture garden.
On our way back to Paul's house we stopped the famous troll and then stopped at Ballard locks and watched the boats transition from the fresh water to the ocean water. I have never seen anything like this before so it was pretty fascinating to watch. Afterwards we ate a yummy dinner at a local burger joint and headed to Paul's house.
Friday we decided to get out of town and Paul and his son drove us out to Mt. Rainier. We went on a hike called Naches Loop trail. It was seriously one of the prettiest hikes I have ever been on. The wildflowers were in bloom and the pictures don't even do that justice how many colors and how many flowers there were. Then we hiked past 2 lakes and then you come to the top and get the most perfect view of Mt Rainier. It also helped that we had the most perfect weather on this trip. People in Seattle thought it was a heat wave but it was such mild, but warm weather with perfect blue skies.
That evening we went back to the house and had a BBQ dinner and then went to Kirkland Summerfest where a Beatles band was playing. We got some yummy gelato and had a good night.
Saturday morning Shane and I got a rental car and drove down to Portland. We passed Mt St Helens and then of course saw Mt Hood when we got close to Portland. (My kids were obsessed when I told them we saw some volcano's. They kept asking if we touched the lava and if it was hot, etc....I tried to explain that I didn't see any lava but not sure they were listening.)
We went and saw Multmonah Falls. It was so fun. We hiked to the top of the falls. The bridge in the picture is the beginning of the hike. Not an easy hike when we had already been walking everywhere and hiking the last 2 days but still worth it. After we saw the top of the falls we kept going up for a little while longer and saw another smaller falls which was fun to just explore around and a lot less crowded.
That night we went into downtown Portland and walked around, ate dinner and then of course went and tried some Voodoo donuts. They were good and super fresh, and surprisingly super cheap, but not sure I would wait in a long line again for it.
Sunday we went to church and then drove back up towards Seattle and then out to the coast to a place called Ocean Shores. Cute little beach town. We had lucked out all weekend with perfect weather but the coast didn't hold up for us. It was super overcast/rainy and really cold. But....we had a hotel right on the water and I could hear the waves from my room so really what else could I ask for. We walked out to the beach for a while, and watched a seal and some dolphins swimming a little ways out. Then went and ate dinner and then just relaxed listening to the waves while watching the olympics. The next morning we did a little shopping and then slowly made our way back to Seattle where we flew home that night.
The kids stayed at my parents the whole time and my mom is a rockstar to watch them for us the whole time. I never worried about them once and knew they would have so fun spending the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's. And sure enough they came home telling me all the fun things they did, the shows they got to watch, and the stores grandma took them shopping to. Thanks mom...and dad!
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