mld

We are visiting Seattle with a side trip to Vancouver adn San Juan Island in July with 2 teenagers. How should we split the trip - the kids are excited about going out of country? Where are good places to eat with kids (simple chicken wings, sandwiches & cold beer- not for the kids)? We're from Florida and whale siting is a definite must? Any place where you can camp on the beach? Been researching but most travel guides and sites lean towards adults.

thanks,
mld

em

Two campgrounds on the beach (or at least close to the beach) with extremely high scenery quotient: Dungeness Recreation Area - the campground is run by the Clallam County Parks Dept. Look at www.clallam.net/parks. On your map look for the town of Sequim; it is near there. Another advantage of this place is that is in the so-called "rain shadow" of the Olympic Mts. and often has better weather than other places in Western Washington/B.C. On a sunny day, very good view of water, Olympic Mountains and you can walk for miles along Dungeness Spit. A second place that comes to mind is Deception Pass. A campground run by the State of Washington Dept. of Parks. This is very popular. Don't know if they take reservations, but suspect they do. Check out the State's website for info. On your map look for the north end of Whidbey Island, south of Anacortes. To my mind, also one of the most scenic places in the State and interesting tidal action as the water is channeled through a narrow passage. Another possibility: On Whidbey Island there is a campground near the beach at Fort Casey. The Fort is a 19th- early 20th century relic. Interesting for kids (and adults) to poke around the old bunkers, etc. and there is a very scenic bluff walk above the beach north of Fort Casey. These three places I mention are on salt water but not on the ocean. If you want the bigger wave action, etc. of the ocean you could go to Olympic National Park. One of my favorites involves a several mile walk- so the camping is more of the backpacking variety, but it is beautiful (Look on your map for Lake Ozette and go west from there.) There are other in O.N.P. Also, the west coast of Vancouver Island.

george

If you are in the vicinity of Vancouver B.C. the third weekend of July you might want to take in a day or two of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. This is an all-weekend event with hours of music on six or seven stages in a City park on the beach. Very family-friendly, great music, beautiful setting, and extremely reasonable admission charge. If the weather is nice you can spend some of the day swimming on the beach and some of the day checking out music from all over North America and other parts of the world. I can't say enough about this festival. (I realize, however, that some teenagers are in a phase where they will listen to only a particular kind of music and everything else is "boring". Nevetheless, there is a wide variety of music at this festival and there seems to be something for everyone. For example, I know that Dan Bern is scheduled to appear this year and young people are crazy about him- once they've heard him.)

Paula

A must for teenagers in Seattle is EMP (Experience Music Project) by the Seattle Center. Also, the Seattle Center and Pikes Street Market. You'll probably enjoy these as well.

Kat

Paula, yours was the first intelligent post about Seattle w/ teenagers! Someone suggesting a tour of a boeing facility in Mukilteo and the Parliament building in Vancouver!

If your teenagers are anything like I was (just a couple of years ago!) Paula's suggestions were right on.

There's a campground out near Port Angelas. Take a ferry from Seattle to Port Townsend (I think) and drive. The trip will take about 3 hours, but is worth it. The campground is on an old army base of sorts. Exploring will uncover a few huge bunkers. In the morning during a low tide the tide pools are amazing. Starfish, Anemones, Urchins, Crabs, eels, even an octopus (or squid) and otters. It's my family's favorite campground. In fact, our vacation is planned for mid july!

Anyway, if you have any more questions, just ask!