We've been here a few times now and it's always fun. Came for a few rides and my partner's free…read morebirthday ride was part of the shenanigans. Both Jamie and Moe took good care of us. Added her free ride with the group before us and let us ride alone (party of 2) and also sped us up on a couple runs, but I always have trouble with all the curves. Super fun though. Recommend!

What a fun day!! No doubt a great way to celebrate a…read morebirthday, team building, or date! Go- karting is fun. They were quick electric karts . Easy for any driver. The experience was fun but unorganized. We had reservations that started late ~20 mins. Also as we're starting. They forgot to turn a few karts on.. slowing the process. Otherwise, very fun!

Had a milestone birthday here for my hubby; adult kids and grandkids as guests... a TOTSL BLAST for…read moreall ages 7-70! Staff was so helpful in planning and execution; incredibly patient, friendly and FUN to work with. Highly recommend!!

If there is such thing as a perfect hangout venue for a group of friends, Whirlyball comes very…read moreclose to fit that description. It has beer, pizza, bumper car, basketball, lacrosse, and arcade games all wrapped up in a single establishment that offers immense fun for reasonable per-person cost. It is always a blast to have a game of whirlyball with your friends, drink beer in between the games, and get back into your bumper car and play the lacrosse/basketball. It is strangely addicting and just fun. And the beer prices are reasonable as well. Booking the court requires a phone call but staff are very friendly and they really work with you to get the right amount of court and time for your group and event. On the day of the event, you get assigned a referee who runs all the games and they are engaging, funny, and just great.

This is the second Kirkland Oktoberfest we've attended. The food, beer and live music were great on…read morethis sunny Sunday afternoon. I was disappointed again this year with the disorganized check-in. The wait times were long especially for those who pre-purchased tickets. I was really disappointed with the weenie race. Who ever was in charge of this event evidently didn't know the difference between a dachshund and a Boston terrier. The Boston terrier won 1st place in the final race making the whole idea of having a weenie race quite ironic. I plan to enter my greyhound next year:)

This is a limited review as I don't drink…read more I wish they can figure out how to provide the merriment for non-drinkers and still allow for mingling with the crowd. This year, 2019, they are charging $20 to basically walk through the fence. That's quite steep, and I turned around on Friday. On Sunday, the Family Day with the wiener dog race, the fences are reconfigured to allow for wandering of more of the grounds without having to pay. Alas, it rained the entire day. I understand not every festival can be free. I understand there are laws that govern separation of alcoholic beverages from minors. I just wish the cost to enter the grounds is not $20, so I can have flexibility to choose which of the three days to go that has better weather. In short, this event is one of the few events in Kirkland that is not all that family friendly. For the records, kids in Germany do attend the Oktoberfest in Munich. It IS supposed to be a family event.

Mr. Paul, also know as "The Benefactor", has created something incredible with Zoo Racing. We had…read morea group of 5 people in our racing experience at Thunderhill Raceway this weekend and with Mr. Paul's help it, we quickly formed a high functioning team. It was like we had all been friends for years and worked together to do something incredible - complete a 24 (almost) hour endurance race that would break most ordinary men, their cars, and their spirits. Congratulations to the Zoo Racing Team and Mr. Paul for everything - I will never forget it!

I thought this was a bunch of bozo racers only out for a good time, but boy do they know how to…read morehave fun. slow lap times? no problem. a little wheel rubbing? no problem. 1 hour pit stops? no question. if you're from the land of maple leafs, you have an advantage, eh. but, being an american, the only problem i had was trying to convert KPH to MPH, KM to M and what the hell is a pint when filling the oil? disorganized? no. organized? no. fun? hellz yea. the british guy told me we run a 2 stoke motor, so Dave and I removed the oil pan for "good measure", but that turned into quite a sticky wicket. thank gosh for other people's ignition coils, otherwise we would have figured out the repair 30 minutes earlier with a spare DME. organizer's choice award winners, May 2018. i'll be back for more, but only if the seat passes tech. thanks boys!

AROO! I did the Spartan Race for the first time with a large group of friends and had a blast!…read more The Spartan Race for the Seattle area takes place in Monroe, near the high school at a spacious equestrian field in Snohomish County. It definitely was the perfect landscape for obstacles and trail running. For the most part, the event was well organized and they had plenty of volunteers throughout the entire race, to help navigate and cheer you on! Even as you arrive, you're directed to where to park and there are signs everywhere for checking in, restrooms, food and drinks, etc. The space for the race was ideal since it had everything you need for a spartan race, like trails through the woods, uneven grounds, hills and steep inclines, and yes, they even bulldozed some holes for the muddy pits that's part of the three obstacles where you get dirty. There are three different races that occur during the weekend the race takes place: Beast, a 21k with 30 obstacles, Super, a 10k with 25 courses or the Spring, a 5k with 20 obstacles. It was definitely a fun and exhilarating experience that I'll never forget! It was also cool to see how many people visited the Seattle area, just for this race that takes place every year, all over the world. Everyone was very friendly and loved the encouragement from fellow spartans and the volunteers and staff, cheering you on. I can't believe I'll say this, but yeah, I'd do it again.

