Author: kelli anne

This weekend, my parents are coming to visit me in Seattle. I love my parents, and am extremely lucky they fly 2000+ miles to visit me a couple times a year. When they visit, I like to keep us busy. I’ve been in Seattle for 3 years (+ 2 summer internships) and feel like we’ve done/seen/experienced a lot. I also have friends who are newer to the city and looking for tips for visits with their parents.

I’ve compiled a list of everything I’ve loved doing with my parents over the years and ideas I have for future visits.

Quick Activities in town:

• The Basic Touristy Stuff: Check out Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, MoPop, Ferris Wheel, Chihuly Glass, Kerry Park etc. Bonus: Pike Place Market just expanded and the Space Needle is about to open after renovations making both great for re-visits!
  

  Gum Wall

  

  Springtime views from Kerry Park

  

  Hot summer day at the space needle
• Underground Tour: I’ve gone on so many variations of the underground tour and I love them all! Check out the Haunted Pub Tour with Spooked in Seattle for drinks & ghost stories. There are non-haunted ghost tours as well, my favorite was Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour.
• Mariners Game: Ah, America’s past time! This is one activity that my mom, dad, and I all really enjoy. We are sure to catch a game or two during spring/summer visits.
• Museum of Flight: This interactive museum is just a quick Lyft/Uber ride away from downtown. You can read up about the history of flight and it’s connection to the Puget Sound. Also, take cool pictures with the planes you can tour!
• Brewery Hopping: Seattle is full of great breweries. In the summer months, you can walk between breweries and hang out on the patios. Bonus: most are dog friendly!
• Doing what you usually do: My parents love to see what my life is like in Seattle. Have a work out class you usually attend? See if they’d want to join! Always go to watch your school’s basketball team play at a local bar? Bring your parents! My parents and I have hit up our fair share of touristy activities, they seem to much prefer just being a part of my life up here. They’ve visited my offices, gone to the dog park with my dog and I, attended work out classes, grabbed food with my friends and I, and just hung out. I love getting to share my life out here with them.

Day Trips:

• Ferry to Bainbridge: Jump on an iconic Seattle ferry boat over to Bainbridge to explore shops, places to eat, and parks. Bonus: You don’t have to have a car to enjoy this trip, just walk on to the ferry.
• Woodinville Wineries: Pop up to our very own wine country. Explore the countless wineries in the area. Some have large estates to explore and some are tiny stores set up for tastings. Bonus: You also don’t have to have a car for this trip–Lyft/Uber up to the area is around $30.

  

• Snoqualmie Falls: Take a drive out to Snoqualmie Falls, about 45 min from Seattle. This is great for a half day trip. You can park at the top of the hill and walk the mile(ish) down to the falls or you can park down by the base of the falls. I like to check out the falls then spend some time wading in the river. Bonus: Dog friendly area–fun for the whole family

  

• Boeing Factory Tour: While I worked at Boeing I took my parents on the public Boeing tour. The tour surveys the factory from the balconies and is very informative. My parents and I both really enjoyed this. Grab some lunch before/after your tour or head over to the Mukilteo Lighthouse.
• Drive down Chuckanut Drive: Chuckanut is a scenic 20 mile road with a lot of beautiful stops along the way. Try checking out some of the parks and stop at the Oyster Bar for wonderful views and delicious food. I’ve been to the Oyster Bar exactly once–when the power was out! The place was lit by candles and the food was delicious.

  

• Hiking: Washington has some beautiful hikes. Hike the close Rattlesnake Ridge or opt for a longer hike up north or down south.

  

• Arlington Kangaroo Farm: I had heard about this Kangaroo farm, located in Arlington, a few hours from Seattle. I more or less made my parents go with me and we had a blast! Lots of cute kangaroos and wallabies. The farm is open March-October.

  

• Mt. Rainier: You can see this stunning mountain from the city, but it’s even more of a behemoth from up close. Take some snacks and hit the road for a drive to Rainier. Make sure to check road conditions first.
• Skagit Tulip Festival: This festival takes place through April. Make sure to go early, the traffic gets INSANE. Also, be sure to bring a camera to snap some insta-worthy pics of you and your parents.

  

Weekend Trips:

• San Juan Islands: The San Juans are a few hours away by car/ferry OR opt for a quick sea plane ride up there! There are multiple islands to choose from. Most offer hiking, cute shops, hotels, camping, farms, and more.

  

• Portland: Tired of exploring Seattle? Take a drive or a train ride to our neighbors down south and explore!
• Vancouver:  Tired of exploring Seattle? Take a drive or a train ride to our neighbors up north and explore!
  

