Today was a much easier day and kind of a built-in rest day. We began the day by driving south into Seattle to visit the city. None of us had ever been to the actual city before. We parked about a block from Pikes Place Market so we started our day there. As we walked through the market we thought of Faneuil Hall and how it seemed like a larger version of it (with more fish and berries!). Brooke was not a fan of the smells of the raw fish/seafood haha.
Jaclyn and Brooke made the first purchase of the day which was some Bing Cherries from a local farm. After that we tried to find the people who throw the fish but sadly their stand was closed as it was July 4th. Jaclyn and I were already enjoying Seattle enough to say that we need to plan a trip back to Seattle so we can see the fish throwers.
After walking around Pikes Place a bit we walked along the coast towards The Seattle Great Wheel. Our walk was great as everything on the shore was built for pedestrians and families. It was all amazingly clean and easy to get around (big kudos to Seattle!). The kids found a playground which was built into the side of the walkway and so we stopped and they played for a few minutes.
After that, we finished our walk to The Seattle Great Wheel. The kids were very exited to go on a “Ferris Wheel”. Luckily, there was virtually no line so we pretty much hopped right on. The kids absolutely loved being up high and being able to see the entire city and harbor. They were super excited when we got a 4th time around (Jaclyn said it was only supposed to go around 3 times).
The Seattle Great Wheel conveniently drops you off in the middle of an arcade and a carousel. Jaclyn navigated the kids around that and then we found some nice plain food for the kids for lunch (hot dogs). They ate at Frankfurters on the water and we Facetimed with my dad/Chris as my dad was hosting his usual July 4th party.
As we walked back towards Pike Place Brooke couldn’t understand why Jaclyn and I wouldn’t talk to the people trying to hand Brooke free bracelets 😂. We eventually got back up to Pikes Place (after lots of stairs and a tired Beckett). We stopped in at Pirsohky Piroshky (which is apparently famous). Jaclyn and Brooke got the Vatrushka (she had been trying to find marionberries), Beckett got a chocolate chip cookie and I got a jalapeno & cheddar sausage rolle. We sat outside at a picnic table and enjoyed them…until Brooke realized the Vatrushka was topped with cream cheese and not frosting…
After that we walked the incredibly steep block back to our car. How come no one talks about how steep Seattle streets are? They definitely rival San Francisco.
We drove north for a few hours and arrived at the border crossing. We got through without any issues, except for Jaclyn making fun of how I answered the border agents questions:
Agent: Where do you live?
Me: New Hampshire….Londonderry
Agent: Are you traveling with an alcohol
Me: No. (3 seconds pass). Actually, I think I have one beer.
Anyways, I told her she can do the next one haha. Upon entering British Columbia we were immediately surrouned by gorgeous mountains. We drove up and down mountains for roughly an hour and settled into our Motel in Hope, BC.
Our Motel had an absolutely gorgeous view of the mountains. Jaclyn went out running after we put the kids to bed and she said the views were more amazing everytime you turn your head. She stumbled upon a big event in the park (which we wish we had discovered previously and kept the kids up for).
The views were totally unexpected! I thought we’d have a couple of boring days driving getting from the border to Jasper, Alberta.
-Jay
Leave a Reply