This was really not a fun event. The entire experience felt disorganized with poor direction. They…read moreuse one off volunteers to maximize their profits and make our experience worse. The volunteers are friendly and trying to be helpful but lack the knowledge or experience to make things happen with any efficiency. This was coupled with long lines. The wait to check in was 45 minutes. The wait for a locker was 10 the wait for a hose to spray off the mud was 20+. These events are expensive and it is clear that Spartan race means to squeeze every dime out of you. $15-$30 for lockers, $150 for entry, $30 for photos and the list goes on. The obstacles are fine, the only redeeming quality is the other racers who all seem to be there to get through this together. People were happy to help each other and that was cool to see.

http://www.lakesammamishhalf.com/…read more Lake Sammamish Half Marathon is probably the easiest run from Evergreen Trail Runs. I thought this would be a good experience before I try more of their runs. I thought the race event itself was well organized and all the volunteers who involved were very nice and friendly. This race started in Marymoor Park in Redmond and ended in Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah. And, there's shuttle (school buses) dropping participants back to Marymoor after the race. That's very nice. In addition, Gear check in from Marymoor and Gear check out from Lake Sammamish. I was able to change to dry t-shirt after the race. I really appreciated that! If you are looking forward to having your PR, this is a race for you. I would say this trail is all the way flat. My last 4 half-marathons I had time around 2 hours 10-15 mins but this time, I was able to make it under 2 hours. I was very happy with it. In fact, a lot of first time half-marathoners were very happy with their first one! Highly recommended if you are looking for your first half-marathon to run!!

This is a flat and fast race! A lot of my friends have their PR on this course and I do as well…read more I have done this half twice now and would be happy to come back in the future. This was very organized and the shirts and metals were great quality (although be warned that the shirts sizes always run small for this one). The shuttles at the end that take you back to the start were very easy to use and left often. The density of runners was great, not too crowded but enough that you could pace with people. They also had some pacers running which is always much appreciated! My only negative on this run is that darn back and forth they do in the parking lot before the finish. I admit this year was much better that the 2013 course which had a painful number of repeats but when you are at mile 12 it is torturous to be looping around. I always wonder why they don't add that mileage on at the front at Marymoor instead? Still a great race and definitely worth it!

Inspirational! This…read moreis the second year I've flown up to Seattle to check out this event! This is the first year to actually complete it! Congrats Jim C. (http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=4TByNfzySEQ0K9nglTaJzQ ) YOU ROCK and you're my idol for finishing this Tri and making me think about getting of my fat @$$ and doing something like this at some point in the future! 2000+ jumped into some seriously cold cold water!!! SWIM: 1/2 Mile BIKE: 12+ Miles with 50% being uphill RUN: 3 Miles (~5K+) For those, not wanting to do a full Sprint Triathlon, Kirkland offers a "TRI-IT" Triathalon with a shorter 1/4 mile swim. I like the idea. Maybe if i learn to swim better I'll do this event one day soon!!! Congrats Jim on finishing this event that in itself is a huge VICTORY!!! pix laters....

Don't be intimidated by triathlons. You can easily become a triathlete, regardless of prior…read moreexperience! GOOD NEWS The Danskin race itself is fun. It's all women and great for any skill level, age, ability, or size. It's empowering! It's exciting, especially because of its size! And they give great medals and shirts and other swag! BAD NEWS Danskin fills up quickly, often on the first day of registration, which is in February. If you do get in, there will be about 5500 women racing with you. It's crowded. Last year's expo (my first) was a long mess. Allow lots of time to register on the day before the race. If you don't get in, don't worry. The Trek Tri is the same route and also women-only, run by the women who used to run Danskin; it's better anyway and not as full. It's commercial--you will be innundated with advertising for Danskin everyime you turn around. And they love to promote straight, pink femininity. Sometimes it feels like women's triathlon organizers and those who market to us are trying to compensate for the fact that we're athletic by dressing us in pink flowers. Yuck. TIPS Find a good training program online or in book and follow it. Check out some of the great workshops offered by the Lunachix (all money goes to charity). http://www.seattletrilunachix.com/ Get out and swim in a lake, ride a bike, run outside. And ask other people for tips--you don't have to be an expert or have lots of fancy stuff to do a tri. Most of all, have fun!

When my BFF told me she was signing up for the Danskin Triathlon, I was confused. A triathlon?…read moreAren't you a smoker? And don't you need to be in awesome shape to participate in a triathlon? Answers: yup, yup, and nope. The Danskin Triathlon is open to all women, regardless of age, weight, and disability. Throughout the training process and actual triathlon, coaches are always on-site to encourage, support and cheer the participants. My BFF quit smoking and wore a patch through most of the training. Today, as I got up at 5:45 so I could make it to her start time of 7:52, I watched a triathlete swim, bike and run with nary a nicotine patch. The energy present at the triathlon was incredible. Woman after woman crossed the finish line to the sounds of cheers and excited friends and family members. Greeting her at the finish line and giving her a big congratulatory hug almost brought me to tears.

Have you guys ever tried sim racing?…read more We recently visited Gripwerx Simulation Racing, which was our first time checking out a racing simulation center. Gripwerx is conveniently located on the second floor of Redmond Town Center, and features a setup of racing simulators for an immersive experience. I've only seen a racing rig at PAX, so it was cool to see the number of setups for Formula and GT simulation. You pay for each 15-minute segment ($20 each) with a special buy three, get one session free deal. They also have all day passes available for purchase, which is great as a weekend activity. Gripwerx takes drop-in visitors but I also recommend booking a session online to guarantee a spot. Knowing that it's a simulation, you probably wouldn't think there's a physical aspect to it, but after an hour of immersive driving, my husband said that it did take some focus. With a variety of car models and courses available in their inventory, including local tracks like Pacific Raceways, Gripwerx was a fun experience and he'll definitely be going back for more!

Haven't been to their store yet, but my husband spoke with Calvin since we've been interested in…read morebuilding our own setup at home. Calvin was very friendly, easy to talk to and gave great recommendations. I see all 5 stars for in person experiences at their store too so I'm definitely booking a trip up there soon to support their business.