The kids and I hadn’t been back to Seattle since we moved away last summer. During our first week of summer vacation we made the pilgrimage back to the Emerald City to visit our old stomping grounds.
I have been having some significant issues with my car lately, including a recall for an airbag issue, and was able to drop it off at the dealer while we were in Seattle. After we got my car sorted out, we headed straight for the zoo! Despite being tremendously patient at the car dealership, that is not an adjective I’d use to describe them at the zoo. I’m not quite sure what was going on, but overall, the zoo was surprisingly not a highlight!
Until my cousin Jonathan {and baby Ray!} showed up, that is! He snapped these kids out of their funk and we had a great time. He is just the best – we all adore him. We rode the carousel, the kids got to pick out new stuffies {a giant tiger for Ben and another flamingo for Hannah – her other flamingo needed a brother} and enjoyed the butterfly exhibit. It was really fun being tourists at the zoo.
Next up on our Seattle list was Madison Park Beach. I swung through my favorite cafe nearby for some much needed lunch and coffee before we set up shop on the beach. The kids were in their element having some free-play in the sand.
I couldn’t believe it when Ben called out “this is teacher Shannon’s school!” – he went there as a one and two-year old. Hannah did online preschool with Teacher Shannon, but never got to go in person due to Covid.
Our last stops were in our old neighborhood. We drove past our old house – the kids were so happy to be on our old street. The new owners swapped out the front door – it’s now yellow, and the yard has become quite overgrown.
We were all ready for some ice cream. It was so fun to visit our old favorite ice cream window in our old neighborhood. Molly Moons is just delicious.
On our walk to the park we passed by Ben’s old Montessori school from when he was three. He just loved that school.
I had arranged with some of our good friends who live in our old neighborhood to stop by the park while we were there. Ben and his friend Ali are just the sweetest – they ran so hard and gave each other the biggest of hugs when we arrived. Sadly I didn’t get any pictures of Ben and his friends.
We had a really nice time catching up with old friends, having a picnic in the park with food from one of our absolute favorite Seattle restaurants and enjoying the Seattle sunshine.
We had a wonderful day visiting some of our favorite spots from when we lived in the city. That said, I don’t miss living in Seattle with kids one tiny little bit. I was quickly reminded of the everyday stressors of city living and am so, so, so very happy that we ditched the city. But – I’ll always be happy to visit! 🙂