Lovely Snoqualmie Falls, ginormous Root Beer floats, the Seattle Great Wheel, and the Freemont Troll

Although Amy and I had just finished hiking Wallace Falls, we had plenty more on our itinerary for the day. I planned a day for her the way that I plan vacations for myself - constant adventure! We drove 134 miles total. Our next stop up was Snoqualmie Falls. I never would have thought to visit both Wallace and Snoqualmie Falls in one day, but the drive between the two on hwy 203 was very pretty.

After an exhausting hike, Amy was relieved that all she needed to do to see this one was take a gentle stroll to the lookout point.

On our way into Seattle we met up with my sister at XXX Root Beer in Issaquah for some ginormous root beer floats and cheeseburgers. I had no trouble downing every drop of that frothy deliciousness! Amy could have stayed in the restaurant for hours checking out everything pinned on the walls.

After filling our bellies we drove west into the city to ride the Seattle Great Wheel. I'd never been on it before, and it was great to finally have an excuse to try it. You stay in the gondola for 3 slow revolutions, which is definitely plenty of time to see everything. It's fun to do once, but I think the Space Needle, which costs about the same, is the better choice for the view.

 Locks on the bridge over Alaskan Way and Marion Street.

It made for a slightly longer walk to the Great Wheel, but we had free parking. Thanks to being involved in Pirates of Penzance on Bainbridge Island in 2012, I knew exactly where to find it. Most parking in downtown Seattle charges until 8, but there are a few spots near the ferry that only charge until 6.

Months before the trip, Amy started a pinterest board of things to do on our trip. One of her pins was the Freemont Troll, which I'd never heard of even though I've driven into Freemont many times, including over and around the bridge the troll is under. From her pin I assumed it would just be a little statue of a troll. I had no idea it would be so massive! How did I not know about this?!

I love that you can find the troll at "Troll Ave!"

Lighting was a bit difficult since it was getting late, but fortunately there were enough people there with lights on their smartphones or we would not have been visible in these pictures.

Some guy climbed to the top of the troll's head and sat there for about 15 minutes. After he left I tried to climb up, but the shoes I was wearing made it clear that it would not end well for me if I did.

On Sunday we had a day of rest playing games, eating Amy's delicious cheesy rice bake (which was supposed to be quinoa bake), and watching the movie Frozen. Oscar made a little dog with his Settler's pieces for Amy. She may be a dog-lover, but she sure adored our 3 cute kitties!