Rather than taking a flight as we normally do, we decided to ride the train. I have amazing memories of numerous train journeys that I took with my family in India, and I wanted to create similar ones for my children. I was a bit apprehensive of the length of our journey (close to 24 hours), but decided to go for it anyway. It was a good decision. Even though we faced delays, we all thoroughly enjoyed our journey.
The best part was that the kids made friends with 2 girls who were traveling with their dad, and got ample time to play and bond with them. They did art, sang songs, played I spy, ran up and down and across compartments, spent time in the lounge, ate snacks and even napped at the same time. We enjoyed the pretty vistas and the ocean views as well, but making new friends was the highlight of their train ride.
We also rode the ducks of Seattle - an amphibian craft that rides on land as well as water. The kids were amazed when our bus turned into a boat and splashed into Lake Union on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. We saw many float planes take off and land right in front of us. Combined with the awesome music and energy of the fellow passengers, it was an experience to remember!
We spent an afternoon at Lake Sammamish State Park, and took the kids pedal boating. It was their first experience of boating, and it was our first time with both kids on a boat and no one else to assist. Even though the daughter was very apprehensive of getting in, soon after we got into the lake, she said she never wanted this boat ride to end :) {after all, we were pedaling, not them ;)}. The son wanted to jump around and splash water, and we had a hard time getting him to stay put on his seat....but he thoroughly enjoyed himself as well. It was an hour very well spent as a family.
On our last day in Seattle, we visited Alki Beach. It was a sooper hot day and there is no shade whatsoever on this beach. Rather than getting roasted in the heat, we decided to rent the Surrey. We biked the entire beach until we got to the end and were treated with magnificent views of the Seattle Skyline. The kids rode in the front seat, ringing a bell whenever they saw a pedestrian ahead of us. Once we were back, we bought them snocones which helped them cool down. I highly recommend this experience if you happen to be in the area.
I was chatting with the daughter on our flight back about these modes of transport, and I could see the happiness on her face while she recollected our outings. The smiles continued when they went back to school and shared it with their teacher and friends.
All these new experiences, combined with our long car rides to get to our destinations, made it a very memorable trip for us!
