Team Sudar: Vancation: The Evergreen State

We woke up early the morning of Monday, June 16th and hit the road. Our next stop? University Place, WA outside of Tacoma. We spent the morning driving across Big Sky Country and we also passed through Coeur d'Alene, Idaho which is BEAUTIFUL and got added to our Places-To-Visit-On-A-Future-Trip list. We stopped inside of Washington for a picnic lunch however it was windy and super chilly so we ate in the van, Reese "we're eating in the van?!?!" Flexibility and going with the flow definitely happened a lot on the trip. This day's drive was one of the prettiest along our journey. Lush and green and relaxing. We arrived at my Aunt Kay & Uncle Blaine's house around 4 pm. Uncle Blaine took Robert and the kids for a little walk down the street to check out the neighborhood orchard then we had margaritas and a yummy grilled chicken dinner.

Tuesday we got up and going and then headed to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. We spent the morning walking around and checking out the animals. The kids enjoyed the aquarium where Emerson and Robert got to touch sting rays, Reese was hesitant so stayed in mama's arms and just looked. They also had sharks which the kids thought were awesome. There are five very cool tigers in exhibits where you can get very close. Seeing their stripes up close was amazing. Another highlight were the walruses including ET who is a 32 year old male walrus that weighs 3,200 pounds. We hadn't seen a walrus that big before! The zoo also has a cool playground area for kids where Emerson and Reese ran around before we headed home. It is a great zoo and I'd definitely recommend it to families visiting the area.

Reese: "Mom, there's Dory!"

Robert & Emerson in the Hurricane wind simulator

Up close and personal with the tigers

Our navigator. He was very into the map!

Calamity Jane

Emerson on our beluga whale

Keaton sleeping

On our way back from the zoo Robert had a request. He wanted to drive across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. For those that don't know, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed violently in

On the bridge

After getting in some much needed naps Aunt Kay took us to a local park near a beach. The kids were able to fly their new kites from Aaron and Ashley for a little bit. They hadn't flown kites before and the conditions plus the kid friendly kites made for some successful kite flying. We walked down to the beach where the kids searched for crabs under the rocks. Aunt Kay also told us about a good luck tradition. You find a rock with a continuous white line around it, stand with your back to the ocean and using your right hand throw the rock over your left shoulder. So of course we had to do it!

Checking out the beach

Aunt Kay and Keaton

Reese and Mommy

Family Photo Op

Since Aunt Kay finished her school year on Tuesday (she's a kindergarten teacher) she was our official tour guide on Wednesday. And since she's lived in the area her entire life she was the perfect person to show us around. We drove to Seattle to check out the Ballard Locks and salmon ladder. There weren't any boats going through when we arrived and 10 minutes after we got there they announced they would be closing the bridge to the salmon ladder within 15 minutes for the rest of the day! So we hurried over to check out the salmon ladder and we were in luck! The kids got to see a few fish in the ladder before we headed back over the bridge just as it was closing. Unfortunately there still weren't any boats in the locks so we went into the visitor's center to watch a video about the history of the locks before heading out. It was a short visit but obviously left an impact because when we were coming downstairs this morning Reese said "We saw a fish ladder." So she was paying attention!

Next we headed to downtown Seattle and Pike Place Market. Obviously we took a photo by the sign! Then we stopped and checked out the infamous Gum Wall. Our family rule is that you can't have gum until you're 3. It's my opinion that children younger than that are not capable of chewing gum and just end up swallowing it so I don't even bother with it before 3. Now I know what you're saying, doesn't a 3 year old swallow gum too? Yes, yes they do. But it's not as often. So we arrive at the gum wall and obviously I had to break my own rule and let Reese have a piece of gum. We chewed some gum and added it to the wall for a quick photo op. It was only as we were walking away that I turned to Robert and said "Do you realize that we just gave Reese gum for the first time then told her to take it out of her mouth and put it on a wall? That maybe wasn't our best idea." This then resulted in a short lecture about how this was a special thing and we don't EVER put gum on a wall. Ha!

The mandatory shot

Reese's first piece of gum...going on the wall

We headed into the market where Aunt Kay was a godsend. She took us to all her favorite stops, first up fresh donuts. There's a stall with a little machine that makes fresh mini donuts! As the warm donuts come out the workers flavor them - plain, cinnamon, chocolate icing and then put them in a bag to enjoy. It was the perfect treat and the kids loved it. We took our picture by the famous pig then stopped for bite to eat. After lunch was the moment I had been waiting for. When we started planning the trip I told Robert "We HAVE to go to the first Starbucks when we're in Seattle." Seeing as I'm a bit of a Starbucks fanatic (don't judge me, we all have our vice!) this was a mandatory stop. So we headed down and got in the ever present line. It was smaller than I expected but I was beyond thrilled to be there. Aunt Kay treated Robert and I to lattes and I bought a couple of mugs ("I can't NOT buy something!") while we were there. I think my face says it all don't you? Worth the wait in line.

The amazing donut machine!

The whole group with Rachel the Pig

With the fish market guy. Sadly we didn't get to see a fish thrown.

So many beautiful flowers! And they were so cheap!

Outside the original Starbucks

Aunt Kay ordering our drinks!

Emerson, Reese, Natalie & the Space Needle

We headed back to the car and went to catch the ferry to Bainbridge Island. The kids had never been on a ferry before and they LOVED it. And Robert had only walked onto one, never driven before. We parked our car and headed above deck where we had a great view of Seattle as we left it behind us. It was so pretty and a fun experience for us all. Back on land, the kids napped as we drove home. Robert took the kids to play at a local park and then we had dinner. After dinner Uncle Blaine and Aunt Kay took us to do some sightseeing in Tacoma. First up was Stadium High School which used to be a grand hotel before they turned it into a high school. It is where my Aunt Kay's mom went to high school and one of her niece's teaches there now. It's also the school they used to film the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. Next we went to the see the Chihuly Bridge of Glass at the Museum of Glass. It was really cool to go for a walk on a warm summer night and see the pretty glass. I was surprised because Reese seemed the most interested in the glass. She loved standing underneath it and staring up above at all the colors.