We recently did an 8 day trip to Seattle with our kids. We live in southern California so the flight to Seattle was only 2-3 hours long which seemed perfect for traveling with children who don't like air travel. Our youngest, who is eight tends to vomit every time we fly so we've been very hesitant flying since our last trip to Hawaii a few years ago. We are not sure what it is but something about the change in elevation bothers her and she starts to cough/gag and ends up vomiting.
Today, I wanted to share our last minute family trip to Seattle right before summer ends. Our first stop was Pike place market. There are always lots to see in the market. Our kids were in awe by the local artworks being displayed ranging from unique glasswork, knit work, and ceramic figurines. They enjoyed the fish throwing show at the fish market. We also found huge fresh lobster tail. I was amazed by the beautiful display of florals in the flower aisle. The flowers were so beautiful and affordable. A large bouquet was only $20-30. We went there for the experience but it was very crowded and reminded us alot of downtown LA.
Second day was a visit to Space Needle. Temperatures in Seattle were perfect ranging from low 70's to mid 80's throughout our trip with one day of light sprinkles. We made the mistake of visiting space needle on a Sunday (weekend) and the warmest day of our trip (low 80's temp). Looking back, I would suggest going on a weekday and evening so its less crowded and better views of the city. It wasn't bad but our kids complained about long wait lines (40 minute wait) and hot weather. Space needle was fun for the experience and it gave the kids a common ground to talk about with other children we met at the hotel. We heard our kids share the excitement with their friends back at home and it made everything all worth while.
Next stop was Amazon Spheres. Binh, my husband is a big tech geek so Amazon Spheres and Amazon go store was fun for him. I was in love with the design of the surroundings. Seattle overall is very "downtown" with lots of homeless and graffiti. However, Amazon spheres area was very clean, modern with minimal clutter, and lots of bright features. Even the demographics of the visitors are different. I noticed more professional nerdy middle age crowd. Weather was perfect for the kids to lounge around in the play area. Play area consist of bright colored swings, giant size Janga, an adorable community banana stand, and lots of sitting area. I loved the unique design of the patio cover, adorable painted steps, and display of bright playful colors throughout. Amazon go store was a fun experience if you have never been there. You basically log onto your amazon account before walking in and take whatever you want without having to check out. Its pretty cool and you get charged for the items automatically on your amazon account.
Back to market place for Pike place clam chowder and lobster roll. We wanted to try the local eateries and this one did not disappoint. The line was long and wrapped around the store but the wait time was short. I think we waited about 20 minutes.
We also took the kids to the Starbucks Reserve at the Starbucks Headquarters. It was an eye opening experience to see the elaborate display of different types of coffee on the wall and the industrial art display of the history of Starbucks. The building was huge and had multiple office/meeting areas and sitting areas both inside and outside. Binh was able to do business meetings while I took the kids to take lots of pictures around the store. The food presentation was 10/10. While drinking the coffee, we didn't think anything special of it but boy we were in for a surprise. Both Binh and I couldn't sleep until 2am that night.
Towards the end of our trip we visited Bainbride Island. To get to Bainbridge island, we got to go on a ferry. The ferry took us and our cars to the island for a small fee. Return trip was free and we only had to pay for our car to be ferried back which was very reasonable ($15). Bainbridge island is like a small upscale Claremont Village. It has a few eateries and we were able to lounge around all day. The day would have been perfect if we had a blanket for the park. We ate at Ba Sa restaurant. Food was good. There was one missed dish (Mi Vit) but we haven't been to many places who can make that dish right.
On our last day, we opted to lounge around at the Pier to relax and unwind. We found a spot underneath a large tree and had a picnic. We spent alot of down time at the hotel while our kids played foosball and met new friends. Our kids are so curious all the time and made friends with so many random people who sat with us. It was a great experience because they met people from New York, Japan, Florida, and Australia.
The absolute highlight of the trip was meeting new friends along the way. Since we had a lot of sight seeing during the day, the kids would pass notes to each other at night and slide them underneath the hotel door. Kids were so excited every time they got a note.
