Woodland Park Zoo

A trip to the zoo is never complete until you have milked a plastic cow, got caught in a spider web, stood on  a monkey's head, and teased a penguin. We love our zoo, so we have high expectations for zoos. Woodland Park was great, and had some features I wish our zoo had.

Their insect zoo has it's own building and lots of details about he bugs on display. Some of them creeped me out, the boys thought they were cool.

I liked that they still had their free-range peacocks. Our zoo had to get rid of them. The kids all crowded around him so he splayed his feathers, which was what they wanted, but sheesh! Poor bird!

Bayley's favorite part was the habitat area. It had no animals, just interactive displays about where they live...like burrows, hollow trees and...spider webs!

Grace liked the Zoonasium, an indoor play area for the younger set. I think they use the building for science classes as well, guessing from the displays inside. There is a height limit, but no one called Bayley out, probably because he was there with younger siblings. if I lived in Seattle, I'd get a zoo membership just for the zoonasium!

I got chills watching the grizzly bears interact. They were play fighting, but you could really appreciate just how enormous they are when they stand up on their hind legs and bear their teeth!

Benihana

In the spirit of creating new experiences for the kids, we decided to take them to Benihana for dinner. The boys were very excited by the idea of having dinner made right at the table. Hayden was thrilled to get to order a 'fruity umbrella drink' and Bayley liked being able to see exactly what went into the food and decide whether he wanted it or not.

Grace was in heaven because we'd finally found a restaurant with fruit! After swiping the pineapple off my drink and Hayden's, they brought her a whole bowl. Fruit girl hadn't been so culinarily happy all trip!

 

NEXT TIME :: I wouldn't order the white noodles for the kids. They liked them, but by the time they were served, they were stuffed with other stuff!

Experience Music Project & Science Fiction Museum

Jeff had been really looking forward to this stop on our adventure. I was hoping there would be something to intrigue the small boys as well...and there wasn't much. More than half of the museum was closed due to construction!

The only things open were the Jimmy Hendricks section (not exactly kidtastic), the guitar collection, and the experience music room. But since it was one of the few rooms open, it was packed and the kids had to wait at every station and soon grew bored we only did two of the 20+ stations.

The top floor science fiction museum only had the Battlestar Gallactica exhibit (the rest was closed as they prepped for an Avatar exhibit this summer). Since we'd never seen the show, none of us were all that interested in the costume collection.

NEXT TIME :: I'd call ahead to make sure the museum is truly open, and not just showing a few things for the sake of staying open.

Pacific Science Center

When Bayley learned there was a Star Wars exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, he wanted it to be the first place we went. They're closed Tuesdays, or it would have been.

The Pacific Science Center made me really appreciate OMSI. We had to wait in line outside for 25 minutes as two people worked the ticket window with all the urgency of a teenager being told to get off the phone. Finally we got our tickets, included our timed entrance to Star Wars. Where we waited in line for another 20 minutes. You can imagine how much I loved OMSI at this moment. Grace too.

The Star Wars exhibit was the same one we'd seen at OMSI three years ago. The boys didn't remember going (great) so they really enjoyed it. Bayley thought there were too many costumes, and not enough facts. That kid cracks me up.

Once we were through with Star Wars, we got to explore the rest of the place. The boys did the Milenium Falcon Ride while Grace explored their toddler area...and soaked herself at their water table! I changed her into her spare outfit and then spirited her out of there because I didn't have a 3rd change for her!

My favorite thing was the Butterfly Garden. We used to have one at the zoo, but they've done away with it and I really miss it. I played with my camera until the kids were ready to move on to their favorite place.

The game room! Giant checkers with traffic cones, knee-high chess pieces...we got to watch the boys battle it out. They enjoyed playing with the giant peices so much I thought I'd get them some for the back yard...and then I saw the price. Yowza!

NEXT TIME :: Bring something for the kids to do while waiting in line.

Space Needle

Riding to the top of the Space Needle is the obligatory Seattle activity. I'd never done it, and it was similar to riding to the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris in Las Vegas. Hey, it's what I know.

 I really thought the kids would be into it...but after having to wait for it to open (like everything else in Seattle it opens at 10, not the 9 printed on the CityPass) they were kinda over it as soon as they'd peered through a telescope.

NEXT TIME :: I'd make this the final thing we do. I was able to keep the boys entertained a bit by trying to find places we'd been, so if we'd been more places that would have lasted longer.

