Seattle with Family of Five
May 25, 2011, 9:24 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 34
Seattle with Family of Five
We are planning a trip to Seattle with three boys, ages 7, 13, and 17.
I'm looking for some advice on how to plan the logistics. Flying out of SLC. Am hoping to use our 110000 United miles to get
three to four rt tickets out of five tickets.
1) 2-day sea kayak trip. Meet 8 a.m. Friday Harbor Ferry Terminal on San Juan Island. Spend nite at camp. Finish up at Friday Harbor Ferry between 2-4 p.m. in case want to depart ferry that evening.
2) Two to three days seeing Seattle.
3) One day in Bellevue - see my old house growing up and show my kids Interlake High School and Uwajimaya - the Asian supermarket/food court where my school friends would walk to eat lunch at.
Tentative plans: Book hotel downtown Seattle. Don't rent car right off. Take lightrail and use public transport as much as possible.
One day: Pikes Place Market, Pioneer Square, Chinatown (Uwajimaya)
Second day: Waterfront, Ivars, Pikes Place Market
Third day: Rent car/drive to Bellevue.
Wishlist: Space Needle, Aquarium, Blake Island, Mariner's Game, Forks aka Home of Twilight
I haven't been to Seattle since 1992! So, I can't remember where a lot of these places are and what's feasible for family of five.
If you were wanting to stay in hotel downtown, how would you plan the 2-day kayak trip, plus a few days downtown plus Bellevue? Plus possibly Forks? The 2-day kayak trip has to start Sat morning and ends Sun evening.
So, share your expertise with me about what might be practical.
If you were me, when you would try to fly in, when you would go on the trip, stay in the hotel, and rent the car?
My husband is in Chicago all week, and when he gets back, I want to
"bedazzle" him with some kind of "plan."
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I'm looking for some advice on how to plan the logistics. Flying out of SLC. Am hoping to use our 110000 United miles to get
three to four rt tickets out of five tickets.
1) 2-day sea kayak trip. Meet 8 a.m. Friday Harbor Ferry Terminal on San Juan Island. Spend nite at camp. Finish up at Friday Harbor Ferry between 2-4 p.m. in case want to depart ferry that evening.
2) Two to three days seeing Seattle.
3) One day in Bellevue - see my old house growing up and show my kids Interlake High School and Uwajimaya - the Asian supermarket/food court where my school friends would walk to eat lunch at.
Tentative plans: Book hotel downtown Seattle. Don't rent car right off. Take lightrail and use public transport as much as possible.
One day: Pikes Place Market, Pioneer Square, Chinatown (Uwajimaya)
Second day: Waterfront, Ivars, Pikes Place Market
Third day: Rent car/drive to Bellevue.
Wishlist: Space Needle, Aquarium, Blake Island, Mariner's Game, Forks aka Home of Twilight
I haven't been to Seattle since 1992! So, I can't remember where a lot of these places are and what's feasible for family of five.
If you were wanting to stay in hotel downtown, how would you plan the 2-day kayak trip, plus a few days downtown plus Bellevue? Plus possibly Forks? The 2-day kayak trip has to start Sat morning and ends Sun evening.
So, share your expertise with me about what might be practical.
If you were me, when you would try to fly in, when you would go on the trip, stay in the hotel, and rent the car?
My husband is in Chicago all week, and when he gets back, I want to
"bedazzle" him with some kind of "plan."
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
May 26, 2011, 10:28 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: The Puget Sound, WA
Posts: 2,232
The Uwajimaya moved a few months ago. It is now where Larry's in Bellevue use to be. It is much nicer.
May 26, 2011, 3:06 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,719
OK, let's see.
** If your sea kayak thing kicks off from Friday Harbor ferry pier at 800a Saturday morning, you are best advised to overnight on the island Friday night. Otherwise, on summer Fridays this year there are two early boats from Anacortes to Friday Harbor that will get you there in time, sailing from Anacortes at 4:15am and 6:30am. To start from Seattle and make the former, you'd need to leave a wake-up call for about 1:00am. For the latter... about 3:00am. You'd be better off sailing over there Thursday afternoon.
