Red Bear turned 11 last month, and his craving for all the electronic stuff — video games, YouTube, has also been growing. My husband and I try every way to pull him away from the TV or computer by providing other interesting things to do. During his summer vacation from school, we have scheduled art classes for him, as well as sports programs and a few summer camps. We are also planning a lot of family travel.
Last weekend was the start of his summer break, and we took a quick 3-day trip to Bellevue, Washington, not far from Seattle. We had a great time there — the weather was great, and the whole trip was delightful, easy, and joyful for all of us.
Why did we choose Bellevue, Washington ?
It is described as “Silicon Valley meets Beverly Hills of the Pacific Northwest.” It is the shopping capital of the PNW, with an emerging, award-winning culinary scene, and the city is surrounded by gorgeous nature and three national parks (Mt. Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic Nationals Parks).
It’s also very easy to fly from L.A. to Bellevue. We departed from the Burbank Airport (officially called Bob Hope Airport), about a 3 hours flight to Seattle, with very easy check in and out at both airports. There are actually many flights from Burbank Airport to Seattle Airport, and it’s very convenient, especially compared to the crowds and congestion at LAX. The city itself is wonderfully clean, and you don’t see any signs of urban decay that plague other cities. What a pleasant change!
Where did we stay?
We stayed in the Westin Bellevue. The Westin Bellevue is an AAA Four-Diamond hotel located in the heart of Bellevue. See more of this hotel in the post here. But mostly, it’s so convenient to everything, short walking distance to all kinds of different foods, shopping, and there is a Macy’s just across the street from the hotel! And the service is warm and friendly and efficient.
What did we do?
- Visit the Shops at the Bravern: They feature upscale retailers like Gucci, HERMES, and Louis Vuitton, and delicious dinning options.
2. Vegan Cupcake Experience at Cafe Trophy: Their vegan and non-vegan cupcakes are all so delicious, and I have never see such well-made and cute cupcakes before, you? We loved them!
3. Tour of Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM). It’s a world-class art museum where you can discover a variety of contemporary pieces crafted by local & regional artists. The collections change often, so visit often.
4. Explore Downton Park, Old Bellevue, & Meydenbauer Bay Park. These are the best spots in town for walking and enjoying the sights, in my eyes. So many locally-owned boutiques, gift shops, and delicious lunch options. We also love to explore around the lake side, with so many beautiful houses, and the views are incredible.
5. Explore the Snoqualmie Falls. I have been to many big waterfalls in the worlds, like Iguazu Falls and Niagara Falls. and compared with all the biggest and famous falls in the world, I think Snoqualmie Falls is also very amazing. First, it’s very easy to walk to and see, without huge crowds, and the area around the falls is clean, fresh, and green.
6. Picnic in Kelsey Creek Park and explore Kelsey Creek Farm, which is in the park. Kelsey Creek Park and Farm is located just minutes from downtown Bellevue, and is a free oasis for those who love animals, or just want to let their children experience a little of farm life. The farm has cows, an interesting variety of chickens, rabbits, sheep, horses, pigs, and birds. We all agreed that we had a great time there, and really recommend it for a family visit. Even Red Bear said he LOVES that place. As you might not know, he is picky and hard to please like you can’t imagine, so that is high praise.
Where we ate:
We had breakfast 2 mornings in the Cypress Lounge & Wine Bar within the Westin. It’s buffet quick, and their custom omelet station is great! Red Bear and his dad are vegan, and they also had many food choices through the big variety at the buffet.
My husband wants me to add our third breakfast was at Aces Cafe about a mile away — very simple and unpretentious. but the food was good, service was friendly, and it directly supports people recovering from substance abuse, so it is an important cause.
We normally skip our lunch when traveling, or bring light snacks with us. For example, we had a sandwich and fruit picnic lunch at Kelsey Creek Park one day. But our three dinners in Bellevue were really wonderful, and a sample of Bellevue cuisine at its best..
Our first night’s dinner was at The Dolar Shop, and for Chinese people, you will be familiar with the theme. — it’s a great Chinese hot pot restaurant with a glamorous atmosphere. Being a hot pot lover, I really enjoyed this place! The food is fresh and delicious — you order what you want, and then you cook it yourself in the hot pots at every seat at the table. It’s fun, tasty, and traditional Chinese dining.
Our second night’s dinner was at El Gaucho Bellevue — it’s a big, elegant steakhouse, but it also offers a fantastic vegetarian / vegan menu. There is good live piano music during dinner time. Our waiter (shout out to you, Douglas!) was outstanding — we LOVE his service, and we LOVED our food! If you are there, don’t forget to ask for the banana foster dessert, which is prepared table-side (hats off to Fred for this) and it is set on fire!!! What a great show. And all of the food was prepared perfectly.
Our final night’s dinner was at Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi Bellevue. This restaurant is located in the 31st floor of a high-rise building, and we enjoyed a 360-degree view of Seattle skylines, Puget Sound, and the Cascade Mountains while having our sushi & tofu steak. Their Skyfall dessert is a must-try from us! A plate of fine dessert cheeses is delivered, then dry ice in the middle of the presentation is activated to create waves of white clouds at your table. Suddenly, we felt like we were sitting in clouds — it’s fun and amazing!
We give thanks to Visit Bellevue for working with us on this story. But, as always , all opinions are our honestly my own.
SHOP MY LOOKS DURING THIS TRIP
It’s great that you are providing an alternative interesting option to pull your kid away from phones, computer, games. It’s probably one of the very best thing we can do, kids at that age are prone to stick to something such as YouTube, games as their entertainment. As parents we have the responsibilities to watch over our kids. You are such great parents to your kid!
Love ♥️that!
🌸🍃ROSES FOR FRIDAYS 🌸🍃| by mia | A Creative Lifestyle Blog
You’re so right, Mia. It’s an ongoing concern. The “digital addiction” problem is real, and many game designers admit that they deliberately use gimmicks in the games to trigger addictive “pleasure” responses in the brain. Scary to me, as a parent.
Happily, Red Bear is pretty well behaved, and gets pleasure from friends, art, and physical activities, like kickboxing, swimming, baseball, bicycling, camping, and the great outdoors.