Welcome to the Pacific Northwest Edge family

Mom and I at Seattle Center

Once in awhile I forget 3,000 miles separate me from my family.  When it happens I'm usually venturing out into new territory here alone. I look around and have a "you're not in Kansas anymore" moment. After not seeing my family for nearly two years the distance went to zero when my Mom, Justin (nephew), and Kai (niece) flew into Seattle from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Whoo hoo!
Leading up to their arrival I was elated. I tried to damper my excitement just in case something went wrong. Of course nothing did (just me being cautious). They spent seven days here and there was a myriad of places to visit, food to try, and adventures to embark upon! Simply put their visit was awesome. Talking on the phone and using Skype or Oovoo is nice but there's nothing like being in the company of those you love. When I first saw Justin and Kai I couldn't believe how tall they had gotten.

What.

Happened!?!?!?!

It's called growing up Lisa.

I'm not ready.

Justin and Kai at a park in Portland, OR.

Justin and Kai on Bainbridge Island.

I probably hugged them a little too long and kissed them a bit too much for the likes of a 13 (now 14) and 11-year-old but that's my right as their favorite (self-appointed) Aunt. Since I talk to my Mom every day on the phone we didn't miss a beat.

By the end of the trip there many firsts were accomplished - a trip to Portland, Oregon; first flight for Justin and Kai; first time on the West Coast for Justin and Kai; first time we saw a lock system and many more. My parents instilled a sense of adventure and exploration in me through family road trips and I'm glad I got to share a similar experience with the kids. Below I've listed the trip highlights:

DOWNTOWN SEATTLE

First stop? Pikes Place Market of course. Locals just refer to it as "the market." You've probably seen the sign out front before and there's a good reason. It's the most photographed sign in Seattle and it's only fitting this is the inaugural place to visit. We watched fish fly, bought some jewelry from a local vendor and took home some fresh fruit. I also bought a Dungeness crab and cheese sandwich from Beecher's. As expected it was delicious. It's been on my list of things to try for some time now. Their market location has large windows on the side of the building so you can watch them make cheese. *cue the Reading Rainbow flashback*

DUCK TOUR, SEATTLE CENTER, GUM WALL

Wednesday afternoon we officially became tourists and hopped on the Duck Tour. Our captain Sid E. Slicker encouraged us to sing, clap, use our "quackers," and wave at pedestrians all the while peppering the tour with fun and bits of Seattle history. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. We learned so many things about the city while driving on the streets of downtown and moving through the waters of Lake Union.

Kai and I on the duck.

Justin and I on the duck.



View from our duck.

Mom on the duck.

Another duck tour leaving Lake Union.

Unfortunately, several weeks after our fun ride on the duck tour it turned tragic for a group of North Seattle College students and tourists. At this point the future of the duck tour is in question. It's still hard to believe what happened.

From there it was off to Seattle Center where Mom and Justin headed to the top of the Space Needle. Followed by riding the monorail back downtown to the gum wall.

Yes, it's disgusting as it sounds.

My first reaction? EWWWWWWWW. Don't. Get. Too. Close.

Located in Post Alley the gum wall is an accidental tourist attraction at best, a bastion of human saliva/DNA at its worst.

An article written by Linda Thomas explains how the wall came to be. Here's an excerpt.

"The story goes that the tradition started around 1991 when patrons of Unexpected Productions' Seattle Theatresports stuck gum to the wall and placed coins in the gum blobs.  After scraping the gum off a couple of times, theater workers gave up. By the late 90s, they realized the wall had become a tourist attraction."

The kids loved it though and of course added their own piece of chewed gum to the wall.

The gum wall.

PORTLAND, OREGON

We started the day with breakfast at a pancake house. My niece wasn't happy grits weren't on the menu so she settled on an omelet. Then we headed about three and half hours south to Portland, Oregon. I've heard a lot about Portland so it was good to finally get the opportunity to see it in person. Justin wanted to go to another state so this was a win for us all. First stop, Powell's books. As a family of bibliophiles this was a natural and exciting choice. Powell's is easily the largest book store I've ever been in; it encompasses several floors, genres are divided by colors, and there's nonstop activity. According to their website Powell's is the largest independent new and used book store in the world.

For me there’s a magic in being surrounded by books. I think part of it comes from spending years in the library with my Mom after school. After browsing the aisles and losing track of one another a few times we all settled on our choices and headed to the register. Then it was off to the waterfront and exploring downtown.

Portland waterfront.

Justin doing his "yearbook photo" pose.

Portland waterfront.

Seating area for Voodoo doughnuts. The line was too long to wait in but the doughnuts smelled DELICOUS.

This sign sums up Portland.

Later we came across a group of food trucks and each of us had something different for dinner. I of course had Thai (basil fried rice is my favorite), Mom chose Chinese, Justin ate a burger and fries, and Kai picked a steak sandwich from a Chicago style truck.

MOM COOKS!

Since my Mom was in town the above meal was a special request. Fried chicken, rice, and collard greens. I actually would’ve preferred mustard greens but we couldn’t find any fresh or frozen ones. I probably would’ve had luck at a farmers market but I didn’t have time. Next year I’m thinking of actually planting some in the backyard. As I expected the meal was DELICIOUS. There’s nothing like mama’s cooking. She also brought me some homemade boiled peanuts. So good. When Jeff tried them he wasn't exactly a fan. It was hilarious watching him barely eat one. I probably should've offered a better explanation as to what they are. One of these days I’ll step up my southern fare skills.

BALLARD LOCKS

Out of all of the activities we did, going to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard was my absolute favorite. Not only was it cool, I learned a lot as well. We got there at 11am Saturday which coincided with a free tour. SCORE. It helped greatly to have someone explain the history of the locks and what we were seeing.

Completed in 1917, the locks connect Lake Washington with Puget Sound. There's an intricate system used to keep the fresh water and salt water separated. To move the boats through the lock system they are lowered or raised with the release of water. According to our guide about 100 boats can fit in the center lock and it drains (or fills) in 12 minutes. We watched boats and a group of kayakers go through the system.

Yacht and kayakers waiting in the lock system.

Now that the water level is lowered the yacht and kayakers can continue.

  

Fishing vessel going through the lock system.

In addition to the locks you can also check out the salmon ladder. The 21 step ladder or fishway allows salmon to swim upstream to spawn. We saw dozens and dozens of fish swimming around. There’s even an area where you can get a better view of salmon and other fish like sockeye, chinook, coho, and steelhead depending on the time of year.

Our guide explaining the salmon ladder in the subterranean viewing area.

THE PENINSULA - BAINBRIDGE ISLAND & POULSBO

You can’t visit the Seattle without hopping on a ferry to the peninsula. My level of excitement as we drove onto the Wenatchee Sunday morning outshone the rest of the family. After a short ride across the Puget Sound we arrived at Bainbridge Island. We stopped at an ice cream shop, famers market, visited a marine center, and walked the streets of downtown Poulsbo.

View of downtown Seattle from the ferry.

Bainbridge Island waterfront.

Marine Center in Poulsbo. Kai didn't need too much coaxing to touch a starfish.

On the ferry ride back to Seattle.

FREMONT TROLL

If we're Facebook friends you've probably seen the Fremont Troll. I. LOVE. IT. So unexpected and unique piece of art underneath the Aurora Bridge. It's worth checking out the link to read more about it and yes that's an actual VW bug the troll is holding! I couldn't think of a better way to end the trip.

Fremont Troll.

Kai climbed to the top of the troll. He's a bit dusty.

The only thing missing from this trip was my older sister Wendy and our Dad. Next time!

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