Seattle Space Needle

The Space Needle in Seattle is pretty amazing.  I just love, love, love traveling.  Whether it's near or far there's always something really awesome to discover.  In all my trips to the Seattle area I've never taken the time to actually visit the Space Needle so this was quite a treat!  As we entered the city of Seattle we could catch a glimpse of it on the far left of the skyline.

So with tickets in hand we all stood in line to head up the elevator to the observation deck.  Now I am slightly claustrophobic and have just a touch of acrophobia and I just like to think those two things add a little excitement to my travels, don't you?  ;)  It's hard to even think about those things when you are standing next to this little guy.

After exiting the elevator (which I obviously survived) my first stop was to check out the restroom.  They were your regular run of the mill restrooms but they did have a super cute sign on the door.

The view from the observation deck is, as you would imagine, AMAZING!

View Full Album

I just absolutely love sharing new places with my hubby and the kids.  Great memories!

After taking in our fill of the view from the observation deck we went inside to check out what there was to see there.  They had these displays set up of Space Needle memorabilia.  Look how tiny this phone looks in Marvin's giant hand....haha!!

Check out these stamps from the World's Fair 1962

This guy was getting so hungry he was eating his toes so we decided to head down and find somewhere to eat.

But before we left I of course visited the gift shop so I could pick up me necessary patches as well as get my penny smooshed.

We ate right near the Space Needle and I'd love to have posted pics because that weekend was a combination of the Seattle Rock 'n Roll Marathon crowd and the Seattle Gay Pride event and let's just say that the folks attending the latter event were an interesting mix of folks.  The "costumes" that they had on....or didn't have on was eclectic to say the least.  ;)

My girlies

The awesomeness of Seattle

Here's one of my classic moves

Great fun at the Seattle Space Needle and if you've not had a chance to visit before now I'd encourage you to go!

Technorati Tags: Seattle,Washington state,Space Needle,Seattle Rock 'n Roll Marathon,observation deck,World's Fair 1962,family fun,road trip,travel,AFWM,AF WingMoms,stamp,high 5,Gay Pride

The Crab Pot

A great spot to fill your tummy is The Crab Pot in Seattle.  We put our names on the list and since it was chilly (especially compared to Texas weather) we decided to walk around and check out the sights and sounds...

There was a pretty cool wood carving place there.

For all of you bacon lovers right across from The Crab Pot there is a shop filled with all kinds of "Seattle-y" kind of things and there was a little display of bacon items.  I like bacon just as much as the next person but some of the stuff had me scratching my head. 

A bacon spray freshener?  Like really who would use that?

Along the same lines as the spray here are some more bacon air fresheners.  Really?

Now I have to admit while I wasn't amazed by the air fresheners I did think the bacon bandages were funny.

Here's something else I spotted...franks & beans bubble gum?  I can't even imagine.

Bentley was enjoying watching the merry go round with his dad. :)

Here's Sarah, Bentley and Hansy.

It was time to take our seats and order our meal.

The Crab Pot's specialty is they take a variety of fresh seafood, steamed with mouth watering spices and they pour it out on the table on butcher paper, give you a mallet and bib and let you go at it.  Because Hansy ordered one of the specialties they brought a mallet to the table.  Bentley of course thought it was his toy to play with.

View Full Album

Hansy ready for his meal

And here is his meal

It was fun and the food was good!

And how cute is my Bentley?

 

Technorati Tags: The Crab Pot,Seattle,Washington,wood carvings,bacon,road trip,family fun,food,AFWM,AF WingMoms,travel

The Seattle Aquarium

Does anyone remember our last family trip to an aquarium?  It was to the Dallas World Aquarium and this is how Bentley, at 3 months old, enjoyed the whole thing:

Fast forward to June and on our trip to Seattle we decided to visit the Seattle Aquarium.  Lots of really cool things to see!  We even were able to touch some of the fish.

We also saw a ton of other cool things in the aquarium. 

View Full Album

View Full Album

View Full Album

View Full Album

The sea otters are a ton of fun to watch swim and play.  This video is actually of them being fed.  I think they were being fed something in shells and they would put them on their stomach and roll over and then eat them.  They also were being fed something that looked like squid.  And it was kind of gross.  But hey...they gotta eat.

 

So you know I collect patches, right?  Well here's my patch from the aquarium.

Folks say when my girls and I are together they can see the resemblance.  Can you?

So you may be wondering how Bentley enjoyed this aquarium visit.  Well here he is:

 

Technorati Tags: Seattle Aquarium,Seattle,Washington state,patches,girlies,fish,Bentley,AF WingMoms

The Gum Wall

We then made our way down Post Alley underneath Pike Market Place to the famous Gum Wall which is yet another one of my RoadsideAmerica.com attractions. 

It is exactly what the name entails...gum stuck to a wall. 

View Full Album

Unfortunately not all of us had gum (why did we not think of this beforehand?) but those of us that did were able to take part in the tradition.

 

View Full Album

On the wall opposite of the gum wall was a wall full of posters.  Interesting posters.

View Full Album

Me and my hunny bunny Sarah!

 

Technorati Tags: Post Alley,Pike Place Market,the Gum Wall,gum,roadsideamerica.com,road trip

Pike Place Market

Ask anyone and they'll tell you that you absolutely need to stop and visit Pike Place Market when you visit Seattle.

A cloudy/rainy day didn't deter us from enjoying Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle.  One of the city's biggest draws we made sure to stop by the market to visit the fish guys, check out the gross/interesting gum wall and take a break and fill our tummies at the Crab Pot and more...

One thing to remember about Seattle is the parking is expensive.  We couldn't really find any free parking and it seemed like it was around $13 a pop to park and we parked two cars several times while we were there.  After parking we headed down to Pike Place Market.

The incline is steep and will work your legs out and leave you feeling a bit winded if you are in the same shape as me. 

So once you make it down there you have to walk a bit to get to the Pike Place Fish Co. which is in the far left corner.  On the way you pass the original Starbucks and that's kind of cool.  The line was expectedly long and we've stopped and got a coffee on a trip before ...well I got a hot chocolate but that's besides the point...and so we didn't stop this time.  I like to think of it as a reason to have to come back.

On the way you also pass many street performers.  We saw this guy, Emery Carl, several years ago so it was kind of cool that he was still there doing his thing.

We finally made it to our destination.  Out front there is a pig on top of the building and one in the entrance to the Fish Company. The pig is named, Rachel the Pig. 

The pier offers lots of cool stuff to look at.

View Full Album

View Full Album

 

Technorati Tags: Seattle,Washington state,Pike Place Market,Rachel the Pig,Starbucks,original Starbucks,street musicians,Emery Carl,road trip,AF WingMoms