** You will need to hire a car to get to Friday Harbor.
** Forks is a full day trip and then some all by itself. Unless you attach it to the tail end of your San Juan trip (see further below), you'll have to drive up to Edmonds (about 20 minutes north of Seattle), queue for the Edmonds-Kingston ferry, then Forks is about 2 to 2.5 hours beyond Kingston on US 101. It's a nondescript drive as far as Port Angeles, then beautiful around Crescent Lake and past Neah Bay to Forks. Unless your kids are diehard Twilight fans, think twice about this one... Forks ain't exactly Epcot Center.
** Assuming you are doing this after school is out in June/July/August, and the sea kayak thing eats up Friday-Saturday-Sunday, your Mariners game would have to come Monday through Thursday. Be warned the only M's home game in July on those days is the Rangers on 14 July (Thursday). August is much better, with home games Monday through Wednesday three weeks out of five.
** Other things your kids might enjoy in and around the city: the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field (car helpful but not necessary), the Boeing "Future of Flight" tour up at the factory in Everett (ditto), the Experience Music Project at the base of the Space Needle, and possibly the Pacific Science Center (no good for 17-year-old, but younger might enjoy).
Here is how I would plan the trip if I were you:
Thursday, July 28: fly SLC-SEA, take light rail or Airporter to in-town hotel. Check in in the afternoon, walk to Pike Place Market, waterfront, etc., relax.
Friday, July 29: check out early, hire car in the city (much cheaper than at the airport). Sign it out until next Tuesday afternoon, August 2. Drive north on I-5, stop to do the Boeing tour, then continue to Anacortes. Drive time: two hours plus Boeing tour time. Get 4:45pm boat to Friday Harbor (join the queue at least two hours ahead of time), check into island accommodation.
Saturday-Sunday, July 30-31: sea kayak thing. Get Sunday late-afternoon ferry back to Anacortes. Instead of driving back to Seattle, drive down Whidbey Island to Coupeville and catch the Coupeville-Port Townsend ferry across to the peninsula. (Shortcut across the top of Puget Sound spares you having to return to Seattle.) Drive about an hour further west to Port Angeles on the US101 and overnight there. This puts you in shooting distance of Forks.
Monday, August 1: Climb Hurricane Ridge for the view; come back down and drive over to Forks; explore; reverse direction and drive back east to Kingston, get a late Kingston-Edmonds ferry to get back off the peninsula, and return to Seattle. Keep car for one night, suffering the parking fee.
Tuesday, August 2: Use car to get over to Bellevue and do nostalgia tour; bring it back to Seattle and turn it in to the in-town agency before dinnertime. Return to hotel. Evening: Mariners play the Oakland A's, 710pm start.
Wednesday, August 3: City attractions on foot or public transport. Museums, Aquarium, dim sum in Chinatown, Space Needle, EMP, parasailing off the waterfront, whatever. Blake Island? Meh.
Thursday, August 4: More of the same; light rail back to Sea-Tac in the late afternoon for flight home.
You didn't say how long a trip you had in mind, but that's eight days... a plan that spares you keeping the car for most of your time in the city.
As for hotels... Priceline isn't a bad bet for in-city accommodation, which runs expensive in the summertime, but with your kids you'll need at least two rooms. With Priceline you cannot specify bed arrangements, they guarantee only that the room will accommodate two people, sometimes in same bed. If you have low risk tolerance but don't want to break the bank on in-city hotels and want somewhere central, consider the Silver Cloud Inns on Lake Union or next door to Safeco Field, or the Ramada on 5th Avenue on the eastern edge of Belltown.
Good Seattle food stops for kids: the Bell Street Diner on the waterfront, or Serious Pie, Tom Douglas' pizza place, on Virginia between 4th and 5th.
Hope that helps!
** If your sea kayak thing kicks off from Friday Harbor ferry pier at 800a Saturday morning, you are best advised to overnight on the island Friday night. Otherwise, on summer Fridays this year there are two early boats from Anacortes to Friday Harbor that will get you there in time, sailing from Anacortes at 4:15am and 6:30am. To start from Seattle and make the former, you'd need to leave a wake-up call for about 1:00am. For the latter... about 3:00am. You'd be better off sailing over there Thursday afternoon.
