Pike’s Place Market and the Gum Wall

Published Jun 30, 2015

The Gum Wall- and yes, of course we all made our contribution to this sticky wall.

I’ve waited a long time, too long, to taste these donuts again.

The first Starbucks, can you stop the difference in this sign and the sign for all other Starbucks? I guess it is pretty obvious.

It was a fun day out with the family. We had to give the kids an education on marijuana use, after there were several questions about “what are all these people doing?”

Until tomorrow.

11/1/2014

Ice Caves Hike and Sushi

Published Jun 30, 2015

This is a great hike for families. It about a mile through lush Evergreens to beautiful ice caves and waterfalls.

It was a brisk fall day but the sun was out so we were pretty stoked about that, these girls were ready.

Getting close…

We made it and then watched some ice climbers for awhile, talk about a workout!

Jeff in his glory.

One of my favorite pictures from this hike.

We didn’t leave before taking a few selfies.

And what is better than grabbing lunch (literally grabbing) from a conveyer belt full of sushi. The kids loved this place, how could you not.

11/8/2014

Ballard Locks and the Fish Ladder

Published Jun 30, 2015

Don’t miss this place if you come to the Seattle area… just don’t. My pictures aren’t great but I assure you this place is just plain cool. It is hard to photograph boats moving through locks from Lake Washington to the Puget Sound or vice versa.

Fish Ladder is just across the bridge. We watched as salmon fought hard upstream, like any mother would do, to lay their eggs. I couldn’t help but feel like I wanted to help them, scoop them up and bring them to where they needed to be. But the journey must happen for these fish just like it needs to happen in our lives too, even when times get tough.

There is also a great interactive visitors center with a friendly staff. Although the center was somewhat dated it was super informative in a hands on way for the kids.

One of my most favorite parts of the Hiram Chittenden Locks are the beautiful grounds and gardens that surround it. We were there at the end of October and weren’t sure we would see much in the way of flowers. We were all pleasantly surprised and excited to get to see some of these beauties.