Tag: Ferry Rides

A Long But Pretty Detour!

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The day after our adventures downtown was a quiet and relaxing one.  Shaun and I ran some errands that needed to get done while Grandma Zoe stayed with the girls and played. We BBQ’d for dinner that night, making pork chops and steaks from Bill the Butcher. We love that place and the meat from there is amazing. All of their meat, milk and eggs come from local farms that are strictly organic and grass fed. Dinner was amazing!
This morning, Grandma Zoe had to head back to Porter Ranch. Its now her turn to finish packing up her house and load the moving trucks up to Spokane. Before she went to the airport we decided to take her to breakfast at the Woodinville Cafe. A local place that has AMAZING food! We filled up on pancakes and other yummy breakfast goodies and then hit the road for the airport. On the way there we noticed that traffic heading northbound on 405 and 5 was at a dead standstill. Didn’t look good for our trip back home.
At the airport we said our goodbyes to Grandma Zoe and wished her a safe flight home. We had a great time with her and will hopefully see her over the Labor Day weekend! Once we were settled back into the car, Shaun and I checked traffic before leaving and found it was still the same. So, we decided to take a major detour and enjoy the day. We took the Tacoma Narrows Bridge over to the Bainbridge Island and took the ferry back home. The traffic north of Seattle was moving just fine so we figured this would work out best.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge on another beautiful summer day.
The sun and all of the fun left Ellie a tad tired.
A peek at the Seattle skyline with a summer storm rolling in.

Mt. rainier disappearing behind thunderheads.

The Seattle skyline in all its glory. Wishing I could have captured the lightening being produced by the days summer storm.

“Look mommy its the Space Needle!” Seeing the Space Needle and the Seattle skyline never gets old for these two.

The drive over to Bainbridge was sunny and gorgeous with big thunderheads rolling in over the city. This made the ferry ride into Seattle pretty spectacular and the girls enjoyed seeing the city with a few lightening strikes over it. Its too bad the ferry was too rocky and I didn’t have a tripod to catch some of the strikes on film.

I really don’t think ferry rides will ever get old now that we live here. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. What was supposed to be just a trip to the airport turned into quite the adventure and a fun one at that. I guess that’s how us Wharton’s roll.

Pikes, the Space Needle and Ferry Rides… A Busy Day!

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What a busy but fun day! When we woke up this morning we knew we were in for some fun and adventures but we had no idea we would be up to so much!
We had decided to take Grandma Zoe out to the city and do some touristy things that she hasn’t done since her last visit here back in 2008. It was a beautiful day, so we thought heading down to Pikes Place Market would be a great idea. Being that it was such a beautiful day, everyone in Seattle as well as every tourist in the area thought it would be a great day too! Despite it being a week day, Pike’s was packed. But, we made the best of it and had a fun time!
Shaun really wanted to try out a well known, highly recommended and award winning chowder house in Post Alley but that is something we will have to wait until another time. The line to get in was down the alley and the girls were too warm and too hungry to wait. So we tried a sandwich place next door. The food there was good but not great, so I think it made us long for that chowder even more. Oh well, once we were all fed and had something to drink, everyone was happy.
Post Alley shops. The store on the right is one of my favorite kids shops and has special memories as we bought a few things from there just after we found out I was pregnant with Abby.
Just like the sign says… Post Alley, Seattle.
Summer Umbrellas
This gentleman has been performing on this corner near Pike’s for years. I remember seeing him for the first time when we took Auntie Kelli to Pike’s when she visited us here five years ago. Pretty talented guy!
A very talented banjo and bluegrass band playing out on the street. Both Abby and Ellie were brave enough to walk up and leave a little money in their case.

We walked along the street hoping to get inside the market area and check out all of the shops and produce, but after making one attempt at it, we quickly decided just to walk along outside and enjoy the afternoon. It was too crowded within the market to try and keep track of 3 adults, 2 children and a stroller. Another time I guess. We attempted to watch the famous fish throwers too but alas that was overly crowded as well. We did have the time and space to watch a a great little bluegrass band playing on the street! They were great and even had a album to buy, pretty good if you ask me. Abby and Ellie even had the courage to put some money in their case too! Abby had a little help from Grandma because of the dog, but she was still very brave.

