I’ve done my best to take CJ on an adventure trip most years beginning in 2015. For Christmas, I told him that he got to pick anywhere in the U.S. for this year’s trip. A couple months and some list-narrowing later, he opted for Seattle. I was not mad about this.

Had I thought about how gosh dang expensive it is to fly and stay in Seattle prior? Absolutely not! But listen. The joy I have in being able to plan for and have these adventures is basically priceless. And I have a senior now which means that we may not have these mom and son opportunities for much longer. That is, unless he is cool with driving miss daisy to and fro and that is also fine with me.

Also? These poor kids’ summers are basically consumed with sports and jobs and trips and now college visits. That meant that finding a good time would be challenging so we landed on the week immediately after school. We got back Thursday morning after taking a red eye and my heart could not have been fuller after a packed three days.

I’ll try not to share absolutely everything but also, I get to do what I want here. So, grab your favorite beverage and can come along with us. Or not. You can also see a lot of what we did in pictures because you know I do not travel without my camera, unless we’re on bikes.

We headed to Detroit Sunday afternoon for an evening flight. I had hoped that it would give us just a bit of daylight when we landed and an opportunity to get to our home away from home, settle in and crash. It also made for some daylight mountain viewing as we crossed the Rockies, which was unplanned and awesome. We stayed right in the middle of the city which was completely perfect save for some sirens, people yelling and a centrally-located monorail which runs until 11 p.m. Who needs a full night’s sleep? The place truly was awesome and made for a perfect home base during the day if we needed a quick break. It even had a bidet. And yes, we can confirm that’s an interesting feature.

Day 1

I was up bright and early most days so I took a walk and got myself acquainted with where we were. It helped me feel a bit more at ease with having some of the streets down before we would go out together. Because we wouldn’t be here long, we grabbed a few goodies that first day at Whole Foods and thankfully, they had some awesome breakfast options Connor could have so we were off to a great start. And, we were literally next to a coffee shop which is basically all I need anywhere. Although I do like to try different shops so we only stopped the first morning before heading out for the day.

I had built a rough itinerary but always want to be flexible because having it all figured out is actually not fun (for me). However, I did know there were a number of things not to be missed. I had a work friend give me some great ideas (along with a couple of locals sharing the ‘must see’ Seattle things) and two of those included bike trails and kayaking. I found a place not far from the kayaking that we could rent bikes so we decided to do a tour to see a number of the sights and landing up at the kayak place so we could hit Lake Union in the middle of the city. We headed south first as the bike dudes shared that the University of Washington campus wasn’t far and that also proved to include some great views. It’s a stunning campus and Mt. Rainier was perfectly framed near its center. After, we headed back north and hit Gasworks Park which overlooks the lake and the city before heading further north to the Chittenden Locks so we could cross and ride over (actually up) to Discovery Park.

Our one major blunder was when I saw a sign that allowed you to pick a trail or a road to get to the lighthouse within the park. The trail was actually a trail … and not rideable. So we carried the bikes down some stairs and I prayed fervently that it wouldn’t be too much longer because dear Lord in Heaven, that was unpleasant. Especially after you consider that much of the city includes some decent (read: insane) hills. The beach and lighthouse were totally worth it, though.

After the park visit, we headed south back towards the city along the Elliott Bay Trail and rode down near the various pier stops and to the stadiums. It’s so fun to see how excited CJ gets to even look inside. It’s the little boy joy that comes out to be able to see the field where the Seahawks play, even if he doesn’t like them. We were pretty well starved at that point so CJ used his handy dandy ‘Find me GF’ app which we’ve had the best luck with over the years and found a Mod Pizza in town to grab a bite before we were going to head back across the Fremont Bridge and to the kayak rental.

I wasn’t quite prepared for how many people would pass us on their bikes like we were sitting still. I don’t consider myself slow but clearly, we don’t ride as often as some. At one point, though, I told Connor let’s not miss what’s along the way just because we’re anxious to get to the destination. That statement hit me a lot harder after I said it. So often, we get caught up in getting to the end that we miss the beauty of the journey and so I quit caring about all of those faster folks and just enjoyed the ride. Because everything was beautiful.

I forgot to mention I’ve never kayaked before. I’m also thanking God that CJ couldn’t rent his own because he isn’t 18 yet. I hadn’t known that prior but it worked out perfectly because we got a double and my fears were immediately removed. I also forgot to mention we had some stiff winds that day so some of our bike trip was likely more challenging than it may have normally been and the ride out to Lake Union on the kayaks was also not easy. Two for the win! We got to get up close to a four-story yacht that we learned was owned by the Blackberry guy (despite it’s demise the man is clearly set; go look that up) and also got some great waterfront views of the city. Entirely worth it.

