West Coast Adventures – Part 1

I have decided that our week in Seattle needs to be split in half in order to fit everything in. I hope you’re ready for lots of pictures!

Seattle is one of my favorite cities, and I am very lucky that my grandma and aunt and uncle live in an incredibly picturesque spot – on Bainbridge Island – which is a short ferry ride away from downtown Seattle. In addition, Ben and I were incredibly fortunate that my parents were able to come to Seattle with us, so it meant that we didn’t have to say goodbye to them in Minneapolis, and all four of us got to visit family and have a vacation together.

We arrived in Seattle on Wednesday, 26th June, and we were greeted at the airport by my mom’s sister, my Aunt Jane, who picked us up and took us straight to the ferry. Our timing was perfect, and we had just enough time to take in the views before hopping on the boat for 35 minutes filled with more amazing views. We arrived on Bainbridge Island and headed to the grocery store to pick up lunch before going to my grandma’s house to eat together. It was so nice to see my grandma, and I always love being at her house. It has always been one of my favorite places to visit, no matter where she has lived, as she has a way of making any place feel like a home, and she has a knack for decorating and making it feel luxurious.  We had a delicious lunch made up of various fresh salads from the deli, and had a wonderful time catching up with my grandma and my aunt.

We also spent some time planning our time in Seattle, and came up with an exciting plan for how to spend our first few days together, which would involve a day on Bainbridge Island followed by two nights in Bellingham, including a day in the San Juan Islands, a day trip to Vancouver, BC, and a day in Bellingham to hang out with my cousins who live there. Once this was planned and hotels were booked, we headed  to my aunt and uncle’s fora delicious  dinner. My uncle met us there after work, and we had a wonderful evening all being together.

Thursday we ran some errands and wandered around a town nearby, and had some time to hang out with my grandma.. It was a nice relaxing day, followed by another delicious dinner, and we introduced my parents, aunt and uncle, and grandma to one of Ben and my favorite shows, Newsroom before we headed back to grandma’s to pack up for our mini trip.

On Friday morning, we were up bright and early to catch the ferry, and although it was foggy, we could still see Mount Ranier, and the views were beautiful.

After a bit of a drive, we parked the car and walked onto another ferry. This ferry was from Anacortes to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.

I promise I wasn’t actually driving the boat!

It was a gorgeous ride, both there and back, and I took far too many pictures. However, I didn’t take any pictures of the cute little town we spent the afternoon in, including the delicious, fresh fish tacos we ate for lunch.

Our time on the island went by far too fast, and before I knew it, we were back on the boat.

After the ferry ride back, we went for a nice walk down to the beach, and then headed toward Bellingham on a beautiful, scenic route.

We had a lovely dinner in Bellingham, and my cousin Eric and his daughter Kiera came to meet us after dinner for ice cream.

The next morning, we got up bright and early and headed off to Vancouver! It was Ben’s first time visiting Canada, so we had to get a picture at the border. 🙂

When we arrived in Vancouver, we headed to the Granville Island area of town, and Uncle Steve battled the traffic to get us there safely. It is a cool indoor market right on the water, with nice outdoor seating and music, and we had a delicious lunch there.

After Granville Island, we headed to Stanley Park, where we had some nice walks and saw gorgeous views.

One thing which isn’t pictured is all of the gelato I ate. Everywhere we went, there was delicious gelato with tons of dairy-free flavors, and I made the most of it while I could.

We had a wonderful day in Vancouver, and then headed back to Bellingham in time for dinner with my cousin Eric at a Mexican restaurant.

Ben and I decided to share a margarita, and I was very glad it wasn’t just for me.

We found a veggie burrito for four on the menu, and my parents and Ben and I decided to share it. We were concerned at first about whether there would be enough for all four of us, but in the end, it probably could have fed six!

The next day, we hung around in Bellingham with my cousin Eric, his partner Kecha, and their daughter Kiera, and went for a lovely long walk and looked around the shops. It was so much fun spending time all together, and we couldn’t have had a nicer day to spend by the water. Good company…

More gelato. 🙂

And lots of beautiful views.

 

The day then took an unexpected turn when we took a detour at the Boeing museum on our way back to Seattle. We completed a really interesting 90 minute tour, and then got to see their test runway.

Followed by a short drive back to Seattle and another gorgeous ferry ride across to Bainbridge Island.

One more trip re-cap to come, and then I might have to start talking about normal everyday life again…although we just finished a wonderful weekend visit from my brother so perhaps I can string out the fun travel posts a bit longer. 😉

Hope everyone is having a good Monday.