** You will need to hire a car to get to Friday Harbor.
** Forks is a full day trip and then some all by itself. Unless you attach it to the tail end of your San Juan trip (see further below), you'll have to drive up to Edmonds (about 20 minutes north of Seattle), queue for the Edmonds-Kingston ferry, then Forks is about 2 to 2.5 hours beyond Kingston on US 101. It's a nondescript drive as far as Port Angeles, then beautiful around Crescent Lake and past Neah Bay to Forks. Unless your kids are diehard Twilight fans, think twice about this one... Forks ain't exactly Epcot Center.
** Assuming you are doing this after school is out in June/July/August, and the sea kayak thing eats up Friday-Saturday-Sunday, your Mariners game would have to come Monday through Thursday. Be warned the only M's home game in July on those days is the Rangers on 14 July (Thursday). August is much better, with home games Monday through Wednesday three weeks out of five.
** Other things your kids might enjoy in and around the city: the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field (car helpful but not necessary), the Boeing "Future of Flight" tour up at the factory in Everett (ditto), the Experience Music Project at the base of the Space Needle, and possibly the Pacific Science Center (no good for 17-year-old, but younger might enjoy).
Here is how I would plan the trip if I were you:
Thursday, July 28: fly SLC-SEA, take light rail or Airporter to in-town hotel. Check in in the afternoon, walk to Pike Place Market, waterfront, etc., relax.
Friday, July 29: check out early, hire car in the city (much cheaper than at the airport). Sign it out until next Tuesday afternoon, August 2. Drive north on I-5, stop to do the Boeing tour, then continue to Anacortes. Drive time: two hours plus Boeing tour time. Get 4:45pm boat to Friday Harbor (join the queue at least two hours ahead of time), check into island accommodation.
Saturday-Sunday, July 30-31: sea kayak thing. Get Sunday late-afternoon ferry back to Anacortes. Instead of driving back to Seattle, drive down Whidbey Island to Coupeville and catch the Coupeville-Port Townsend ferry across to the peninsula. (Shortcut across the top of Puget Sound spares you having to return to Seattle.) Drive about an hour further west to Port Angeles on the US101 and overnight there. This puts you in shooting distance of Forks.
Monday, August 1: Climb Hurricane Ridge for the view; come back down and drive over to Forks; explore; reverse direction and drive back east to Kingston, get a late Kingston-Edmonds ferry to get back off the peninsula, and return to Seattle. Keep car for one night, suffering the parking fee.
Tuesday, August 2: Use car to get over to Bellevue and do nostalgia tour; bring it back to Seattle and turn it in to the in-town agency before dinnertime. Return to hotel. Evening: Mariners play the Oakland A's, 710pm start.
Wednesday, August 3: City attractions on foot or public transport. Museums, Aquarium, dim sum in Chinatown, Space Needle, EMP, parasailing off the waterfront, whatever. Blake Island? Meh.
Thursday, August 4: More of the same; light rail back to Sea-Tac in the late afternoon for flight home.
You didn't say how long a trip you had in mind, but that's eight days... a plan that spares you keeping the car for most of your time in the city.
As for hotels... Priceline isn't a bad bet for in-city accommodation, which runs expensive in the summertime, but with your kids you'll need at least two rooms. With Priceline you cannot specify bed arrangements, they guarantee only that the room will accommodate two people, sometimes in same bed. If you have low risk tolerance but don't want to break the bank on in-city hotels and want somewhere central, consider the Silver Cloud Inns on Lake Union or next door to Safeco Field, or the Ramada on 5th Avenue on the eastern edge of Belltown.
Good Seattle food stops for kids: the Bell Street Diner on the waterfront, or Serious Pie, Tom Douglas' pizza place, on Virginia between 4th and 5th.
Hope that helps!
