things to do
Idlywood Park
I recently rediscovered one of the best things about the Northwest that I never took the time to realize I was missing while living in Utah– the beaches. It almost sounds weird to connect the word “beach” with Rainy Seattle, I mean, yes there are many lakes, but beaches, really? Beaches are in California and Florida, right?
Not so, my friends. On Thursday I took my little brood to meet up with my friend Ashley at Idylwood Park on Lake Sammamish. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and the beach was fabulous. The water was the perfect temperature, clean and not too crowded. Engineer loved wading in up to his waist (“It’s so DEEP,” he says with a giggle) and Sugar was right there with him, splashing and flinging sand at other kids (she sure got some dirty looks from the ten year olds).
The best part however, was Little Spider. She sat in a sand-mud puddle and just relished in it. She smooshed sand in between her fingers and rubbed her hands like she was making evil plans. She was in heaven as she smeared sand in her hair and ate it like some foreign delicacy. And then, my darling one year old laid face down in the sand and flailed about, kicking her legs and shaking her arms like she was trying to lift off. Sheer joy was written all over her face. What made it even better was that this special puddle of Spider’s was located directly underneath the watch tower, and we were treated to the musical stylings of the lifeguard who was singing tunes from Evita. (No joke.)
The day was a win! We made sand castles, we ate sandwiches, we got sand in all of our 2000 parts. We even forgot to bring sand toys, but were able to borrow some from the lost and found. When we returned the toys, we were pleased to find a shower in the restroom that we could use to rinse off with. After the rinsing, we let the children play at the playground, which I must say, was one of the funnest looking play areas I’ve seen. Fun, fun, fun!
My recommendation? Check out Idylwood Park if there’s another nice day this “summer”. With any luck the same bound-for-Broadway lifeguard will be on duty.
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Great post! I haven’t been to Idylwood yet… will have to check it out before the summer is over!
[...] went to the beach [...]