Category: Travel

5 Activities for Kids on Bainbridge Island, Washington

Over the Thanksgiving Break the whole mountain family drove out to Bainbridge Island, Washington. While there we got to experience a full day of heavy downpour, freezing temperatures and snow. But even with the less than ideal weather we had a great time. It’s always good to visit the ocean.Here are five fun things to do with your tots on Bainbridge Island.

1 – Take the Ferry
The trip started off with the ferry ride from Seattle where little g asked “Are there real fairies on board?” Sorry honey, not that kind of fairy. Walkers, bikes and cars all get on the boat for a 35 minute cruise across the water. My tots loved it except for the wind.

2 – Go Shopping
Bainbridge Island’s main drag is full of boutiques and restaurants. It’d be a great day trip from Seattle for a little adult shopping, but the nearby Calico Cat Toys had a great selection of kid toys and games. With the kids we opted for some ice cream at Mora’s  where we enjoyed great flavors like blackberry and lemon bar. Frog sculptures around the island are fun for kids to find.

3 – Fort Ward Park
Being who I am, I was on the hunt for green space. And for an island they have plenty. Fort Ward Park is right on the coast with a paved hiking, biking trail that borders the rocky beach. Big E and Mountain Dad was in heaven looking for shells and sea glass, even in the breezy weather. Little g on the other hand wanted nothing more than to be held and have a snack.

4 – Lytle Beach
Since I live in landlocked Utah I tried to spend as much time at the beach as I could, even with freezing temperatures. Lytle Beach could also be described as Little Beach, an end of the road strip of rock and sand surrounded by a residential area. On the small section of public access Big E and I found a huge jelly fish, but the cold weather cut our trip short.

5 – KiDiMu
The tots loved the Kids Discovery Museum, and I did too. The upstairs exhibits were my favorite – A giant litebright, puppet theather and adjustable golf ball roller coasters were fun for both adults and kids. On the main floor, imagination abounds with a pirate tree house, kid sized shopping center, doctors office and boat.

Bainbridge Island was a quaint place to visit with lots of fun activities and beautiful forests and beaches. Next time I’ll plan a trip in the summer, but even with bad weather it was a great trip.

Chinatown San Francisco

There’s a special place in San Francisco where the architecture shifts from modern business like buildings to elaborate chinese decor, with flanged roofs, paper lanterns and large blinking signs written in a foreign language. Welcome to Chinatown.
On my sister’s weekend earlier this month, Chinatown was one of the many destinations we explored in order to have a true taste of San Francisco. As the largest Chinatown outside of Asia it was easy to be caught up with the exotic feeling permeating the neighborhood. The smells and sounds of another world welcomed us into its streets.

 

We decided to eat at Hunan’s Home, based on the recommendation of yelp diners (thanks internet friends) and couldn’t have been more pleased. Everything from the potstickers to the spicy chicken dish was tasty, and we were more than happy to fill our plates and bellies with the tasty stuff.

 

Shops filled with souvenirs, t shirts and Asian inspired clothing were interspersed with Chinese restaurants and even a walk-in foot massage parlor.
In Chinatown I couldn’t help but imagine little g in the tiny outfits or Big E playing with the toys. I felt a pang of sadness that my tots were back at home. I know a sisters weekend by definition did not include kids, but I still missed them.

Good Food San Francisco

On my recent sister’s weekend to San Francisco we spent most of our time around good food. Now, this blog does not usually feature restaurants but I couldn’t NOT share some of the interesting places we  tried while there.

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Balmy Street Murals, San Francisco, California

One of the most interesting places we visited in San Francisco was Balmy Alley in the Mission District. All along both sides of the street are colorful depictions of life of every sort.
 
 
According to the website www.balmyalley.com, “The murals began in the mid-80’s as an expression of artists’ outrage over human rights and political abuses in Central America. Today the alley contains murals on a myriad of styles and subjects from human rights to local gentrification and Hurricane Katrina.”
 
The art is beautifully done and worth a liesurely stroll or guided tour. Unfortunately for us it was POURING when we got there so we had to settle for several drive bys while looking out wet windows. 
 
My favorite mural was this 3D one depicting a woman in childbirth. I love the colors and the message, but mostly I love it because it makes me giggle a little. Enjoy!