Pike's Place Brewery

With all we were doing for the kids, Jeff wanted to try some breweries while we were in town to make our adventure a little more vacation like for him. Pike's Place Brewery came highly reccomended. Since it's right inside Pike's Place, it's very easy to find (and quite close to some delish dessert spots!)

Jeff really liked the beer - He wound up buying a bunch to take home. And Bayley? Had a HUGE pizza, so he was in heaven. Seriously...that's on the kids menu! It could have fed all of my kids if B wasn't such a pizza fiend!

I was a big fan of the beer names - Naughty Nellie, Old Bawdy, Monks Uncle, XXX Stout, Kilt Lifter!

NEXT TIME :: Order the salmon (again) and make sure Jeff gets some Naughty Nellie along with his Kilt Lifter!

Gasworks Park

During our Ride the Ducks tour of Lake Union, we learned about Gasworks Park - an abandoned gas plant that the city took over (in order to rid it of environmentally hazardous waste). Once it was cleaned up, the city decided to make it a park...and it is one of the oddest parks I've ever been to!

There are huge gas structures still in place...they've been painted so now they seem to be art? I found it strange, but the kids loved climbing on them.

We hiked up the kite hill, and I really wished we had a kite with us. The wind was perfect. The boys ran ahead and we found them at the bottom of the hill...meditating!

There was a covered area filled with more structures for the kids to climb on, but part of it had been taken over by a homeless camp, so we got the heck out of there!

NEXT TIME :: I'd bring a kite!

Fremont Troll

One of the amazing things about Seattle is the abundance of public art. Our Ride the Ducks tour guide told us that for every construction project within the city limits, 1% has to be spent on public art. Sometimes it's murals to beautify a parking garage, sometimes it's fountains and statues...and sometimes it' some thing completely unexpected. Like the troll living under the bridge, clutching a Volkswagen as if he'd just snatched it off the street.

When you Google about Seattle with kids, the Fremont Troll often comes up as a must visit. The same Seattle friendly who had a hit with Ride the Ducks suggested it as well, so we decided to find it. The boys thought it was great and began climbing all over it. Bayley even says the troll was one of the highlights of the trip!

It's funny, you spend all this cashola on taking the kids to the attractions, and their favorite stuff is free.



Hayden claims there were lots of gum buggers up his nose!

NEXT TIME :: Can I put Grace in garden gloves? Her fingernails were atrocious!

Harbor Cruise

As another way to sneak some education into the unsuspecting minds of our children, we took them on a short cruise around the harbor from Argosy Cruises. They absolutely loved the boat. Even with the wind blowing, the boys wanted to be outside, and on the top deck!

Once everyone was settled, the tour guide began narrating what we were seeing and giving the history of the area. I loved that, but the kids (including Jeff) were more interested in watching the longshoreman move shipping containers and seeing the hull of the Coast Guard ice breaker being painted red (to make it easier to spot in the ice.

There is something magical about being on the water on a nice, sunny day. Bayley & Hayden stuck mostly to the open top deck, while Grace prefered to be inside running around the open lounge area, laughing each time she lost her sea legs.

NEXT TIME :: I'd bring a blanket and sit on the top deck with a cocktail...and probably not bother with taking pictures!

Hayden's Review :: Awesome! We got to see walking seals and sea lions resting on a buoy. I spent most of the time on the top deck with my brother. My mom gave me money to buy gummi bears.

Bayley's Review :: I especially liked when it was not moving because that's when it swayed the most.

The Crab Pot

The thing with traveling with kids is...you have to feed them. Constantly. And all they want is chicken strips, french fries and pizza. Jeff & I kept trying to find opportunities for them to try things they never had at home...so we took them for a crab boil at The Crab Pot.

This was as traditional as we get on the west coast - they laid down butcher paper, gave us wooden planks and mallets to whack open the shellfish, and passed out bibs.

No one wore the bibs. And Bayley ordered a hamburger...which he sent back, and then didn't eat anything. Hayden tried a few things, and Grace was willing to eat the crab.

At least they can say they've done it.

Hayden's Review :: Hilarious! They dump your food on the table! You whack your food with a hammer!

Bayley's Review :: Really bad. The cheeseburger patty had hard chunks in it. The fries were disgusting and they served it with a pickle.

NEXT TIME :: Order for the table and forget the kids meals. They'll be more apt to try it without a more comfortable option.