  Inukshuk in Vancouver, BC

  

  Bulba: boba in a lightbulb in Vancouver, BC
• Leavenworth: Take a few hour drive to this picturesque Bavarian style town in Washington. You can hop between the shops, check out some nearby hikes, and relax.
• Walla Walla: Wine tours, enough said.
• Olympic Peninsula: Beautiful in the summer & winter. The Peninsula has a wide variety of terrain, multiple towns, and a lot to see. This trip can be as adventurous or as laid back as you want.

  

Sunny LA was quite gloomy, but I had a great weekend with friends.

In January, I logged on to Delta to buy some flights for work. I realized I had 3 days before a $200 flight credit expired–I needed to book a trip! I texted my friend Rob, who lives in LA, and asked if I could come visit. I was able to convince our friend Adam to fly down, too.

I left after work on Friday, flew to LA, ubered to Rob’s and started drinking. We stayed up until 5 am and somehow all three of us fell asleep in Rob’s bed.

The next morning, we woke up, went to the store, walked around the beach, napped, ate food, hung out, and started drinking again. Saturday night, we only stayed up until 4 am.

Sunday, we grabbed brunch with my former coworker, Will, from the camp I worked at in Ohio. We followed that up with a movie and a gloomy walk on Santa Monica Boardwalk.

Overall, it was a quick, action packed weekend but I came out of the weekend feeling rejuvenated and content thanks to some awesome friends.

Another cabin weekend! This time, I packed up my things and headed to a cabin of 40 people where I only knew 3 of them.

I was picked up by a guy named Jon and we grabbed another guy named Nate. These two became some of the friends I was closest with by the end of the weekend. I guess thats what you get after spending 5 hours in a car with people.

The cabin weekend was full of fun and innovative games/activities, a trip in to Leavenworth, and not a whole lot of sleep.

I travel to Pittsburgh quite often for work. I usually go every 6-8 weeks. Unfortunately, it is tricky to get to Pittsburgh–no direct flights and a 3 hour time change! Fortunately, I have a number of friends + my brother who live in Pittsburgh so I enjoy my time there. Everyone at our Pittsburgh office is easy to work with as well.

Some highlights of Pittsburgh trips over the years:

• Seeing a Pirates game with my brother
• Numerous dinners with my college friend, Will
• Catching up with a friend who happened to also be on a work trip to Pittsburgh
• Seeing old rowing teammates, Michael and Sarah Frick

Cabin weekend in Packwood! We rented a large, former ranger station. We had 24 friends and 3 dogs along for the trip. We drove out to Packwood after work Friday. Saturday, we woke up, played in the snow, played a bunch of games, then headed to White Pass for snowshoeing. For most of us, it was the first time trying snowshoeing. Josie (my dog) and I loved it.

After snowshoeing, we headed back to the cabin, ate and played a several hour long, complex drinking game that our group of friends created. Headed to bed and left the next morning.

It was a great, relaxing weekend focusing on friends.

White Pass, Washington

Snowshoeing with Josie

I was so excited when Alaska Airlines announced a non-stop flight from Seattle to Indianapolis. My favorite airline flying to the city closest to my alma mater?! So convenient. I finally got to fly this route on this trip.

My flight got in 45 min early and friend, Bailey, picked me up at the airport. We headed straight up to Purdue’s campus to meet up with Allison and got my favorite campus food–Fiesta. We were able to go to the birthday party for our campus celebrity, Bruce, who plays piano at my favorite bar. We stayed up way too late and woke up early to head to Cincinnati. Thanks to my old rowing teammate, Kyle, for hosting us!

We arrived in Cincinnati and had about 30 min to change and get ready for the Cupid’s Undie Run. Our group went as a bunch of Dalmatians and Cruella de Vil. We ran the race and stayed up way too late (again). A quick brunch Sunday and I headed back to Seattle. I was lucky enough to run in to another old teammate and good friend, Andrea, at the Indy airport on Sunday.

This was a whirlwind of a trip but it was great to see friends new and old.

Last fall, I got added to a facebook chat from a group of girls that said we needed to plan a Vegas trip. At the time, I really only knew one of the girls.

Flash forward 4 months and it was finally time for our trip! We had a very early flight Friday morning but things like kombucha, friends, and a Beecher’s salad propelled us through. We arrived in LA and hoped in an Uber with a stellar driver who drove us to buy alcohol first. We dropped bags at the hotel and grabbed some breakfast at Eggslut. The line was insane at Eggslut but so worth it–I don’t think I’ve had a better breakfast sandwich.

