Growing up in a world of adventure.
There are so many reasons to travel:
Travel also opens up my mind to the new, to change, to better myself, to realize, and see that there might be a different way to do things.
A friend of a friend, not a parent herself, taught me how to be a better mom.
Only she doesn’t even know it.
What is it with 3 and 1/2 year-olds and treasures? Is this a thing? Maybe its just our little guy, but lately all he can talk about is treasures, from finding treasures to receiving them as a reward. The good news? Anything can be a treasure. So as long as we call it such, anything can have the potential of being special to him. The bad news? Since everything has the potential to be a treasure, we can spend a lot of time waiting around for a lollygagging preschooler investigating every nook and cranny along our way.
Sometimes it all works out though, like during our visit to the arboretum this past weekend. As soon as Bergen was “released” from the jogging stroller to walk on his own, he requested the use of one of the bags we’d brought along for the dog’s (ahem) deposits. I credited him for his smart thinking! He declared that he was going to search for treasures, and then for the next mile or so, he picked up anything that happened to catch his eye. Rocks, sticks, leaves, blades of grass…they all went in the bag.
If you’re looking for a way to focus walks and hikes with your young children, you might just think about bringing a bag along for collecting! It’s easy, doesn’t require a whole lot of pre-planning, and Bergen was more than willing to toss the treasures back when our walk was complete.
While Bergen was focused on finding treasures, I had the chance to admire early spring in the arboretum. Yes, while the east coast is suffering through snow, ice, and bitter cold, we are experiencing abundant sunshine, flowers in bloom, warmer temperatures, and even (it seems to me) more active wildlife.
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Places often remain wonderful in mind because I haven’t quite discovered all they have to offer. The mystery and unknown give me reason to come back and explore. Magic remains.
Seattle’s Discovery Park is one example. Maybe its because we usually fall into the same routine: Parking in the same area, hiking down the same stairs toward the beach, walking along the same stretch of shore. Still beautiful, but I always knew there was more.
For this visit, I switched it up and we saw several aspects of the park that I’ve never seen. And because of that I have an even greater appreciation for the place. Even better, as you might expect my two little adventurers were also along for the ride, and for one of them (Georgia, 2 months) this was her very first visit.
I’d heard that there was an indoor learning space here, but never visited myself. So to make sure we had a chance check it out, I made it our starting point. The center proved to be a great spot to get our nature juices flowing. The space is filled with books, puppets, and tons of other hands on materials for little ones to investigate before or after heading off on an outdoor adventure.
Travel with a brand-new baby, unless absolutely necessary, isn’t something we planned to do right away. We planned to take it easy, one day at a time, and gauge the new addition’s temperament and needs. We thought we might venture out, but nothing got written down on the calendar, if you know what I mean.
The thing is though, we’re still those same people who love to explore and stay active even when a tiny bundle is around. Once the family visits had died down, and we had a free weekend, we thought we might as well try out a day trip.
Tacoma isn’t too far, under an hour’s drive from our home in Seattle, and we had on our bucket list to visit the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. We’re members of our own Woodland Park Zoo, but we were curious as to what was happening “down south” and knew it was an outing the whole family could handle.
What would you do if you were stuck between a Cougar and a Tiger?
…SQUAK!
A little joke that gets tossed around in the outdoor world as an answer for why Squak Mountain has such a name since it is situated between Cougar Mountain (to the West), and Tiger Mountain (to the East).
I don’t exactly know the real reason for the name–I believe it has to do with the native people of the region–but we did go on a sweet little hike here this past weekend and found our time to be a perfectly pleasant family adventure.
Before welcoming our newest family member into the world, we had one last travel adventure as a family of three. It was important to use to spend some quality time together just before our lives turned upside down with new routines, a new normal, and new responsibilities.
Some time away brought a chance to bond and strengthen our unit, which inevitably brought along a lot of refection as well as anticipation.
What will one more member do to our dynamic?
Surely it could only get better.
