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Ultimate Road Trip With Kids – Glacier National Park to Seattle

    Glacier National Park to Seattle

    We left Glacier Park with a WINTER storm warning in effect!! Glad we were on our way out!! We thought we might drive to Spokane …which was just a few hours (an easy day). We stopped in Idaho to get gas -Scott got out to pump it and Lily got out so that she could set foot in Idaho. They were the only 2 to officially physically touch ground in Idaho but we all drove through- so we’re all counting it!

    We got to Spokane and as it was rainy and cold – so we decided to press on. We drove a couple of hours longer and then stopped for the night. We ate and then tried to decide our plans. I thought it might be good to go to a playground to burn off some energy; one of the kids looked at me so excitedly and asked: “you mean we can just free play?” Obviously, we needed to relax our schedule a bit. They had the best time playing and I enjoyed watching the sunset over the Cascades. We stopped for ice cream after. It was a good way to end the day.

    We started off the next morning just a bit over an hour east of Seattle. The weather was much nicer – almost warm- and the drive was to be short. Two bonus points for the day already.

    Snoqualmie Falls

    I used the phone to discover any fun side stops along the route. The Snoqualmie Falls was just a few miles off the interstate on our way into Seattle and we decided to stop for a look and a snack. It was a good call! The falls were beautiful. The kids enjoyed the view but also just some time outside of the car was lovely.

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    Seattle

    We drove into Seattle and immediately started looking for the Space Needle. I found it first! We planned a Duck Tour for about two hours after we got into town so set off to explore while we were waiting. We walked past the Space Needle and explored the City Center…ending up at the fountain. Now I am not altogether sure it was warm enough to play in – and being the good mom that I am I told the kids they could go down and look but it would probably be smart to stay dry. Being the bad mom that I am I let them go down with that advice in the first place –lol.

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    To be fair, Grace was standing off to the side and got squirted by a rogue spray…drenched actually. And when that happened, it all became a free for all – all the children ended up soaked and had the BEST.TIME.EVER. Scott and I also had a pretty fun time watching their laughter and fun and thought we had pretty much the ultimate Seattle experience as while we were watching that -Nirvana was playing in the background.

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    Luckily, we had all of the clothes in the car and we parked close to the duck boats – so we ran back to change in the car before our ride.

    Seatle Duck Tour

    The tour was pretty nice – a good overall look at the city. Grace was petrified when the truck turned into a duck as she didn’t want any part of floating on the water. It was fine once she realized the duck actually floated.

    The kids had “piloted” a duck boat when we took a ride in Branson, MO, and wanted to know if they could do it this time…the captain had not offered but I told Dax it never hurt to ask – he did and the captain let him steer…he was thrilled! We saw some amazing homes (including the floating home from Sleepless in Seattle) and I told Scott I would officially like to move here! They looked amazing – then the boat captain told us that a 1000 square foot boat home averaged about half a million dollars… which counted us out…bummer.

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    Pike Street Market

    We next took the monorail to the top of Pike Street and walked down to the Pike Street Market. It was very fishy- Grace did not love the smell…but the rest of us thought it would be great to try some for dinner. Scott and I had some pasta with fresh shrimp, scallops and fish, and a local brew. It was the best dinner we have had this whole trip and quite possibly ever. It was delicious and bonus we looked out over the water watching the Ferris wheel and a tugboat pulling in a huge ship. It was a great experience.

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    We had to stay out of the city about 15 miles north as we hadn’t pre-planned a place to stay but ended up in a fantastic hotel suite in Lynwood. It had a separate bedroom with 2 queen beds, a kitchen with a full refrigerator, dishwasher, and microwave, and the main sitting room with a TV and pullout couch. We took advantage of the fact that it was conveniently located right next to a shopping facility (restaurants, upscale shopping, and ice cream shops!).

    We got some ice cream and enjoyed it at the hotel on the patio equipped with a lovely outdoor fireplace. The hotel had amazing amenities including an indoor pool with a fun curly slide for the kids and a nice hot tub for the adults. The kids were thrilled to swim for a bit and make some new friends. I’m kind of bummed we did not allow more time to spend here because this was an amazing place…but the next day was our beach house and I couldn’t wait.

    Ultimate Road Trip 2014

    Terri L

    Terri L

    Terri has been married to her best friend, Scott, for 20 years and together they have 5 children. She has been blessed to be able to be a SAHM since her first was born over 14 years ago. In addition to finding new and creative ways to entertain 5 children, she enjoys date nights with her husband, photography, reading, and traveling with her crew.