24th June, 2018

We kicked off our American-Canadian Roadtrip in the beautiful Seattle. Sadly, I didn’t spot Christian Grey, and trust me when I say it wasn’t for lack of trying…

After a huge 20+ hour travel day from Hawaii, including a 6 hour stopover in Phoenix, we needed a day or so to chill and recoup before heading out to explore.
I had two bags of laundry to get through and the kids had some school work to finish, so we spent some time resting, catching up on domestics and mapping out our route from Seattle and beyond.

We sorted out a rental car from Enterprise Car Rentals, big props to the team at Kent Enterprise for their fabulous customer service. We are cruising in a brand new Ford Edge SUV which is the perfect size for us and all of our luggage.

Our stint in Seattle was short and sweet, but we managed to see quite a bit in our few days there.
The waterfront is just beautiful and thankfully we had perfect weather and were able to really make the most of our time.

We headed to the famous Pike Place Market which overlooks Elliott Bay on the waterfront. It reminded me a lot of South Melbourne Market. Loads of fresh produce – fruit, vegetables, fish, flowers and more. A great atmosphere and definitely a must see if visiting Seattle.

Under Pike Place, on Post Alley, is the Market Theater Gum Wall – equal parts cool and gross!!
The wall began having gum added to it in 1993 and has become a huge tourist attraction ever since. It was completely scraped down in November 2015, and is now totally covered again.

Of course we couldn’t pass up the chance to step foot into the first EVER Starbucks store – established in 1971. Located conveniently right opposite the Market.
If I am honest, I have never really been a Starbucks drinker, being so spoilt in Australia with many great coffee shops. Since travelling however, Starbucks seems to be the closest thing I can get to Melbourne coffee and I always know what I am going to get!

We found a fantastic play park for the kids located right next to the Museum of Pop Culture. The building was absolutely incredible!
It was around 8.30pm, the sun was setting – the colours were amazing!!

Seattle has so much to offer for travelling families – museums, galleries, bike rides, play parks, ferris wheel, tracking down the Foo Fighters and so much more.
If you’re heading to the west coast – definitely consider adding it into your itinerary.

Next stop, CANADA!!!

Big love,
Cxx