Seattle Part I

First - this post was getting so long I decided to split it in two.

I had training in Seattle so we decided to turn it into a vacation again.  This time we invited along Karl's little sister Kim and her husband HL.  Boy was I grateful they were potty trained for this trip (see post here if you're totally confused Potty Training).  We crammed a ton of Seattle into just a few days.

Day 1:  Space Needle, Seattle Center, Monorail (Carson's favorite), Pike's Market, Olympic Sculpture Park, Ivar's, Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, Chittenden Locks (Karl's favorite), and Discovery Park.

Below are pics of the beach at Discovery Park.  It was really cold and windy, but still gorgeous.  The park was huge with a ton of green trees and paths...and then this beach.

Day 2: Deception Pass, Whidbey Island, Fort Casey, Ferry ride, Fremont Troll, and Gas Works Park.

Deception Pass is beautiful and well worth the drive a few hours north of Seattle.  We hiked down to the water and enjoyed the beach.

Fort Casey is an military fort abandoned in 1951 after having never fired a shot on the enemy.  The US was concerned with the safety of the Puget Sound.  Washington Parks Dept adopted it in 1954.  So you can see the cannons, run around the artillery stations, etc.  It doesn't have electricity so when you get into the cement fort - it's a little scary.  It's also right on the water and beautiful.

Even though I've been to Seattle a lot, I'd never seen the Fremont troll.  We had drama finding it (GPS/Phones/Maps were all called into use).  Then Karl was annoyed by the time we got there so we just did a drive by...no picture.  Honestly, it's not that amazing, but it was still a dramatic afternoon.

Then we bought some kites and headed to Gas Works.  The park contains the remnants of the last coal gasification plant in the US.  It was abandoned in 1956 and adopted by the City of Seattle in 1962 and turned into a park.  It's right on Lake Union and really pretty as well.  (As I'm writing this blog, I just keep thinking "Why don't a live there?"...maybe someday).  Carson did great with his Star Wars kite.

Kim and HL got along fabulously with their "trick" kite (this comment is sarcastic).

My crazy kid with the space needle in the background.

See the rest of the trip continued in Part 2.