While at breakfast, my friend Emily got a call that her bag had been switched at the airport–oops! We went to check out the bag she had picked up and found it full of bachelorette party supplies. Fortunately, we had a pretty easy exchange of bags.

We were finally able to check in to our room, change, and head out for the day. Myself and Annie had been to Vegas only once, Emily and Bri had never been, so Lauren took charge. We walked through a bunch of casinos on the strip, taking pictures and enjoying the sites.

After a long walk (27k steps by the end of the day!), we headed back to the room to glam up for dinner. We headed to dinner where we enjoyed a 3 course meal with bottomless wine for only $60–my kind of dinner! Post dinner, we headed back to the room and then on to the clubs. Let me tell you–a group of single girls is the way to do Vegas! We stayed up late and crashed until about 11am.

We woke up, got ready quickly, and 4 of us headed to a hair appointment. Never have I seen my hair curl so nicely than at Dry Bar. Hair was followed by lunch, a quick change of clothing/makeup, and then we headed to LAVO brunch club at the Palazzo.

LAVO was followed by another outfit change, a show, taco bell, pregaming, and back to the clubs. We saw Zedd at Omnia where we met a 40 man bachelor party. We found out they had rented the Bungalow at the Cosmopolitan, where we were also staying. We ended up staying up and watching the sunrise from their private hot tub overlooking the strip. It was a fantastic way to end the weekend–even with the lack of sleep!

We stayed up until we had to leave for our flight and headed to the airport. A quick flight got us back to Seattle where we said our goodbyes and went off to recover from the weekend.

Vegas weekend was a success–a fun group of girls, lots of new friends, great memories, and plans to visit again soon.

LAVO Brunch

A little wine + a camera

Our view from our room at The Cosmopolitan

Hair by Dry Bar

Arriving in Vegas

Enjoying some Taco Bell Baja Blast

Planning Our Trip 

My friend texted me in December and said “Have you been to Costa Rica? United has a fare sale.” For ~$500, we flew first class, round trip from Seattle to Costa Rica. Due to constraints in PTO, we only went for 5 days, including travel. Before the trip, we planned hostels, booked a car, and briefly researched activities. We decided to just figure out what to do when we got there.

Getting There

Met my friend, Tom, for drinks in the lounge before our flights. Had a red eye out of Seattle to Houston, and then an hour layover before the flight to San Jose. In San Jose, we picked up our rental car and started on our way to La Fortuna. Money saving tip: The bus from San Jose to La Fortuna is only ~$6. We decided to save a few hours and rent a car since we already had such a short trip.

La Fortuna

We arrived midafternoon at La Fortuna with very few plans. We knew we were near Arenal Volcano and likely wanted to do some hiking. We stayed at Arenal Backpackers Resort (actually a hostel). Our first stop was for food. From there, we headed back to the hostel, settled in, and scoped out the hostel. Tom and I were both eager to meet other travelers and soon found ourselves with four new Canadian friends. We spent a few hours playing cards with Marissa, Jess, Kate, and Kendra. They filled us in on their plans for the next day and we decided to join. We headed to bed early to prepare for the long day ahead.

First full day in Costa Rica! We woke up, got breakfast, packed for the day, and picked up some 6 L jugs of water. Tom and I drove to the Mistico Hanging Bridges and met the girls there. This was a fun, scenic walk through the rainforest on a variety of different paths and bridges. We had fun exploring and finding different birds and animals.

Following the bridges, we headed back to the hostel to change and eat a VERY quick lunch at a soda nearby. Tip: Sodas are restaurants that serve typical Costa Rican food.  

Our second tour of the day was a $35 tour that included a hike near Arenal, swimming in a waterfall, bathing in hot springs, transportation, and a speedy tour guide named Franklin. This was absolutely worth the money and Franklin really made our experience fantastic.

Just about all of us were exhausted at the end of this day. It didn’t stop us from heading out on the town for dinner and drinks. Still, we ended up heading to bed early. Tom and I had a 4ish hour drive the next morning and the girls had an early bus to catch.

Jaco

After a 4ish hour drive through curvy roads, thick fog, and some enlightening conversation, we arrived in Jaco. We walked in to the main area of our hostel, Room2Board, and were greeted by a party in full swing. Wow! The hostel looked to be a lot of fun, and we were later proved right.

We quickly changed, ate lunch, and checked out the beach. Tom got to swim in the Pacific Ocean for the first time! After playing in/getting destroyed by the waves, we headed to check out the pool and bar. First stop; Four Lokos. Turns out, Four Lokos are quite the talking point. Almost immediately, Lindsay and Cale asked us about them. We ended up spending the rest of the trip with the couple.