From there we left Pikes and decided to go to the Space Needle. Grandma Zoe was about to face her fear of heights and head up to the top! We had to wait for a bit but we enjoyed our time together. Used some of that time to take a look in the gift shop. Pretty soon it was up in the elevator to the observation deck. Grandma Zoe did a great job and made it all the way up. I know for her the view was worth the ride. At the top, we stopped for a bit of lunch at their cafe and then enjoyed the view. It was a perfect day, clear with wispy clouds in a very blue sky. Couldn’t have asked for a better day!

The Space Needle and the EMP (Experience Music Project) Museum
Waiting in the summer heat to head up to the top of the Space Needle!
A little bit of lunch overlooking the Puget Sound
Seattle skyline view

After a breathtaking view of the sound from the Space Needle, we decided to get out of the city and take a ferry ride. It was too perfect of an afternoon not to! Traffic was pretty yucky leaving the city, but it actually worked out in the end. We made it to the ferry terminal in Edmonds and only had a short wait.

Gorgeous summer sunset on the Sound.
A picture perfect sunset on the Sound, ferry included! 
Bubble blowing on the ferry never looked so cute.
My adorable little bubble blower!

The sunset on the very was spectacular. Being stuck in traffic made the timing perfect. Grandma Zoe brought the girls bubbles to play with and they had a blast trying to blow them out on the observation deck of the ferry. When they were able to produce bubbles, the girls couldn’t help but giggle as they blew back into their faces.

After the ferry landed in Kingston, we drove around to Bainbridge and took the ferry back into Seattle. The girls fell asleep in the car and all of the adults were a tad exhausted so we stayed in the car and enjoyed the view from where we were parked. What fun adventures today. So glad we had the chance to enjoy them with Grandma Zoe.

Ellie’s Very First Ferry Ride

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The last day and a half we have been working our tails off on cleaning and unpacking. Its getting pretty repetitive. Its been warm here too, high 80’s to low 90’s with 70% humidity and no AC. In the middle of the afternoon today, we decided that enough was enough and we needed to get out and away from the heat. As a break and a bit of a treat, we decided to take a ferry ride. But 
This wasn’t just any ferry ride, it was Ellie’s very first ferry ride! She has heard stories from us and especially from Abby about riding the ferries in Seattle and now she was going to get the chance to ride one! The idea of driving your car onto a boat is pretty thrilling for a three year old. Heck, its pretty thrilling for an adult too.

Today we decided to go from Edmonds over to Kingston and then take the Bainbridge ferry into Seattle. It seemed proper to give Ellie the full tour and she would get to see the Seattle skyline on the way back. Being that its a work day, the wait at the ferry was short and with very few cars. As we waited the train passed by too!

All smiles and ready for her first ferry ride!
Pudget sound looking North at Mt. Baker from the ferry.
Two adorable sisters. Abby was being a great helper showing Ellie around and telling her what the ferry was all about.
Mt. Rainer on a gorgeous and clear day. Love the place we live!
Daddy and Ellie enjoying a beautiful first ride on the ferry
Mommy and Ellie enjoying her first ride on the ferry!
Love having the wind in their hair and the air in their face.

Ellie giggled nervously as we drove on but then was excited to stop. Better yet, she was thrilled that we actually got out of the car and stand out on the “boat”. Abby was a great big sister and tried to explain everything about the ferry to Ellie. We spent some time out on the deck watching everything pass by. The day was perfectly clear, which allowed us to see Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier and the Olympics. All I kept hearing from Ellie was “WOW, so pretty!”

After the ride over we stopped for a quick bite, did a bit of driving and then headed over to Bainbridge to take the ferry back. Tonight was a full moon and the sky, as the sun set and the moon rose, was spectacular. As we sat and waited for the ferry, we had the chance to watch the moon rise and the beautiful colors of the sky. So pretty.

Full moon over Puget Sound at the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal.
Moon-rise over the Sound
A very happy and the Seattle skyline.
Sisters and the best of friends.

Once on the ferry we headed up on deck. The sun had pretty much set but the moon kept the sky well lit. Once we rounded the corner out of Bainbridge, Ellie could see the skyline and she was so excited. Never before had she seen the Seattle skyline lit up at night and when she realized that she could see the Space Needle she couldn’t stop jumping around and giggling. It was probably the best way to end a perfect day and a perfect first ferry ride. That’s one thing that Ellie can check off of her list of things to do!