Happy Halloween from Seattle!

Every year when I'm ankle-deep in crafting debris, I question my sanity, why I don't I drop $20 at Target and be done?? But that wouldn't be as much fun. Made everything from stuff lying around the house, which means I'm eco-friendly. And a hoarder.

Overlook Walk might just change your mind about downtown Seattle. Come see it for yourself! I wrote about 7 fun freebies at Seattle's newest park for Seattle's Child.

Best way to celebrate Double Ten Day is with a strawberry milk bubble tea and a passionfruit green tea!

Just four ingredients, to make the most amazing giant bubbles:

1 tablespoon guar gum (order from Amazon)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup dish soap (Dawn Ultra works best)

1 gallon water

Combine everything in a big bucket.

Legoland > Disneyland, 100 percent.

Disneyland is for adults on their phones all day buying $220 lightsabers. Legoland seems like it was actually designed for kids. Lots of playground areas, building activities, and overall a much, much more relaxed vibe.

Legoland's rides are very tame, which is fine by me, I'm a big chicken anyway. Probably best for 12 and under, or Lego fans of any age. The Lego theming is INCREDIBLE.

A few takeaways...

• -Don't stay at the $$$ Legoland hotels. We popped into the official Legoland hotels to check out the fun décor, and stayed across the street at the lovely Cassara. I'm not convinced any actual sleeping happens at the Legoland hotels.
• Ask for a free lanyard at the Legoland hotel, then ask park employees for pop badges. You can also earn pop badges at the building activities. Really fun to collect these.
• Bring a basic minifig to trade with any employee.
• The first aid office is really efficient. Don't ask me how I know.

Miniland has Lego builds representing DC, San Francisco, NYC, Vegas, and San Diego of course.

We snuck away for a few glorious days in San Diego, and slunk back to Seattle wondering why aren't we living in a place we could be in the ocean every day.

San Diego was unreal. There are the beaches, which look like movie sets with white sand and palm trees. Then there's LegoLand, the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, all of Balboa Park... So jealous of my friends who live in San Diego.

All this was story research, of course, and here's a link to Seattle's Child.

The San Diego Safari Park was so gorgeous, like a botanical garden with large enclosures for animals to roam.

At the San Diego Zoo, we got to see the newly arrived pair of giant pandas. And whoa, now I understand why some people come to San Diego just for the zoo.

One last photo dump from beautiful San Francisco, a city as maligned as Seattle. School starting means major travel withdrawal, so for now I just look at pictures — I take a lot of them!

Here's a link to my story for Seattle's Child: family-friendly adventures in San Francisco.

I hadn't seen the Golden Gate Bridge since I was maybe 7? This trip I made up for lost time: we biked, bused AND walked across it.

Here's a link to my story for Seattle's Child: family-friendly adventures in San Francisco.

When in California...

San Francisco's only In-N-Out is at Fisherman's Wharf. (The rest are outside the city.)

$19.55 for our dinner!

Tunnel Tops is a new public park, opened in 2022, that reminded me a lot of our Olympic Sculpture Park. Both are extraordinarily beautiful spaces with unbelievable views that replaced an eyesore. Also, free!

When the highway leading to the Golden Gate Bridge was damaged in an earthquake, San Francisco rebuilt the highway in a tunnel, then created this incredible park on top.

There is a nature-based playground, a hands-on field station with friendly staff, tons of space for picnics and hanging out. We explored one teeny tiny corner of the Presidio, then headed to Crissy Field to watch people wing foiling.

Here's a link to my story for Seattle's Child: family-friendly adventures in San Francisco.