After some time in the pool, we watched the sunset, got ready for dinner, and the four of us headed to eat some sushi. Post sushi, we stopped at the store to grab some more drinks, and then joined the party back at the hostel. Tom and I ended up going to a club in Jaco while Lindsay and Cale were down for the count.

After staying up late and indulging in alcohol, it’s a surprise Tom and I made it to 9 am yoga! It’s hard to pass up the yoga when its free! After the class, we grabbed breakfast, signed up for surf lessons, and headed out to play in the waves again. The beach was followed by the pool and then surf lessons.

Our surf instructor gave us some on land tips before we headed to the water. Both Tom and I hopped up on the board pretty quickly. For me, the hardest part was walking the board back in to the water. Every time a wave came, I was carried 10 feet closer to shore again! This was exhausting. Overall, surfing was fun, yet exhausting. I love spending time in the water and learning new activities.

Tom and I scarfed down some food and then the four of us got in the car to head back to San Jose.

San Jose

What should’ve been about an hour and a half ride took about three due to traffic. We had some fun conversations and marveled at how there were “no rules!” in Costa Rican traffic.

We arrived at our final hostel for the last night, ate food, got ready for bed, and then stayed up late talking about the trip.

Getting Home

We had an early morning wake up call to return the rental car and get to our 6:30 am flight. After a smooth journey home, we parted ways at Seatac to resume non-vacation life.

Costa Rica Thoughts and Advice

I wish I could’ve spent more time in Costa Rica! The trip was sunny, relaxing, and full of activities. I had a great time with Tom and hopefully have found a new travel buddy in him.

For those planning to travel to Costa Rica, I highly recommend our hostels in La Fortuna and Jaco. Unfortunately, we weren’t thrilled with our hostel in San Jose, though, it seemed like a great one for meeting new people. We also really liked Mistico hanging bridges and our tour near Arenal.

For those looking to spend more time in Costa Rica, the buses seem like a good option. Tom and I really enjoyed the flexibility of the rental car, but, it did come with an added cost.

Remember, wear sunscreen, make new friends, and Pura Vida!

Mistico Hanging Bridges, Costa Rica

Bird at Mistico Hanging Bridges, Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

Swimming in the waterfall near Arenal, Costa Rica

Artify Jaco, Costa Rica

Lil’ cutie near Arenal, Costa Rica

Mistico Hanging Bridges, Costa Rica

Waterfall on our hike near Arenal, Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

Beachy Palms in Jaco, Costa Rica

January 2017, I piled in to a car, took a ferry, and arrived at a cabin to celebrate my friend Rachel’s birthday. There were 10 of us women in the cabin. We spent the weekend cooking, catching up, hiking, and exploring. This was my third time to the Peninsula, but my first time in the winter. The rainforest and the beach were still stunning.

When I look back on this trip, I feel lucky to be surrounded by such incredible, supportive, creative, and hilarious women.

Port Angeles, WA

Morning views on the Peninsula

My first trip of 2018 was incredible, relaxing, and full of laughter.

Our group of 22 friends arrived throughout the day on Friday. I rode up with 5 other friends and didn’t arrive until midnight. We decided to stay up and wait until the last car got there and people returned from the bars. Then I accidentally stayed up until 5:30 am–whoops! I had a great time catching up with friends, drinking, and meeting the new people.

After a late night on Friday, I decided not to ski on Saturday. Luckily, I was in good company. About 15 of us didn’t ski and 10 of us stuck around the house for board games (I found my new favorite game!) and relaxing followed by a lunch in the village. Saturday night we ate dinner at the big house (our group was large enough to need two airbnbs) and drank and headed to bed early.

Woke up Sunday morning for some skiing! I spent the day skiing with other girls on Blackcomb and Whistler. After a day of skiing and some very uncomfortable boots, we ordered pizza to the house, drank a lot, danced in the kitchen and rounded up a group for the bars. Again, ended up staying up far too late.

Monday morning we woke up, packed up, cleaned up, and got on the road. Some of us stopped in Vancouver for some ramen, boba, and a walk through the park. It was a beautiful, blue sky day. We got back around dinner, I picked up the dog from my sitter, and I had time to relax in the evening.

I went in to the weekend thinking it might be overwhelming to spend time with such a big group and came out of the weekend wishing it would never be over. Thanks to all the friends that made the trip so wonderful.

Inukshuk in Vancouver, BC

Bulba: boba in a lightbulb in Vancouver, BC

No edits here–the sky outside our cabin was this vivid