Sunday morning of our family Seattle weekend dawned grey as well – although, read on, it did clear up later in the day. We made it our mission to show the kids some of Seattle’s highlights – starting with Pike Place and the famous gum wall.

Nugget was impressed by the trick fish (it jumped at us and I nearly flew out of my skin, much to his delight) but the gum wall blew his mind.

We walked through an entire gum alley (I’d seen the gum wall before but somehow didn’t register just how expansive it is) on our way to…

The Seattle Aquarium – one of my favorite spots! The kids are used to the much larger National Aquarium in Baltimore, but what Seattle lacks in size it makes up in fabulous exhibits – especially the famous sea otters.

So stinking cute. I cannot.

Peanut is an otter enthusiast, so she was especially into it – but we all love otters, I mean, who doesn’t?

Nugget especially liked the massive industrial style fish tank. Super, super cool.

And the harbor seals – so adorable.

After the aquarium, we were looking around for ways to kill some time down by the water, and Nugget asked for a ride on Seattle’s Great Wheel. I was immediately into it – I’d wanted to check out the Great Wheel the last time I was in Seattle, but Steve (who doesn’t care for heights) didn’t want to do it. Steve and Peanut declined this time, too, so my adventure buddy and I rode the Great Wheel as a duo.

It was so much fun, and the views of Puget Sound, Alaskan Way, and downtown Seattle were gorgeous.

These views were pretty epic, but we also knew that we had even more incredible views ahead of us – because we had SPACE NEEDLE TICKETS for the afternoon.

Touristy? Okay, maybe. Ask me if I mind.

We rode the elevator alllllll the way up and – whew! I love heights, and even I was a little weak in the knees. That’s a long way down.

Zoiks! But, if you look out and not down – those views. I mean, really.

The Seattle skyline – amazing. I spotted my office.

Gorgeous Lake Union. One of these days I need to get out on that water.

We walked around, and around, and around, taking in the views from every angle – mountains in one direction, Puget Sound in another, all breathtaking. I could have stayed up there all day!

It was a full, active, on-the-go kind of weekend, and set me up for a busy workweek. And what a gift it was to have Steve and the kids join me on this trip!

Next week: after wrapping up my workweek, we hit the road for an incredible National Park weekend.