OT: Going to Seattle next week

[C99]

What should we see? My brother lives there and will play tour guide, but he is 26 and childless, so I'm not sure he's realistic about what a 16-m/o and 3.5-y/o can handle.

[katiesmommy]

I've heard that the aquarium is really cool. I've been wanting to take my 16 month old there, and to the tacoma zoo. She loves animals.

[BaileyBea]

We went to Seattle earlier this summer when DS was 15mths. We got great hints from Katie and one other Seattle Mom.

There are a lot of cool/nice playgrounds and parks. So we went to quite a few of them all over town. There is a playscape at U-Village shopping mall.

We went to the Woodland Park Zoo and the Aquarium. Both were big hits and so fun for DS. We also went to go see the locks and DS had fun looking at the salmon in the windows that showed the ladders.

It was so fun and DS had a great time people watching. He was a city baby and he really got into all the different people and vehicles etc..

You're going to have a blast.

[sadie427]

Hi Caroline--It's Susan and Sammy, we met you and Nathaniel once in Chicago. We've been here for about a year. Some suggestions:
--Pike Place Market--sort of a tourist thing, but still fun, Sammy loves it. Plenty of street performers, especially on the weekend. Food-wise we especially like the Russian place, the Gyros place and the fish and chips. There's also Beechers where you can watch them make cheese and they have samples.
--Seattle Center--actually kind of dated, and not the center of activity that it should be, but there's a big fountain that plays music that you can run around in, and the children's museum is pretty good. The kids would probably like the Space Needle, we haven't been there yet. The outdoor carnival area has a cool European-looking car ride for toddlers, although Sammy had a meltdown when it was time to leave, and we haven't been back. Nowhere good to eat there, we usually walk over to Queen Anne or bring food.
--Ballard--a great neighborhood for kids, the Ballard Locks is a must-see for both kids, it has the locks and a salmon ladder so there are fish and boats to see. There's a fish and chips place down the street from the locks on the opposite side of the street. Also in Ballard, I think it's on Market, is Verite Coffee/Cupcake Royale which is another must and they have mini-cupcakes for the kids. A fun walking around area with some fun boutiques.
--Lots of stuff outdoors--at greenlake you can walk around, swim in it, rent a boat in it. Carkeek Park is a bit far from downtown but has a good play area, a beach with lots of creatures and the train goes by. Matthews beach and Greenlake are both good for swimming.

PM me if you have more questions, I could give you a restaurant list if your brother doesn't know places that are good for kids. Hope you guys are well.

[kijip]

Lots of good ideas from the PPs but I will add:

-My Coffeehouse in Madison Park. A total kid morning is to hit up the park by the lake in Madison Park and then head up Madison and stop at My Coffeehouse (great kids play area). there is a cooool toy store (Izilla) next door too.

-When/if you go to Ballard, Shilshore Beach is nice. And if you head north on 24th Ave from Market (the main drag in Ballard) you can get awesome pastry at Cafe Besalu on 24th and about 58th. (and if you head up 24th a few more blocks you can see where i used to live, LOL).

-You said your brother lives in Fremont, right? Hit up the Fremont Sunday Market. Easy for kids and once you are tired, lots of little places and parks to rest.

Have fun!

[HannaAddict]

Hi Caroline,

I agree with the other posters suggestions. And, if it is hot out, there are great wading pools too, all around town. A big one is at Green Lake and that area is also a nice place to walk around and has plenty of places to eat or get coffee. There is a playground too. I can send you the link to the city wading pool web site with hours, directions, etc. There is one in Wallingford too (near Fremont) and on Queen Anne (also near Fremont). I like our zoo better than the aquarium. The aquarium is being remodeled and I guess I like Vancouver BC's so much better that I don't tend to go to ours very often. Our zoo also has a new indoor play area too with areas for both ages of your kiddos, especially nice if it is cloudy or rainy/misty day. And the zoo is soooo close to Fremont. Red Mill Burgers is a great place for food fairly close to the zoo, they have chicken and veggie burgers too.

Ballard is fun and has some independent toys stores and a store entirely devoted to cookie cutters, called Cookie. I actually love that store and have bought gifts for people of all sorts of unique cookie cutters. Call me crazy. Ballard is getting hipper every day, it wasn't so hip when we lived there way back when. Good indian food and child friendly at the India Bistro on Market and Ballard Ave. (main drag). There is a new libarary right off of Market too and across from it are some fountains for kids to play in and a skate park. The fountains are fun and my son loves to watch the skateboarders. The park is very new but a nice addition.

Magnolia has a nice playground for both ages and a kid friendly greek restaurant (Nikkos) and now kid friendly pub (Village Pub) that was a smoky sports bar before the smoking ban. Now it is toddler central and free food for kids at lunch M-F. Decent burgers, good grilled cheese, etc. for the kids and microbrews. Fancy flat screen tv's at every table and big ones on the wall, some tuned to sports and some to cartoons (they will ask what you want). Pretty funny to see if you knew the pub in the old days. They are much busier than ever.

I think University Village is nice for kids since it is outdoors, has a play area, lots of fountains around too (that they do play in) and kid friendly eateries and stores (Hanna, Kids' Club, Barnes & Noble with train table).

If your kids like "hiking" as my son is into these days, Discovery Park in Magnolia is an amazing place with incredible views over Puget Sound and easy trails through meadows or woods that a toddler can do without too much trouble. There are some play area too, but it is really a nice piece of nature in the city.

Kimberly

[squimp]

We took Fia there when she was 15 months, and she really enjoyed the kids' museum at the Seattle Center. She actually had fun going on the Space Needle too, but mainly the elevator. I bet your kids would love that, especially DS. Ballard Locks would be fun, there might be salmon running then, and you could look at the underwater window to see - I should know but I can't remember. And I totally second Discovery Park, it is beautiful.

I agree that the aquarium is not that great - we went there last time and were disappointed, it seems cramped. The zoo is really nice though. Have fun, I miss Seattle!