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Spotlight: Seattle Whirligig!
For the next month, the circus-themed Whirligig event offers a dry escape on rainy Seattle days. The Center is now full of 10 bounce houses – a few gentle ones for children under age 3, many enormous houses for older kids. Face painters turn regular children into princesses and Spider-Men, cartoonists create pics of mom-and-kid duos and live entertainment lights up the Center House’s stage. Here are a few tips we gleaned from the staff: Stash cash. Tickets or passes can only be bought with cash. There is an ATM machine available, but it might be best to bring cash with you. Buy passes ($7.50). The tickets just go too quickly…
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Tofino with Kids … er, a Baby
Vancouver-based mom Elaina Spring Eden, husband and adorable 9-month-old daughter Ava just traipsed off to Tofino, BC for almost a week. Tofino — located off the west shore of Vancouver Island — is well-known for opportunities to hike, whale-watch and unwind from the world. But that last part (unwinding) isn’t always so easy for new parents, as we all remember. “My husband I both realized that our days of laying in bed in terrycloth robes and staring out at the ocean for hours on end are on hiatus for a while,†Eden says. “The idea of rest and relaxation has taken on a whole new meaning in our lives at…
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10 Family-Friendly Vancouver Restaurants
I’m going up to Vancouver, BC, this weekend and thought I’d spill the soup on our favorite kid-friendly restaurants, those places we miss when we return home. Vancouver’s restaurants exhibit amazing Eastern flair, unsurprising for a Pacific-Rim city. Here are my 10 favorites – find even more places to eat in my new book, Northwest Kid Trips: Portland, Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver. 1. Little Nest Cafe serves honest breakfasts and lunches to parents tired of lame-o kid meals and half-effort adult dishes. Fresh West Coast fare, super-cool décor and a kids’ play area filled with retro toys. Read my full write-up here. 2. Here’s how to enjoy downtown Vancouver’s Sciue. Get in…
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Peak Experience: Port Angeles with kids
I’d never given much thought to the area around Port Angeles, Washington. I thought of it as a working town, without much for kids. Just a stop en-route to and from Victoria, BC. But our recent trip enlightened me. I now think the Olympic Peninsula’s outdoors options are among the Pacific Northwest’s best bets. Adventure comes in all sizes here, whether you let a inch-long crab pinch your  finger or you’re willing to summit a 5,200-foot-tall, wildflower-draped mountain. If you’re going on a family trip to the kid-friendly Port Townsend, make time to explore the Olympic Peninsula’s natural wonderland. Port Angeles makes for an easy day-trip from Victoria, BC, just a…
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Spotlight: Fort Worden — Got a flashlight?
Did you bring your flashlight? A headlamp, maybe? Good. In Port Townsend, Wash., Fort Worden’s grey-concrete gun batteries once provided shelter to soldiers on the lookout for saboteurs, spies and submarines trying to enter the Puget Sound. Today, the batteries provide shriek-filled echo chambers full of childish delight. Play flashlight tag through windowless, unlit corridors and the barren, pitch-black rooms. Wear sturdy shoes and make sure your tetanus shots are up to date – broken glass and water are everywhere. The dank walls seem to reach out and touch you first, urging you to keep your coat on. Pick up a map at the visitors’ center, right inside the fort’s…
