Went to check out the Joyce J. Scott exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. We took a hurried lap through and there's so much to unpack, so we'll be back! Exhibit runs through Jan. 20, 2025.
Few visitors make it up to the corner of the 4th floor to this wood-paneled 16th century Italian room. It's a treasure box of a room, one of my favorite spots in the museum.
We also did a block printing workshop with a teaching artist. Such a fun project! Our elementary school does not have an art teacher.
Every year when I'm ankle-deep in crafting debris, I question my sanity, why I don't I drop $20 at Target and be done?? But that wouldn't be as much fun. Made everything from stuff lying around the house, which means I'm eco-friendly. And a hoarder.
Overlook Walk might just change your mind about downtown Seattle. Come see it for yourself! I wrote about 7 fun freebies at Seattle's newest park for Seattle's Child.
Disneyland is for adults on their phones all day buying $220 lightsabers. Legoland seems like it was actually designed for kids. Lots of playground areas, building activities, and overall a much, much more relaxed vibe.
Legoland's rides are very tame, which is fine by me, I'm a big chicken anyway. Probably best for 12 and under, or Lego fans of any age. The Lego theming is INCREDIBLE.
The "flowers" cracked me up.
A few takeaways...
-Don't stay at the $$$ Legoland hotels. We popped into the official Legoland hotels to check out the fun décor, and stayed across the street at the lovely Cassara. I'm not convinced any actual sleeping happens at the Legoland hotels.
Ask for a free lanyard at the Legoland hotel, then ask park employees for pop badges. You can also earn pop badges at the building activities. Really fun to collect these.
Bring a basic minifig to trade with any employee.
The first aid office is really efficient. Don't ask me how I know.
Watch the Lego movie before you go and this area will make a lot more sense.
Miniland has Lego builds representing DC, San Francisco, NYC, Vegas, and San Diego of course.
We snuck away for a few glorious days in San Diego, and slunk back to Seattle wondering why aren't we living in a place we could be in the ocean every day.
La Jolla Shores, water you can actually swim in!
San Diego was unreal. There are the beaches, which look like movie sets with white sand and palm trees. Then there's LegoLand, the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, all of Balboa Park... So jealous of my friends who live in San Diego.
All this was story research, of course, and here's a link to Seattle's Child.
The airport is weirdly in the middle of the city, so there are low-flying planes overhead all the time.The flight deck of the USS Midway. Even if you're not super into military stuff, touring this aircraft carrier is really interesting.The view from our room on 24th floor of the Hilton Bayside. We saw concerts in the bandshell every night, the SeaWorld fireworks and even a Padres game from up here. Remember nightlife? Yeah, me neither.
The San Diego Safari Park was so gorgeous, like a botanical garden with large enclosures for animals to roam.
At the San Diego Zoo, we got to see the newly arrived pair of giant pandas. And whoa, now I understand why some people come to San Diego just for the zoo.
The pair of pandas are kept separate, because they're solitary animals. This is Xin Bao, and the one okay picture I got through the plexi.
One last photo dump from beautiful San Francisco, a city as maligned as Seattle. School starting means major travel withdrawal, so for now I just look at pictures — I take a lot of them!
The Painted LadiesClam chowder in a sourdough bowl at BoudinHow cute are these carbs??Antique arcade games at Musee Mecanique.Rainbow steps at Ghirardelli SquareFor some reason I thought Ghirardelli would be an actual chocolate factory! I was expecting Oompa Loompas, not a shopping mall. SO VERY DISAPPOINTED.It's nuts how these things stop in the MIDDLE of an intersection.Obligatory cable car ride. We were so squished, with butts in our faces most of the trip!View from the top of Lombard StreetLombard StreetBillionaire's RowPalace of Fine ArtsLappert's ice creamCookies by the pound at Victoria's in Little ItalySo relieved to see the finish lineCoit Tower, despite hurrying by many times, we never made it up there. So much we missed. Next time…Evening smores at Hotel Zoe
I hadn't seen the Golden Gate Bridge since I was maybe 7? This trip I made up for lost time: we biked, bused AND walked across it.
Ferry from SausalitoBig Bus tourHighly recommend this middle grade book about a kid who lived on Alcatraz: "Al Capone does my shirts."10/10 do not recommend biking across a super windy bridge with a dSLR in one hand!Loved seeing pelicansKite surfers, I think? Looks incredible.
