Alas, on January 4th, 2011, with a heavy heart we said goodbye to our beloved Hermosa Beach home and headed up to start our great Pacific Northwest adventure. The boys were both excited and sad and I was leaning more toward the sad side. It had been a crazy fall, there's nothing like remodeling one home, then putting it on the market and trying to keep it clean for showings with small children running around, planning for and executing the holidays while hosting family, and buying a new house in another state and remodeling it from afar. On top of all that, Tyler broke his arm on the playground on New Year's Eve. Fun stuff! We completely gutted our new home on Queen Anne, just about 10 minutes from downtown Seattle, so we lived on the 38th floor of an apartment building downtown for two months. The boys absolutely loved being able to ride the elevators ten times a day, not to mention the freshly baked cookies in the lobby starting at 10am. We all enjoyed looking out the windows and checking out all the action that was going on below including, "Hey, what's that white stuff on the ground?" Sure enough, snow! Lucky for us, REI's flagship store wasn't far away. Our boardshorts and flip-flops were quickly replaced by Bogs and down jackets.
One of our first excursions was a strenuous hike through the jagged mountains - not! This was actually at the Japanese Gardens in the arboretum. I am astounded by how many fantastic parks there are in the Seattle area: Discovery, Carkeek, Lincoln just to name a few. They are all huge, like over 250 acres, and filled with gorgeous trails, beaches and old growth trees.
Another first outing was to take the ferry to Bainbridge Island where we have discovered several cool playgrounds, a children's museum and a few nice cafes. What was Tyler's favorite thing about the ferry? Getting to stay in the car and watch a movie while still being on the boat. And Tristan's? Drinking chocolate milk. Such an adventurous duo!
We quickly discovered Top Pot doughnuts was a few blocks from our apartment (and another one is just blocks from our new house!). It has become our Saturday morning ritual. The first week we were here was Elvis's birthday and they were selling maple bars with real bacon bits - they had to limit it to one a customer they were selling out so quickly! While the boys are crazy about the doughnuts, I am crazy about the "latte art," the little picture of a leaf that they make in the foam on top of the latte all over town. Now when I get one without art (Starbucks!), I'm just a little disappointed. Only a week here and I am already a coffee snob (and understanding why coffee is the accessory of choice here - it's cold, dark and damp. You NEED something to keep you warm and awake!).
Another adventure we took was to Snoqualmie for tubing. Never in my life have I been rained on while trying to sled or ski. It didn't seem to affect the boys, though. They loved every cold, wet minute of it.
We went back to Hermosa for a week over spring break and when we returned, our house still wasn't quite ready. We toughed it out at the Four Seasons.
When you are used to going to the beach or an outdoor playground for fun every day, it's tough trying to adjust to the fact that the beaches and playgrounds are wet and freezing. We therefore became members of just about every museum around. My favorite is the EMP (Experience Music Project). The boys can practice on real instruments and there is a sound stage where they will film you doing a video with your very own band. So far we've covered Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" and "Wild Thing." Tyler comes up with our band names like Black Mamba and the Birthday Boy. I think at this rate, my little guys will be giving Nirvana a run for the money when they get older.
Tristan wakes us up every morning by playing Hole's "Malibu". He knows the lyrics and rocks out to it in his pj's.
Tyler wants to learn guitar and is practicing his guitar kicks. When he's stronger, he's looking forward to being able to play it behind his head.
We've also been forced to get creative with our new, extra i
nside time. We are taking up cooking, have lots of new playdough and will practice shaving for a good 30 minutes.
The Discovery Park lighthouse - we aren't in L.A. anymore!
Tyler settled in quickly in his new preschool. They were putting on a circus the first week and he opted to be the ringleader and a strong man.
Meanwhile, Tristan was happy to sit in the car while Tyler was at school and "play d.j." putting songs in and out of the cd player while I argued with the contractor.
"This is the coolest place I've ever been!" Tyler said when we found this trail in the middle of the city. I may still be homesick, but the boys have quickly adjusted and that is helping me along. I have to admit, this place is seriously cool. If it just weren't for the pesky weather!
Another favorite is the Ballard Locks. You can watch the salmon climb the ladder in the summer (250,000 pass through every year!) and watch the boats go through from Puget Sound to Lake Washington. It's like a small Panama Canal and very, very cool.
The apartment was pretty close to the famous Pike Market. The boys now have all their favorite places to eat crepes, sample smoked salmon, taste fresh fruit and of course, pick out their favorite cookies - pink ginger pigs! We eat under a huge squid that hangs from the ceiling and next to a gigantic wooden statue of Sasquatch, who is, ahem, very well hung. Something the boys point out to me every time we are there (and on occasion, they have shouted out to everyone else around).
The flight museum is a gold mine of activity! There are simulators, a play area, control tower, the real Concorde and Boeing's barn where the company began. So cool.
Gray skies by the Space Needle, but we have Bluey and our fuzzy sweatshirt. Plus there is hot chocolate in the Center House by the Children's Museum, Tristan's favorite place in the whole wide world.
Berry picking on the Olympic Penninsula. You can pick strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Plus there are farms all over that will let you pick whatever is in season. I noticed yesterday that blackberries are growing wild in all the parks.
The park down the street has a killer view of the sound. Our new au pair, Ronja, who is from Germany, will take the boys down and set up a lemonade stand. Tour buses stop there and the kids make a killing. If we were smart, we'd really work their cuteness while it is at its peak.
We had to wait until August to get a day above 80 (we've had three so far!) but on those days, the fountain below the Space Needle is timed to music and makes for a great afternoon of getting drenched and balloon sword fighting.
Mt. Rainier, when it is visible, is spectacular! This was taken from the beach at Discovery Park where we went tidepooling and found gigantic barnacles and huge purple starfish.
Strawberry milkshakes on the back deck after running through the sprinklers rocks! If they turned around, they could see cruise ships, container ships, ferries, sail boats and the occasional battleship pass by.
We camped in the northern cascades over the 4th of July. It was beautiful and so much fun. This is Tristan going on a night walk. He's got his headlamp on and is ready for action!
Fresh air and sunshine - ahhhhh!!!!!! Isn't this great, Tristan? "Yeah, but do you have any snacks?"
Smile if you like s'mores! Seriously, the main reason the boys liked camping was because they got to eat junk food.
Lucky for us, Ed was in town and helped us to set up camp. Otherwise, we might have been sleeping in the car like we did in Yosemite. Thanks Uncle Ed!