Are you a New Year’s resolution person? This year, I created more of a mantra rather than lofty goals as I figure I have enough “new” on my plate adding another little person to our world.
Always in the back of my mind (and that of my husband Slaed’s) though is budgeting and saving money. Also of great importance and a major focus of our life? Our family’s mission to get out, experience, and explore. Can you guess one of the ways we accomplish both?
We’ve sung the praises of the Chinook Book before, and I’m so happy to be back again this year. All that we love about “the book” remains, but this year there are several new features that make the product (or “tool” as we like to think of it) even better and even more suitable for active families. That’s why I’m excited to share that we get to give away SIX Chinook Book mobile apps to 6 lucky readers!
The Chinook Book (print and mobile app versions) is a coupon book containing loads of valuable saving opportunities on dining, entertainment, recreation, groceries, and more. The print version has coupons that are cut out and simply presented to the merchant at the time of purchase.
The mobile version works as a downloaded app on your phone (or mobile device). Pull the coupon up on your phone or mobile device and show the merchant your screen. A couple of clicks & your discount is applied!
We’ve only had the 2015 Chinook Book and app for a few weeks now, but we’ve ready put it to good use saving on coffee, lunch, and a visit to our local drug store. The most memorable savings event though was a recent trip to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma. With the free youth or tot admission with the purchase of an adult admission, Bergen was able to visit the zoo and aquarium at no charge.
While we are members of the Woodland Park Zoo in our home city of Seattle, we’d never taken Bergen (or Georgia) to our “sister zoo” to the south. We loved the opportunity to see a different set of animals with such a large focus on sealife. The walruses were some of the most memorable animals for our family. We still can’t get over their massive size! Getting to watch the tiger cubs romp and play was pretty special too!
6 Mobile Subscription Packs will be given away! Contest ends and all entries must be received by Friday, 1/30/15 at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time. Winners will be chosen at random and notified on Monday, 2/2/15. Giveaway open to U.S. residents 18 years or older. After notification, winners have 3 days to connect. Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact me!
Many thanks to Chinook Book-Seattle & Puget Sound for providing print and mobile packs for giveaway and review. All opinions about the books and app are my own.
Just for the fun of it, to make New Year’s eve a little bit more eventful and exciting for a couple of exhausted parents of a newborn, we took a ferry boat ride.
While on a mini getaway in Long Beach, Washington this past summer in celebration of our 5-year wedding anniversary, coupled with our little guy’s 3rd birthday, we found that the town is great for walking.
With the honeymoon phase of quiet, kid-free mornings due to our little guy (now 3 years-old) being an unusually late sleeper now officially over, we are looking at the bright side.
Yes, he used to sleep until 9, 9:30, even 10 (talk about being spoiled) o’clock in the morning, and still manage (and need) a 2-hour nap in the afternoon. Now that he’s transitioned to a regular bed though, the late mornings are a distant memory. Maybe it’s his new found freedom of being able to get out on his own. Maybe it’s an age thing. Maybe the change of space changed his mindset. Regardless, we are adjusting.
As I was saying, the bright side is…more time for adventure! We can now mange a decent hike, a decent distance away from home, and still be able to return for nap time.
Franklin Falls near Snoqualmie Pass (about an hour’s drive from Seattle) is just on the verge of being too far for a morning excursion. As long as we get into gear early enough and pack a lunch to enjoy en route, it’s possible to accomplish.
On this particular early October day, we found the trail (2 miles out and back) to be filled with mushrooms. Vibrant colors and so many different varieties, thanks to the tiny fungi spotter, we probably stopped and viewed nearly every single specimen available that day.
Catching up with friends and family over coffee or a meal is nice and all—I love a fresh steaming hot cup of coffee and food always seems to be on my brain, especially these days. A couple weeks ago though, I realized there’s an even better way to reconnect when it’s been a while since you’ve seen your loved one (or even if it hasn’t actually been that long)…
A whole lot of new adventure happened during our recent short visit to Long Beach along Washington State’s coast, but one of the most memorable happenings for me was just a simple, peaceful walk along the shore.
