What to do on our trip to Seattle?

[tammyw]

We're going in April. Any great ideas for stuff to do that is fun and educational for 5 years old and 21 months old?

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by tammyw

We're going in April. Any great ideas for stuff to do that is fun and educational for 5 years old and 21 months old?

I just moved to California from downtown Seattle in August, and I still miss things about it. There's so much to see and do, but at their ages, I'd try suggest keeping everything very simple, because it could get exhausting and overwhelming pretty fast in the midst of all that commotion. Every single thing they see and do there at their ages will be educational. Taking a nice little ferry ride is great, especially if they get to see the ferries going across the water before they go on one. Strolling along the waterfront north of the ferry landing is nice too - there are child-friendly places to eat, and seeing the seagulls around the seafood restaurants if fun, but don't have your children feed them, because they can accidentally bite little fingers (I've seen it happen!)... Strolling around Pike Place Market can be interesting/stimulating - just to see the crowds and booths, the rows of flowers and food, places to snack - and in the building that's along 1st, there are ethnic shops downstairs that they might enjoy walking through fairly quickly. The aquarium is right there too.

If you're from a smaller place, even taking a stroll along the tall buildings will be interesting. There's a Children's Museum, and even just taking a quick walk through the mind-boggling city library is amazing. Here's an interesting page on seeing Seattle with Kids.

Make sure you have clothing for layers, and wind breakers. Have fun! Lillian

[zinemama]

The mini donuts at Pike's Place!

Educational: you get to see the donut machine in action

Fun: what could be more fun than hot, cinnamon-sugar coated mini donuts??

We never have donuts at home but this is always an essential stop for us on our visits up north.

[TEAK's Mom]

OMG! I'd forgotten all about the mini donuts! Those were always my favorite!

[Lillian J]

Oh! Yes, those blasted doughnuts - always so hard to creep past. The smell would suck me in almost every time.

I only lived a block away, at Harbor Steps, so they were a real hazard.

Speaking of Harbor Steps, that's kind of fun - they were remodeling the fountains when I was there last, so they probably have something interesting there again by now. For a small child, I think the steps could be pretty fun to see. But the Museum of Modern Art is right across the street, and that could be fun for a short visit too. Lillian

[AnnR33]

The aquarium is a must! http://www.seattleaquarium.org/NetCo...d=183&srcid=-2
They have some new large tanks and you can walk around the pier when you're done. There is an elevator that goes from the street level up to the Pike's Market level so you can easily fill a day between the two places.

Alki Beach is a nice sandy beach with some good eateries nearby on the west side of Seattle.

You might enjoy the Ballard locks too.
http://www.seattle.gov/tour/locks.htm
There are always boats going thru and there is a salmon ladder there where you might see salmon in the lower level windows. There are nice gardens all around this area too-great for browsing, a picnic, or just letting the kids run around.

[tammyw]

Lillian - do you have recommendations for any hotels in particular? I guess a suite would be better, however we don't want to spend a gazillion dollars for each night, so we'd also consider nice non-suite hotels.

I assume we want to stay in downtown, within walking of Pike's Place and shopping and stuff?

[BurgundyElephant]

Hotels are very expensive in Seattle; I heard recently that the only city more expensive is NYC.

The core of Seattle has a free bus area, you can take a cab to other areas.

Things I like to do in Seattle:
Woodland Park Zoo
Seattle Aquarium
MOHAI / Arboretum walk
Seattle Art Museum (has a great Roman art exhibit that may still be here)
Seattle Public Library (has a great children's section, too)
Pike Place Market (but only on a weekday when it's not full of tourists)
Ballard Locks
Seattle Center (we eat at Steamer's)/ Center Fountain / Pacific Science Center
Olympic Sculpture Park (there is also a small beach here)

My favorite restaurants are Steamer's (cheap), Elliot's Oyster Bar (medium), and Union Street Grill (expensive). I usually like Buca di Beppo's too but the last visit I had some weird semi-frozen shrimp in my dish.

Depending on when you are here the Pacific Northwest Ballet may be doing A Midsummer Night's Dream.

