When we left Portland, we decided to drive to Seattle indirectly, by way of Cannon Beach. The trip was a beautiful one, lined with Oregon spruce, which eventually led to the cold, rocky coast. It was in the 50s when we arrived, and I thought the kids would be less than enthusiastic about such a cold beach. But as soon as they saw the shore, they ran for it, chasing gulls, skipping, splashing in the tide pools and reaching out to touch the jellies that had washed ashore. 

The prominence of Haystack Rock made Cannon Beach one of our most memorable spots, and an awesome place for photos. Our time there was cut short by a pouring rain, but a restaurant was close by and we enjoyed the view from a cozier spot over another great Oregon lunch. 

Doug and Jean Taylor and their three children, Maggie (19), Fiona (17) and Logan (14) were our hosts in Seattle. When we arrived at their home, the kids were delighted to have “big kids” to play with, and we were happy to sit back and watch them. After a wonderful home-cooked meal, we took in the amazing view of the Puget Sound from the Taylors’ house and made plans for the following days. 

In Seattle, we did a lot of laundry. 

We also went up in what Peter called the “Space Noodle” and spied a pretty creative-looking playground while we were there. Once down the elevator, we found it, and the kids played for almost two hours, climbing giant webs of rope and finding a way to meet up once everyone got to the top so they could slide down together. It was really fun to watch them in their own element, and to see them take care of each other and cheer one another on at the top. 

When they’d finally had enough, and after we promised that we could come back to the playground again the next day, we hopped on the monorail to go further downtown to Pike’s fish and farmer’s market. The kids were more into ice cream than fish (although we did see one guy catch a 20 lb salmon, which was pretty cool), and after they’d each gotten a scoop of sherbet, we took the bus back to Magnolia, the Taylor’s neighborhood.

It was such a gift to be able to return to a home, rather than a hotel room, and to be surrounded by such a great group of people once we got there. The Taylor kids make living with teenagers seem pretty wonderful, and their care for our kids and for us made us want to sit at the feet of Doug and Jean to learn a few things about parenting. Staying with them was a joy. 

The following day, we watched the National Parks IMAX at the Pacific Science Center and explored the museum, which included a lot of hands-on experiments the kids enjoyed. Afterwards, we returned to the playground, where they played for another hour, and then walked to the Chihuly museum and gardens. 

When we asked Peter, later, what his favorite part of the day was, he said “the crystals,” making a museum I thought might be more for me than anyone well worth the cost of admission. All three kids were completely entranced by the glass sculptures. 

That night, we went to dinner with the Taylors and they took us to their favorite spot to view the city, where we managed to get a few good photos. 

On our last day in Seattle, we spent a good bit of the morning hanging out with the Taylors before going to the tree-canopied Woodland Park Zoo. The gorillas, orangutans, penguins, hippos and bears – all animals missing from the Nashville Zoo – delighted the children. A baby gorilla named Yola, who was carefully shepherded and closely watched by her mother in the well-developed exhibit, made the greatest impression. 

We have been so lucky with weather everywhere we’ve been on this trip, and Seatte was no exception. We fully expected to explore the city known for dreary weather in pouring rain, or at least a cold drizzle, but it was sunny and warm every day we were there. 

As we drove off on Saturday morning for Vancouver, it was misty and cool, and it was beginning to sprinkle, so we knew our time there must be up.