We decided to play tourist for a day and do the duck tours from Ride the Ducks of Seattle. We had a great time, aside from wanting to sink down in our seats a few times in fear that we might see someone we know on the sidewalks as we drove through downtown.

The 90 minute tour starts with a drive through the waterfront, Pioneer Square, and downtown Seattle, with the driver wise-quacking and pointing out sites of interest along the route. Apparently the drivers moonliight as DJs, because when stopped at a light, they play from the same mix of upbeat oldies that you hear at just about every wedding reception.

The second half of the tour finds the old wartime landing vessel turning into a boat for a cruise around Lake Union. Besides Gasworks Park and the lakehouse from Sleepless in Seattle, there isn’t much to see on the lake. The main appeal for most is the uniqueness of the vehicle.

The tours depart right across from the Experience Music Project at the “duck dock”. They have limited parking on site, but there is plenty of other parking available with a few blocks. In the spring, they had a tour departing every half hour. We got there 15 minutes before a mid-weekday tour, and could have walked right on. From talking to their employees, sometimes the wait can be quite a bit longer in the summer, so buying tickets in advance is recommended.

It almost doesn’t seem fair how many beautiful destinations are so easily accessible around Seattle. Our most recent little daytrip brought us to Picnic Point Park in Edmonds for, you guessed it, a picnic.

The park has a nice grassy area with shade giving trees and a few tables. If you prefer to be drenched by the sun, you can go a few steps further and enjoy the wide open beach area right on Puget Sound. The day we visited, there were only a handful of people there. As beautiful as it was that day, I can’t imagine why the beach wasn’t packed. But perhaps that’s what makes this such an appealing destination to those who know about it.

To get to the park from the parking lot, you will need to cross a footbridge that goes up and over the train tracks. Three or four trains passed by in the hour and a half we were there, including an Amtrak train while we were on the bridge itself. For some, the trains might be a noisy distraction. If you have kids, or if you are still a kid at heart, the trains add to the thrills of the day.

With an unusally warm week in the end of May, we were looking to get out of the house and enjoy an early summer. The Edmonds/Kingston Ferry provided just what we needed.

With plenty of sunlight left, we caught the 5:10pm ferry. We chose to walk on, so we parked at the ferry terminal. Make sure you have some cash for parking! The clear day rewarded us with a beautiful of downtown Seattle set against Mount Rainier with the other Edmonds/Kingston ferry crossing in the foreground. That’s the picture that is on the header of this site and connected to this entry.

Downtown Kingston was an easy stroll from the ferry, along with a nice grassy park right next to the marina. Kingston itself was pretty quiet, with most of the shops already closed for the evening by the time we arrived. We did have a fantastic dinner at Luna Bella Ristorante. We were served by the owner himself, and they very accomodating of my wife’s special diet. Unfortunately, we didn’t notice the beautiful deck with outside dining until we were leaving, but on a nice day, make sure you take advantage of it.

After spending some time playing the park, we boarded the return ferry and headed home. This is a great little outing for a very affordable date, or to get the kids out of the house. If Edmonds isn’t too long of a drive for you, this is also an easy outing to squeeze into an evening.