May 26-June 2, 2018

Lake Pleasant RV Park- We parked here while on the Cruise, but had to move once we returned. This park had hiking trails right behind our spot which were filled with Salmonberries. I picked some on a morning walk and brought them back to put on top of a bowl of cereal.

Valley Camp RV Park- Near North Bend

We had this lovely place reserved for the week but upon arrival we found no internet service. The owners were kind, understanding and allowed us to cancel our stay. We slept there because we had already pre-purchased our IMAX tickets for Solo. We took advantage of our afternoon without internet and went for a hike right behind our RV spot, I taught the girls embroidering and we saw Solo at the theater near town.

When we were leaving we witnessed an 18 wheeler get stuck and try to maneuver his way out.

 

Tall Chief Campground

We were lucky to find a spot at Tall Chief which is an Encore property (which means you have to be a member). They allow last minute non-members stay so we never can use them because we plan so far in advance. We were given a choice of campsites. After trying the first one, realized that because we didn’t have full hook ups we needed to be near the showers so we moved. We loved our huge spot! This place had a pool (it was cold but they got in twice) and a mini golf course.

We replaced the girls mattresses while here; ordered foam gel cool topper ones from Amazon and cut them with an electric knife.

 

We had fun playing mini golf, Abby got a hole in one!

Seattle Center- space needle, fountain, science museum, Chuly glass museum, MoPop

The Outside of the The MoPop (Museum of Pop Culture). This might be the coolest museum building we’ve seen. The locals call it the EMP because that was the name until they changed it this year. Our limo driver recommend we visit since we mentioned being be Star Wars fans. I looked it up on the NARM list and it was on there so we’d be able to visit it for free under our museum travel membership. We decided to visit on the day we visited the Science Museum instead of doing the Space Needle (because of a Memorial Day festival the line for the Space needle was insanely long). When I flashed my museum membership card at the ticket counter, I was told they just removed their name from the NARM reciprocal list. I asked to speak to the manager because they are on the list I have printed off. Apparently, the NARM just updated their list at the end of March and sure enough they aren’t on there anymore. I had printed the list in January and thought it was good for the whole 2018 year. Need less to say, they allowed us to enter for free. This was a great value because it would have cost $94 for us to visit and we would not have gone. Now that I’ve been through it, I think it’s worth it but do allow more than the 2 hours we allotted. We felt rushed. If you aren’t into Science Fiction or Music then skip it.

 

Inside of the MoPop.

It’s divided into sections based on genres of movies or music. The Fantasy section had lots of Harry Potter props; as well as Wizard of OZ and Golden Compass.

The Science Fiction section was our favorite because of the vast Star Trek collection. They showed the timeline from the beginning and all the costumes. They had clips from the original shows and movies. Chris and I grew up watching these and loved them. That night we started the new Star Trek movie series with the girls. I think they enjoyed them as well. Of course the Star Wars props were cool to see in person as well.

There was a Horror section in which the girls didn’t know many of the movies or shows represented but Chris and I thought it was neat to see some of the props, especially the ear necklace that Daryl wore from The Walking Dead.

 

 

Between the MoPop and the Armory (food court) is a cool playground, definitely check it out if you are visiting with kids.

The Fountain in the middle of the Seattle Center during the festival. It was a little cool to get wet but Chris did challenge the girls to walk around it and try not to get wet. They both had wet shoes but not much else. We ate a funnel cake while they played.

 

We took the Alweg monorail to Pikes Place market from Seattle Center. Since we had already paid $25 to park we decided it may be easier and cheaper to ride the monorail. The monorail is a historic landmark. It was built in 1962 for the World’s Fair. It runs every 10 minutes and costs $5 round trip for Adults and only $2 for children.

 

 

Pikes Place Market

One of the must do’s at the Market is stop to see flying fish at the Pike Place Fish Market, where employees throw fish to each other rather than passing them by hand. When a customer orders a fish, an employee standing at the front of the fish table picks up the fish and throws it over the countertop, where another employee catches it and preps it.  The flying fish have appeared on many tv shows and movies.

 

The home to the first Starbucks, well kinda. The first Starbucks Coffee store, founded in 1971, was originally located at 2000 Western Avenue. In 1977 it moved one block away to 1912 Pike Place where it has been in continuous operation ever since. It has the original logo on the outside of the building.

 

The Gum Wall in Post Alley.

