This was a fun find and part of an art installation of 5 throughout WA and one in Portland…read more This is on Maury Island, connected to Vashon Island if you're doing some island hopping while in WA. You'll find Oscar next to the parking lot for the light house, another amazing attraction done by the beach. Before walking down to the beach, head to the left side and follow the path to the troll. Once you find him, you'll need to wait patiently as others will be taking lots of pictures with this art installation. While waiting, you can walk around and follow the path. Again, this is just one of six art installations in our family is looking forward to our next visit in visiting all the other trolls. Highly recommend as this is free other than the ferry ride to the island. The family especially the kids are going to love this little adventure.

Oscar the Bird King is probably my favorite troll that I have visited so far. It is a bit of an…read moreadventure to see him. I took the car ferry from Point Defiance to Vashon Island and a 20 minute drive later I finally got to see him. He is not far from the parking lot and just a short walk to get to him. He is whimsical and magical. Sitting on his throne and reaching out to touch those that come to visit him. I sat on the benches in his courtyard and was just in awe of Oscar. He is a King indeed.

This is chainsaw carving at its best! I've seen everything from small tokens to lifesize totem…read morepoles. And, the beauty plus detail is simply amazing! It's fun to browse around the inside store and see what's available. There is bound to be something you like. The atmosphere is open, clean, and inviting. Service sometimes is hard to find. Prices are reasonable considering the time involved in carving the items. :)

The garden is beautiful and it's a nice activity to do end of fall/early winter. It used to be free…read morethen they started tickets and now they've increased the price just like anything else. But it's worth going around the holiday time each year. I suggest going on a week day of you can to avoid lines and parking craziness. The first slot 4:30 is less busy also.

Wonderful, festive and pretty affordable for the holidays. Ticket cost $10 per person over 11 years…read moreold. Kids 10 and your gets in for free. The lights were fun to look at and had many floral and crops themed ones. It was also larger than I thought cause from the outside you can see a portion of it. The cafe was also open and I wish I can try all their drinks. Their white hot chocolate with whip cream was so good for the cool weather. Also very glad it did not rain on that day.

Pia the Peacekeeper, the 18-foot giant troll sculpture on Bainbridge Island by Danish artist Thomas…read moreDambo, took approximately seven days to two weeks to make. She was so cool to see, this is our second troll to visit while being in this beautiful state! We decided to spend our last day experiencing the ferry ride and go across to Bainbridge and enjoy the afternoon and grab lunch and visit Pea. Such a went quaint little town look forward to visiting again.

Went to Bainbridge Island recently, we thought to come check out one of the troll statues around…read morethe Seattle area. We haven't seen this one so it was on our list while in the area. We took the ferry to come over from Seattle, we did not bring our car. It's about a 1.5 +/- mile walk from the ferry terminal, with some internet searching we were able to find one of the trailhead entrances, follow the loop trail then find Pia. It's just beyond one of the main parking lots. If you end up by the tennis courts, you've gone too far. Walking back to the main downtown strip area is about another 1.5 miles. When we got there, luckily no one was there, we had the place to ourselves for a while to get some photos, and check it out at our own pace. It's pretty cool to see, worth coming by when on Bainbridge Island. I believe this is my 4th troll statue I've seen in the Seattle area.

Other than visiting Norway the country, buying a ticket and travel across an ocean, my next dream…read morewas to visit Little Norway, just 30 minutes away from Seattle, only because in 2025 we're not flying anywhere Europe! AND I missed Norway! Last, my husband has a Norwegian DNA, I thought he'd appreciate it. If it weren't so hot, we'd see more what Little Norway has to offer. We did visited one of their best restaurants, visited some of the shops (no jewelry store is open on Sunday), antique stores, and actually hubby found a hoodie-less sweat shirt made from cotton! I actually want to spend the night here, so we could venture more, maybe get on the Viking ship and sail off somewhere, and visit the museum and other attractions. What would be a good time to visit is in November & December during their Holiday Festival, Julefest & Bazaar.

Quincy square is a celebration of the arts and history. Love the creativity and thoughtfulness put…read moreinto this tribute to Quincy Jones. Lots of great venues along the square to visit and lots of historical information shared too.

KIRKLAND DOWNTOWN @ KIRKLAND…read more I absolutely love coming to downtown Kirkland. It's where I grew up, and it's a place that feels really special to me. Parking is available in their main lot and does require payment, but there's also plenty of free street parking if you look around a bit. Downtown Kirkland has had a lot of construction lately, but it's finally wrapping up, and now there are so many new coffee shops, restaurants, and cute spots to stop by. There are bakeries, ice cream shops like Serena Gelato and Ben & Jerry's, and honestly just amazing food everywhere. They also host farmers markets that are super fun to walk through. I love the lakes and beaches here, too. Everything is literally walking distance, so once you find a good parking spot, you can walk the whole downtown area in about two hours. There are always people out, the community is great, and overall it's just such a wonderful place to visit, especially if you're in the area.

Downtown Kirkland reminds me of my hometown in Laguna Beach, CA because of all the great speciality…read morestores, art galleries and restaraunts. Although there are way more gyms here. Before moving to WA I debated on living in Kirkland. I don't live here, but I have been here twice with friends and it is always a good time! Parking is plentiful and there are so many places to have a good time. From breweres, wineries, art, music, clothing, sweets, and nice wide sidewalks to walk on it is a fun place to meander and just follow the good times. On this recent visit I was here for an ugly sweater wine walk which started at the Heath Hotel. Just follow the balloons and we had a great time walking around the downtown area. Don't forget the plentiful Realtors and custom jewerly with gorgeous shiny rings a girl can dream about, lol. Lastly, the sidewalk next to the water is a great place to see views of downtown Seattle across the water. And I love being near water. Currently they have the downtown also decorated with holiday lights. I love Christmas lights! Happy Yelping to everyone and go enjoy this beautiful, fun downtown.

3.21.2026-Chasing my LOVE for cherry blossoms dreams has come true during this visit to UW, the…read morecherry blossoms at University of Washington and I am super grateful to be able to experience this in real life! Last year when I stopped by the campus, I was bummed as I was too early. It was so hard to plan a visit at time of blooms, due to cost of plane tickets. This year it was truly meant to be. * you can check on- line , there is a social media page to check on the blooms, this is the info. I got when I called the University to get some info. Parking $3. per hour, with park and pay by phone. The bathrooms are closed but portable toilets were available. When we went it was super crowded, expected as everyone is there to see the beautiful blooms, it was really hard to take a pic with others not being in the background but I will have to use vanish mode on my photos. hehe I took tons of photos, loaded about 40+ but not sure only 7 pics made it. Be sure to take all the photos you want in all different angles and different spots, hehe. It was hard to find the perfect spot so this is what I did. OMG, Wow, super happy, content, my heart is filled with joy, seeing the blooms, so beautiful, beautiful campus, I just loved being here. I am so happy, cried happy tears 3 times during this PNW trip.

As beautiful as this place is, it was hard to take good photos as there's too many people! I get it…read moreit's a popular spot and all, and there's not much anyone can do. Wished that cherry blossoms blooming lasted longer than 2 weeks!