Today was a great day for a baseball game at a stadium with a retractable roof. It rained for a good part of the day and we were fortunate enough to have tickets to the 12:40pm game between the Seattle Mariners and the NY Mets. The game was a slow one with the Mets winning 3-2. Sean was happy to get yet another baseball hat and watch the game he loves - no matter where we are on vacation. The boys decided to hit the gym and then the pool at the hotel before we headed off to an Irish Pub along Lake Union and then a drive around the Lake to see the University of Washington, house boats, and sailboats along the lake.... read more

Five hour flight to Seattle from Philadelphia. Beautiful and sunny when we arrived. Settled into our room and then headed off to Pike Place Market for lunch. Walked past the"original" Starbucks location and strolled thru the marketplace. Belt buckle vendor caught the eye of the boys and both walked away with one. Sean got a seahawk and Drew got a native american eagle. Boys hung out at the hotel pool for a while, we hung out looking at the lake, and then we headed off for a quick pizza before passing out.... read more

We decided to do some kayaking today on Jackson Lake. Had planned to go longer but after an hour the clouds moved in and the rain started. We were able to kayak across to an island where we went along the coastline looking at some great rocks and just relaxing. Felt some wave action from a few motor boats going past. Stopped for lunch at the Jackson Lake Lodge (our 3rd time this week) at their grill which is more like an old deli counter that snakes around an entire room. Good food. The clouds and rain passed and we went to the top of Signal Mountain where you get great views of the Tetons and Jackson Lake as well as the Snake River on the other side. Got back to our cabin just in time ... read more

We didn't expect it to rain today so when it started we decided to go to the USF&W hatchery and to the National Wildlife Art Museum just outside of town. The hatchery is located next to the Elk Refuge and is responsible for releasing over 200,000 Cut Throat Trout each year in Idaho and Wyoming. Cool to see how little year old trout look. Then we headed to the museum which was much bigger than it appeared from the outside. An amazing collection of diverse work including one painting by N.C. Wyeth of bison in the mountains. This museum also encouraged visitors to try their hands at artwork. Sean made an origami bird, Drew sketched a Cut Throat Trout, and Dean modeled a Cut Throat Trout in clay. We also spent some time walking around town ... read more

Today we enjoyed whitewater rafting on the Snake River. We shared our raft with 2 couples from Australia. It was their first time in the US (they had their motorcycles shipped over in May for this trip with their ultimate destination being Sturgis). The boys sat in front so they got the most wet. Along the way we saw 2 bald eagles and an osprey. Needless to say we had a lot of fun. We hung out at our cabin for a bit with the boys going for a swim in the pool and Dean and I sitting on the porch listening to a band prepare for a wedding just across the creek from us. We decided to catch the sunset in Grand Teton National park so we packed up and headed off for a drive. ... read more