People starting sticking gum outside the Theater in 1993, workers scraped the gum away twice, but eventually gave up. A few years later it became an official tourist attraction- people even have their bridal pictures taken in front of it- image walking in your wedding dress down a back alley and standing in front of the germiest places in the world. In 2015, for the first time in 20 years, the gum wall was scrubbed down for maintenance on the bricks for the integrity of the building. They were worried about the sugar eroding the bricks. It took 130 hours and they threw away over 2,000 pounds of gum. The day they completed the cleaning, gum started to be added again. I can’t believe that was 2 1/2 years ago and there are already this much gum. 

 

 

We took Abby to see a pediatric orthopedic doctor at Children’s Heath Care of Seattle to check her spine out. We are happy to report she is doing fine. While there I weighed and measured Mackenzie’s height for her ‘well check’.

 

Back at the Seattle Center-

Science Center Indoor Butterfly Garden, we all had our annual eye exam 20/15 (two naturally and two cosmetically) for all of us, participated in a cool virtual reality exhibit and Mackenzie brushed up on her origami while Abby built a rocket.

 

The Wall of Failure was an enlightening exhibit at the Science Museum. Showcased here are famous people and their story of how they failed before they succeeded. Abby wants to be an author so she is pictured here with JK Rowling.

Memorial Day Festival – We walked out of the Science Museum and, much to our surprise, a huge festival was taking place for Memorial Day Weekend. We grabbed lunch and sat down on the lawn at the base of the Space Needle to eat while watching dancers perform on the stage. I looked over at one point and saw a Mammogram van and immediately thought it was a sign. My breast doctor had called a few times to get me to schedule my annual mammogram and I had not called back because I needed to find a place to make the appointment. When we travel to a new place every week, it is difficult to get appointments when you need them. So for the first time ever, I had a mammogram in a van. I guess when you live in a van down by the river, having a mammogram in a van at a festival isn’t that crazy.

 

We celebrate Mackenzie’s actual Birthday at the Seattle Space Needle. She chose MOD’s Pizza for her birthday dinner. And then an ice cream truck for dessert.

The Space Needle (created for the world’s fair in 1962) is being renovated so we could only walk around 3/4 of the circle at the top. They have replaced the wire fencing with clear glass floor, bench and windows so you can see so much more. Mackenzie and I get a thrill of standing on the edge and leaning on the tilted glass looking down 520 feet. We felt as if we were floating.

 

After going up the Space Needle and eating pizza for M’s birthday, we walked back to the parking garage to have our happy bubble popped. Rouge One (the Jeep) had been violated. My parents taught me at a young age to be aware of your surroundings so since I could drive I have always be very aware of my car when I approach it in a parked location. I always check the inside to be sure no one is in it and since I’ve had children that can get in the car themselves I check the sides of the car before we approach. So when we walked up on the Jeep in the garage I immediately saw the slashed rear jeep window. I had been warned when I bought a soft top that this was a possibility but I wanted to be able to take the top off easily. I also had planned for it to be mostly garage kept and just driving it around my hometown. When we decided to take this adventure and tow the Jeep, the opportunities for it to be broken into jumped exponentially. They stole our survival backpack that we keep everything we would need in the case of an emergency. I searched for surveillance cameras and the trash cans surrounding the area but found noting. I was thankful it was only the slit not he plastic and not the glass. I was able to order a new window and have it ready at the next location in Spokane, WA. Easy peasy. The insurance covered it and most of the personal property lost.

 

What’s really frustrating is that when I called the Seattle police they have a message that basically says that they have such a high rate of crime you have to go online and fill out the online report to give your insurance but the won’t do anything about it unless you have captured the perpetrator. If I had the perpetrator, I wouldn’t need their help and I’d be wearing a badge myself. I filled out the report and then I researched the crime rates in Seattle. There are 300-400 car break-ins a month. Research the rest if you are interested. I will point out the homeless population in Seattle is the worst we have seen it on our travels. LA and San Fran were bad but here they allow tents on the sidewalks any and everywhere. They aren’t confined to ‘tent cities’ like we have seen in other cities. We read that people could live in their tents on the sidewalk for a year before they’d make them move.

I know several people that have said Seattle is their favorite city. I do not share that opinion. We made some good memories and saw the touristy things but I have no desire to ever visit again.

We visited Snoqualah falls on our way out of town to Spokane. See next post.