Last edited by BearX220; May 26, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Jun 1, 2011, 9:57 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,719
Jun 2, 2011, 7:39 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Boise, ID
Programs: Virtuoso
Posts: 617
Maybe she will check back in. I know I can't always come back as fast as I would like (although if I am asking for help, I try). Nonetheless, you had great recommendations that anyone could use. I appreciate you.
Jun 3, 2011, 8:52 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 34
Thank you so much!
That was amazing! Thank you so much
I truly did not mean to offend you for not replying sooner.
I actually went out of town last week...our family went camping with
my BIL's family...stayed in a tent trailer in Oakley, Idaho. It was so beautiful! We
didn't have electronics, like laptops, etc., and it was HEAVEN.
We had a few mishaps...like, my husband thought I packed my 7 year old's bag.
And I thought HE packed the 7 year old's bag.
Then, my same 7 year old got sick our last nite. He had a fever and was crying and
whimpering a lot. I was trying to minimize his discomfort so I actually slept him
him in my arms, mainly because my BIL and his family were in tent trailer with us!
BAD IDEA! I woke up with back pain and stiff neck. All week I've been walking
around the house exclaiming "ouch." All while doing the simplest things.
So today is the best I've felt all week, so I was thrilled to see the help that was
obviously well-thought out and posted.
I hope that you are able to read my post and know I appreciate ya!
I truly did not mean to offend you for not replying sooner.
I actually went out of town last week...our family went camping with
my BIL's family...stayed in a tent trailer in Oakley, Idaho. It was so beautiful! We
didn't have electronics, like laptops, etc., and it was HEAVEN.
We had a few mishaps...like, my husband thought I packed my 7 year old's bag.
And I thought HE packed the 7 year old's bag.
Then, my same 7 year old got sick our last nite. He had a fever and was crying and
whimpering a lot. I was trying to minimize his discomfort so I actually slept him
him in my arms, mainly because my BIL and his family were in tent trailer with us!
BAD IDEA! I woke up with back pain and stiff neck. All week I've been walking
around the house exclaiming "ouch." All while doing the simplest things.
So today is the best I've felt all week, so I was thrilled to see the help that was
obviously well-thought out and posted.
I hope that you are able to read my post and know I appreciate ya!
Jun 5, 2011, 11:50 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: somewhere north of London, UK
Programs: HH Gold, BA Silver, Accor Silver
Posts: 15,245
The OP might want to check the Residence Inn at Lake Union too - stayed there a while back with two kids.
Now we have three and are planning a return to SEA in April. Does anyone have hotel recommendations that are close to the light rail (stayed at the CP too, but believe that'll be up a BIG hill from the nearest station) and also well located for the tourist things (near Westlake I guess...)
If the property has a pool that would be great too.
Thanks
Tony
Now we have three and are planning a return to SEA in April. Does anyone have hotel recommendations that are close to the light rail (stayed at the CP too, but believe that'll be up a BIG hill from the nearest station) and also well located for the tourist things (near Westlake I guess...)
If the property has a pool that would be great too.
Thanks
Tony
Jun 6, 2011, 8:26 am
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,719
Now we have three and are planning a return to SEA in April. Does anyone have hotel recommendations that are close to the light rail (stayed at the CP too, but believe that'll be up a BIG hill from the nearest station) and also well located for the tourist things (near Westlake I guess...)
Budget accommodation near Westlake: try the Sixth Avenue Inn (www.sixthavenueinn.com). Used to work on the office building across the street and drink in the bar. Cheap and cheerful. Five-minute walk from the Westlake light rail.
Three-star accommodation: try the Hotel Five on 5th Avenue, about eight minutes' walk from Westlake (www.hotelfiveseattle.com).
Nicer, still near Westlake: the Hotel Monaco (www.monaco-seattle.com) or the Inn at the Market in Pike Place Market (www.innatthemarket.com). Both of those are about five minutes' walk from the light rail station.
There's also the Seattle Westin at 5th and Stewart, very close to Westlake but kind of long in the tooth and full of conventioneers / conferences most of the time. I know it has a pool though:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin...ropertyID=1055
If I had my pick of places near Westlake I'd probably go with the Inn at the Market. I hope that helps!