Tag: Pikes Market

Adventurous Day with The Taylor Crew

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Grandma Denise, Grandpa Jerry and Auntie Jillian arrived last night! Its been just under a year since I last saw my sister and boy have I missed her. Her last journey to Seattle was a short one and a little more limited because of weather, so I have lots of things planned for her now that she is in town. So to start, we headed over to Pike’s Market and Post Alley for some fun!
We walked through Post Alley, stopping at some stores and to give Jillian the chance to take as many photos as she wanted. We then made our way over to Beechers and one of the French bakeries. We even had the chance to sit and watch them make cheese! Pretty cool to see them make it in such a big vat! After that we strolled through Pikes and watched the fish throwers. It was super crowded, so I didn’t get the chance to take a great picture but we had fun regardless!
Walking through the markets, trying not to buy everything in sight.
The people of the market
Listening to performers and vendors
Tossing a little bit of money into their case.
Shops along Post Alley
Along the streets and the street performers who have been there for years.
Seattle’s iconic Pikes Market… it may be a tourist trap to the locals but I love it.
Pretty fans for the girls…
Classy ladies exploring the sights!
Trying to catch a glimpse of the fish mongers and their fish throwing skills.
Hanging with Grandpa Jerry and the fish mongers.
Watching the cheese making process at Beechers.
After Pike’s Market we decided to do one of our planned trips… Ride the Ducks. Yeah I know… super touristy but I had a blast! Sometimes its OK to be a tourist in your own city and do silly things. I know the Ducks aren’t popular with a lot of people, but its a great way to get an overview of the city and have some fun. My parents, Shaun and of course Auntie Jillian had a blast and Abby did as well. Abby was amazed that a giant car could go into the water too! Unfortunately Ellie fell asleep through most of it but did wake up while we were out on Lake Union. I guess this means we will have to take her again some time. Bummer.
Two cute little duck faces… all ready for some fun!
Ducks, Kings… we know the real winner here…. Go Kings Go!!
Sporting our very best “duck faces” 🙂
My Ducks crew mate. She’s pretty cute!
Auntie Jillian’s adorable crew mate!
The rest of the peanut gallery, ready for a fun and funny tour of Seattle.
Quack, quack, quack!!
Down by the waterfront…
Our hilarious tour guide and captain!
Miner’s Landing
Historic car washes! Its said that while filming here… Elvis would bring his car here every day to have ti washed.
Seattle skyline from Lake Union
Gas Works Park from Lake Union
Loving her time on Lake Union!
From the ducks we decided to have dinner at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants. This was a treat for my parents and sister, being that Bozeman doesn’t have a lot of choices when it comes to Chinese food. After a delicious meal, we decided to make our way back to Seattle Center and enjoy the sunset view from the Space Needle. Like I said, we have guests in town… its fun to play tourist in your own city.
Patiently waiting for the monorail and having a little fun.
Oh silly little Abby!
Enjoying the ride to the Space Needle..
Loving the ride and another break from walking.
Hello Space Needle!
Trying their best to stay still and be patient. The line was a long one!
My beautiful sister… this is her first time visiting the Space Needle.
Finally made it to the top!  Pretty sunset city views!
Sunset city views!
Auntie JJ and her adorable nieces… Abby said she would keep Auntie Jillian safe.
City and mountains at Sunset.
Sunset on the Puget Sound
Hey!  I know them!
A rare moment and photo alone with my amazing husband!
They were having fun up there… I swear!!!

After our stunning views and fun at the Space Needle, it was time to head home. Everyone was exhausted from all of the fun and adventures that we had today, but it was a wonderful kind of exhaustion. Tomorrow we celebrate the 4th of July and goodness knows where our adventures will take us. Until then!

Exploring Pikes and Some New Places

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Now that I am back to work, time is a limited commodity. When we do have the weekend to ourselves, we head out to find some fun things to do and spend the time together. Today we decided to be tourists in Seattle and check out Pike’s Market and then discover the Fremont Troll. 
Pike’s market was fun but a little busy. The rain kept the crowds away, but it also meant that everyone spent time inside the market and off of the streets. We would have been fine had we not decided to use the stroller. Pushing that thing through a very crowded Pike’s Market was a blast! We survived and still had a wonderful time. The girls even enjoyed a trip to one of the stores to buy some beautiful fans. One in pink and one in purple of course!
I love the old signs down in the market.
The name speaks for itself.
The rain let up so it was out to the streets to check out the shops.

After the market we decided to find another Seattle treasure, the Fremont Troll. This spot would be new for all of us and I was very excited for the girls to see him. Fremont is a very artsy and free-spirited If you have never heard of the Fremont Troll you can learn a little more about him here and here.

While the girls found him to be a bit intimidating at first (it was pretty dark and gloomy by the time we got to him) they soon warmed up and wanted to play and explore. You can climb to the top and explore all around the troll and they certainly got a kick out of it. Once again the rain kept people away, so it was nice to explore without the crowds. Score another one for the Wharton’s!

Daddy, Abby and Ellie hanging out with the troll.
Walking under the George Washington Memorial Bridge, AKA the Aurora Bridge, on Troll Street

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.