Seattle Bucket List

We have just over a year left in Seattle, so I have been meaning to make a list of the things that I want to do before we move again. I am sitting here with about fifty pamphlets I have collected from our previous tourist activities and I am glancing through them. I am also going to include a list of what we have already done for those who live in Seattle and read my blog and need some ideas!

Already checked off the list:

• Northwest Trek-Eatonville, WA. This was a great day trip that we took on Labor Day last year. The kids totally loved it, and so did Joe and I. The Trek sits on about 800 acres and is covered in trees and plants. The predatory animals live in their own parts of the park, while you can take a tram ride and see the other animals. We saw buffalo, antelope, moose, eagles, a grizzly bear and more.



• Port Townsend and Fort Worden-We always love a trip out to the Olympic Peninsula. We rode the Kingston ferry over to the peninsula and drove over to Port Townsend, a great town with Victorian architecture. We stopped at a city park and played on the beach. We walked around the town and visited the shops which was fun. We also visited Fort Worden, an old military barracks turned state park. Fort Worden is right on Puget Sound and has a lighthouse and a nice beach. The whole excursion took a day.



• Mt. St. Helens-Last major explosion in 1980. Another fun day trip for us. I could not believe how much hadn't changed since the explosion. Nothing had grown back around the mountain, and you could still see where the trees had been knocked over by the pyroclastic cloud. There is a visitors center that walks you through what happened the last time she blew her top. Pretty cool.


• Sequim and Dungeness-Another day trip out to the peninsula. This time we visited one of the largest sand spits in the world! The kids loved hiking down to the beach, chasing the waves, and collecting shells. The drive out there was beautiful too, great views of the Olympic Mountains.


• West Seattle and Alki-This is a great local trip, we did it in one afternoon. There are miles of beach where we saw the Seattle skyline from a different perspective. We saw shells, sea glass, and even a sea lion or two(?). We drove around a looked at the amazing houses there. The park that is there now sits where an old park once was from the early twentieth century. There are some signs recalling what buildings used to be there, definitely interesting.


• Snoqualmie Falls-near North Bend. The falls are impressive, and for some local cuisine try Got Rice.


• Victoria, BC-Joe and I rode the Victoria Clipper up to Canada for a weekend by ourselves. We got a great deal on the ferry ride up there and the hotel. This trip would probably be fun in better weather than we had, but it was still worth it. There was so much to do there, and it was such a beautiful city!


• Leavenworth-Joe and I actually made a trip there during our first stint in Washington for a Fall Festival and Parade. There is always something going on in this little Bavarian themed town. The buildings are cool and who doesn't love German food?


• In Seattle we have tried to do a bunch of things. We have been to the top of the Space Needle, visited Pike Place street market and most of the waterfront, been to the aquarium, returned many times the Children's Museum and Woodland Park Zoo. We have also checked out the giant troll under the Aurora bridge in Fremont, and on the same trip visited the Gas Works Park. I went to the Seattle Art Museum, but I want to go back and see the traveling Yale exhibit. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks were truly interesting to watch in action. In high school I took a tour of Boeing, seeing multiple planes in one building is does not happen a lot. I would always suggest a Mariner's game in the Summer, it is fun to get the whole experience at Safeco Field. Our favorite park to visit so far has been Magnuson park, we love the sand, and great views of Lake Washington.

Still on the List:

• Another trip to the Olympic Peninsula to visit the Olympic National Park, the Hoh rain forest, and of course, Forks and Port Angeles for some Vampire Tourism.


• Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.


• San Juan Islands


• Mt. Rainier


• Lavender Festival in Sequim (July 17-19 this year).


• Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (April 1-30 this year).


• Washington State History Museum-Tacoma.


• Museum of Glass-Tacoma.


• Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad.


• There are still a ton of things I want to do in Seattle so here we go: Pioneer Square, Seattle Underground Tour, Pacific Science Center, Monorail, Olympic Sculpture Park, Experience Music Project, take a self-guided tour of UW's campus, Kubota Garden, and probably so many other things that I will never be able to get around to!

This post is mainly for me, now when I have a free afternoon or weekend, no excuses! I am getting out! So Melissa and Stephanie you had better reciprocate and post your lists too!