Our Trip to Seattle
Our first roadtrip to Seattle! Travelling with a 14 month old toddler isn’t an easy feat, so we had a couple of stopovers to make it work. Also brought tons of snacks, books and easy toys in the car that we rotated through the ride.
First Day
First stop: Marine Park Playground
I googled and discovered this amazing rubberized playground that was perfect for Chase. It was great because we were at the border for ten mins and he had already been in the car for over half an hour, and was getting antsy. And we loved it! It’s such a gorgeous playground overlooking the sea. Would definitely make a trip back down here just for this playground.
Second Stop: Target / Bellingham
We went to Target because Mommy loves Target. Then, we went for a quick lunch at the Birch Door Cafe in Bellingham because I heard great stuff about it, and sure enough it was yummy. Chase got to eat some yummy chocolate chip pancakes!
Drive to Seattle
Post-lunch is usually when Chase takes a snooze, so we drove down in hopes he’ll have a great long nap because typically he naps for 2-3 hours. Nope! Chase decided to wake up after 50 mins and wail the entire hour to Seattle. We didn’t realize at this point that he was not feeling that great, just thought he had a snotty nose.
Third Stop: Pacific Science Center
Because Chase was up early from his nap and we were already in Seattle, we took a stop at Pacific Science Center to kill time before our check-in at the airbnb. We get free access because of our membership to Science World, so we just made most of it. It was a very old Science World, felt quite grummy and the activities for the kids seemed so much older than Science World. Gratefully it was free for all of us, else we wouldn’t have gone. Chase seemed like he still had fun though, he just kept walking aimlessly around.
Checking in at Airbnb
We wanted to avoid the parking and traffic in Seattle, so we stayed by SeaTac this time. Our Airbnb was great and had two bedrooms. It was also our first time to use the Slumberpod, which is this blackout tent that we use over a pack and play for Chase to sleep in. This is when we discovered that Chase was feverish, but was still acting normal, so we just gave some meds and monitored his symptoms.
When in Seattle… go to Jollibee!
I’ve converted C to loving Jollibee, so we went! Ah, the yummy taste of chickenjoy and gravy. Nothing beats it. Still can’t believe we don’t have one here in Richmond yet. Chase had a little taste of the mango pie, lots of the spaghetti (SO YUMMY!) and the chicken and seemed to have enjoyed that and subsequently made a huge mess.
Next Day
Sleep was tough for Chase because he was feverish and sick, we had to cuddle him a couple of times but it is what it is. When they’re sick, every “rule” goes out the door and we just help them get as comfortable as possible.
First Stop: Kidsquest Children’s Museum
I think children’s museums should open earlier because kids are often up so early. Chase doesn’t even wake up that early but sometimes we just need something to do by 9AM! Gratefully, Kidsquest is one of those places. I super highly recommend it for toddler and kiddos, they would absolutely enjoy it. It was so much more updated and interactive, Chase had tons of fun in the train section (in fact we stayed there for most of the time) and also the little orchard and farm where we had to “plant” some produce. Mommy was so impressed by their market area, it was just so vintagely decorated and Chase enjoyed moving stuff around.
Next Stop: Seattle Pike Place Market
I’m really quite unsure why people think that Pike Place is great for kids. It’s so busy, unless your kid is comfortable walking everywhere all the time in a busy place, you’d likely be putting your kid in a stroller and it’s not stroller friendly at the market. But anyway we wanted to check it off our list. We also tried this delicious pasta place called Pasta Casalinga. It was so good - I mean, you can’t go wrong with fresh pasta! It was a little hard to find, but definitely worth it. It’s great because there were no lines, in comparison to the big tourist traps in the market.
Back for Nap
After a yummy lunch, we headed back to the Airbnb for Chase’s nap. Gratefully this time around he had a nice long nap. I think it was much needed since he was still sick. After that, we took a pitstop at a nearby Trader Joe’s to get some snacks (Chase’s favourite word these days) and then we discovered this cool store right beside called Anko. It’s KMart from Australia, but they’re launching in USA starting in Seattle. Target watch out! I seriously loved this store!
Shake Shack for Dinner
Yesss! Milkshakes here we come! Chase ate so much of his dinner + some fries at Shake Shack. He was also enamored by the group of kids beside our table and kept laughing at them. Right after dinner, we walked back to our parking spot and found an Amazon 4 Stars and up store. That was so cool and we had so much fun checking things out. It was seriously a cool concept!
Day 3
Our last day! It was honestly bittersweet. Honestly we didn’t do much in the morning because Chase had a tough night again since he was still sick, so he was up on and off, and his nose was so stuffed I had to hold him up. He slept in until 9AM. So we decided to start the trek home for his sake. We popped by Anko’s flagship store in Lynnwood and also the outlets really quickly before we headed home, but we kept it nice and easy so that he could just get some sleep in the car ride home.
This was actually our first trip alone as a family for a few days and it was so much fun! Can’t wait for our next adventure. Based on this experience though it seemed like Chase doesn’t nap that long in the car anymore, he used to sleep for hours at end. I hope that on our trip to Whistler this Christmas that it wouldn’t be so bad, because that’s a 3 hour drive.