After kayaking, I had wanted to check out the Fremont neighborhood and so we rode up that way prior to returning the bikes. I cannot lie. We passed what I believed to be the main section of the neighborhood and CJ guided us up a hill that I actually had to stop a couple times on because my 43-year-old body was telling me it’d had enough. We made it to the top though and you know what that means? It’s all downhill from there. And this is a good thing. Before we returned the bikes, we stopped to see the Fremont Troll which was another ‘you have to see this thing.’ We got the bikes back and got a bus back to our place (I also was not familiar with the bus system but I like to try all the transit options. At least I paid for that one. Sorry to the earlier driver.)

After riding more than a marathon, we called it a day and ate in that night. We agreed that the bike trip was a stellar start to the trip.

This was our route:

I only had my phone that day but I did get to capture lots of fun things along the way.

Day 2

We both slept better Monday night which I can only imagine was aided by the ridiculous level of tired we were. We knew that we wanted to hit the major city sights the second day. Most didn’t open until 10 so we grabbed our breakfast and headed out first to the Olympic Sculpture Park. I didn’t realize that there is another installation of Calder’s work in Seattle but apparently he’s from there so they win? Either way, that felt like a slice of home. We weren’t there too long before walking down by the waterfront en route to the Public Market Center (or Pike but NOT Pike’s Place. seriously, people will get mad). I recalled this as one of my favorite stops when I visited the city prior for work. The energy, the flowers and the fish-throwing are just so fun.

We wandered around and I got to see my favorite flowers and we also got to witness a fish toss gone bad. Like, guts. And then they threw the guts back. All in a day’s work, I guess. I had to take CJ to see the ‘gum wall’ and he was not as impressed. I guess it was gross. I actually can’t believe how much it’s grown since my last visit. Like, how much gum can you pile on buildings? Do people live in those buildings? Does it smell like gum? These are my questions.

The very next stop had to be coffee because, hi, it’s me. I’d heard that Arrowhead was some of the best and given it’s across the street from the ‘original’ Starbucks which has lines to the corner, it seemed perfect. And it was. I’d also read that the Seattle Public Library was worth a quick visit. So we headed uphill (like, four times) to check that out. Aside from the creepy quiet and insulated ceiling (it’s a library, CHILD), CJ was impressed. We went up as far as we could and then headed back down the inner stairwell. When I say miles of books, I’m not kidding. It was pretty incredible. After a quick stop at home, we walked back north to the Space Needle. Now, many say it’s overrated. CJ is not one of them. It was a perfectly clear day which doesn’t happen often and it gave us the opportunity to see both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker. The views were spectacular and I took the bold move of sticking my phone outside the glass window to make sure we captured all of it.

Our dual-pass ticket gave us access to the Chihuly Glass Museum. I’d recalled seeing his work once in the past but to see the myriad of styles and the process of glass blowing being demo’d outside was totally worth it. Since we were planning on checking out the Museum of Pop Culture next, we grabbed food in the Armory on the campus. And, because we are so creative, we ate Mod Pizza. Again. I spiced it up with a Starbucks from next door. Likely the only bummer for me of the whole trip was the MoPOP. The exterior is ridiculously fun to look at but the inside just left a bit to be desired. My favorite part was probably the Hip Hop exhibit because I felt like it was the late 90’s/early 2000’s again. The worst part for both of us was the horror exhibit. We are not fans.

We’d agreed that we wanted to catch a sunset that night and one of the local bloggers had referred me to Kerry Park about a mile from where we were staying. So, we headed back home, took a quick reprieve and found a local spot called the Yard House where CJ could get a burger with a gluten free bun. I work super hard to always find fun options for him and it’s been such a blessing as he’s gotten older that he’s opened up to other things. When we can find beef and rice, he’s a happy camper. And the Yard House delivered. After, we hit the monorail that goes by our windows to stopping by the Space Needle and so we could trek on foot the rest of the way to the park. It would save us a few steps at least. All I can say is that Kerry Park was totally worth the (another one) uphill climb. There were quite a few people there to watch the city light up with the setting sun with Mt. Rainier in the background. The view is made better because you are high enough to see all of it without having to be in the Space Needle.