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by tammyw

Lillian - do you have recommendations for any hotels in particular? I guess a suite would be better, however we don't want to spend a gazillion dollars for each night, so we'd also consider nice non-suite hotels.

I assume we want to stay in downtown, within walking of Pike's Place and shopping and stuff?

Sorry to be so slow - I've been away all weekend. No, I'm afraid I can't be of much help where hotels are concerned. But you can usually go to Frommers.com and Fodors.com and find good ideas. You probably don't want to be walking around in the Pioneer Square area at night, by the way, although you probably won't be walking around at night with two children that little anyway. I think that with a 5 yr. old and a toddler, you're not going to be sightseeing full steam, so I wouldn't worry about being within walking distance of Pike Place - a cab ride will probably work out just fine. That's a great location, to be sure, but you should be able to do well a bit further out. Darn - sure wish I could think of a place, but my friends stayed with me or at the Weston. The Weston is probably an arm and a leg, though - those who stayed there were on business expense accounts. Let us know what you find...
- Lillian

[Lily Eve]

Burgundy Elephant has some wonderful places to visit listed I see.

I used to live in Magnolia about 1/4 mile away from Discovery Park and it's a wonderful place to visit, especially when the weather is nice. It's the largest park in Seattle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Park_(Seattle)

THE best restaurant for gardenburgers hands-down is Red Mill. Mmmmm, I do miss Red Mill sometimes. :

http://www.redmillburgers.com/menu.htm

The best Mexican food in town IMO is at El Ranchon. Their cheese enchiladas with mole sauce are amazing and they're family friendly too.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-ranchon-seattle

If you want pizza, Pagliacci is the place to get it from.

http://www.pagliacci.com/index.shtml

You might want to consider staying someplace like the Marriott Residence Inn where you can cook your own foods if you like and save money on eating out at restaurants all the time. Trader Joe's is just one of the many great stores in Seattle along with PCC.

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by BurgundyElephant

Pike Place Market (but only on a weekday when it's not full of tourists)

Yes, when it's really packed full of tourists, it can be incredibly claustrophobic, inside the main building especially. I was over there one day to get fish, and could barely make it into the stall - just being in the slowly moving crowed was a lot like being trapped in heavy freeway traffic.

I think such little children, especially the toddler, will require very little in the way of sights to see - any one of the things listed in this thread is going to be a pretty big deal. If it were me, I'd want to keep it as simple as possible and with things that can feel the most up close and immediate for their size and interest, rather than having any abstract learning in them - because they're going to have a different kind energy and attention level from children who are just making a short day trip from home. I'm not trying to be negative about it , but I just know how incredibly bustling and challenging Seattle can be even for adults to take in. Wonderful place!

Lillian

[mamamilkers]

How long are you going to be staying? You might enjoy doing a vacation rental instead of a hotel. Try Sea to Sky Rentals.

You got some really great suggestions already, I would add to consider checking to see how much admission costs for some of them. The aquarium, which honestly doesn't thrill me, is $15 now, I think. The zoo is great, but also expensive. The downtown kid's museum is nice, there is also one over in Bellevue in the Factoria Mall called Kidsquest and a GREAT one up in Everett called Imagine Children's Museum.

We have gorgeous parks here, as well. I'm a huge fan of Carkeek Park in Crown Hill because it's got a nature center and beach access. Discovery Park is amazing, as well. Both very worth a visit if you want to hang out on the Puget Sound a bit. Alki Beach is alot of fun, too. In April it's so hit or miss, you might get an amazingly gorgeous sunny weekend or a gloomy, cloudy one. Let's hope for the former!

[BurgundyElephant]

Red Mill has awesome beef burgers, too. And onion rings and fries and shakes... They're only a couple blocks north of the zoo so we sometimes get lunch there and then take it with us. They are CASH or CHECK only.

If you're in that area, you can stop in at Dolly's Dollhouse. It's on the same street (Phinney, I think), south of Red Mill, right across from the zoo. It's a tiny shop on the corner and is really neat.