We got the downhill gift back as it got dark and after a needed Magic Eraser purchase, settled in for the night.

Day 3

I had a tentative day three plan but decided that CJ could make the call. We had to be on our way to the airport at roughly 4:30 so that was our only ‘must do’ for the day. I’d shared with him that I’d originally wanted to get to Bainbridge Island via ferry since that meant we could get out on the water and enjoy views of the city while also seeing an entirely new place. Reading up on it, it seemed much like Mackinac Island (without all the horses, as CJ would note). He had talked about the aquarium at one point but ultimately decided the island sounded fun. Plus, I think we were ready to give our legs a break. We oped for an earlier ferry so we grabbed a light breakfast and then I stumbled upon a biscuit place in our app that was right along the way that made GF biscuits. I think that may have been CJ’s favorite meal. Think Grandma’s homemade biscuits (the kind you slather with gravy).

The ferry transports cars, bikes and people over to the island and the fee was nominal. The awesome part is that most transit options in Seattle are free for those under 18 so I just had to pay my way (except for that one bus ride. seriously. i will feel guilt about that for all of ever. HOWEVER, i have an orca card i thought i could use as an online ticket headed here for … a future ride. so actually, i did pay. guilt removed.)

The ride out to the island was a bit chilly but also awesome. We could see the city in full view and although Mt. Rainier was a bit less visible that morning; it was still beautiful. I swear it got larger every time we saw it. I became minorly obsessed.

We didn’t have any major plan for the island other than to wander and see some shops. Oh, and get coffee. Because, hello! We found THE best place and they also had gluten free donuts. I hope my child is happy. That’s all.

We headed uphill and talked about how everything was uphill this trip to a park where we got into some nature-y things and it literally felt like hiking at home. Heading back into the main part of town, we stopped at a couple places including the local art museum which I hope (?) was under some kind of construction because it was … sparse. But honestly, my favorite part of the island was the conversation we had along the way. Those of you with teenagers likely know that the best talks happen when you’re not facing each other but riding or walking or boating or … you get it. He can’t ever know how much those chats mean to me.

CJ had still wanted to stop and grab some Seattle souvenirs for his lovely lady. He’s just thoughtful like that. So we hopped back on the ferry after grabbing another coffee (this time iced and decaf because I am civilized) and talked to a local about her time growing up on the island. It sounded so much like every other person who knew a place that was home that turned into a tourist-infested land. I felt conflicted about my status in that moment.

The trip back was warm and comical. There were young women everywhere and from the conversations we could hear, I told CJ I’m so thankful I have a man child. I also had to chuckle when we were in line because there were three young women behind us and I realized I had forgotten my coffee (like, how) and CJ offered to go get it. I heard one of them whisper, ‘no. that’s his mom.’ And for a moment I wondered if they thought I was a teenager from behind and my day got better. I also realized that they could appreciate a very handsome young man.

We noticed some kind of fire as the skyline came back into view which made for some cool shots but also some worry. Thankfully, I believe it was only a brush fire after some news-digging. We arrived safely back and stopped at a couple of shops before grabbing lunch and doing our final packing. I’d already had some tears that morning sharing with CJ that the time had flown and I didn’t want to rush the day but I knew it was coming to an end and that made me just so sad. He’s the most fun travel partner and actually, it was so apparent this trip how responsible and caring he is. I had to tell him a couple times to stop worrying about the things I should be worried about. But, he just cares. And, I’m thankful for his navigation skills as he got us around on most of our bike trip.

The trip home was easy save for a delayed flight out of Seattle to Salt Lake City which required we run to our gate to make the red eye home. But the view of Mt. Rainier (you know I love her!) along the way was literally everything. It was like the cherry on top of this amazing whirlwind of an adventure. That, and seeing CJ sleep on our drive back from Detroit. His dad has told me to wear him out (in short) and I think I succeeded. The same was true for me.

Here’s what I want to leave you with (if you made it this far, I’ll buy YOU a coffee): There is something special about one-on-one trips. I know many of you have more than one kiddo. And you are likely married. BUT, that doesn’t mean you can’t find opportunities to plan something special with each of them. It doesn’t need to be a trip across the country. There really is so much beauty not far from you. I promise. But take the time. You’ll learn so much about them. And you. And you won’t regret any of it. And don’t miss what’s along the way. Stop for the photos. For the coffee. For the treats that make their heart happy. Because it’s in those moments that you’ll learn to appreciate the present no matter where you are. (And you might cry like I do and it’s FINE.)