Hello Washington---I'm Home!

Wednesday, December 22nd--After 1 1/2 days of driving, we made it to Bremerton, Washington, my home town. The drive wasn't too bad. We dealt with a few rough patches on the roads but overall, it was okay. The kids are usually pretty good on road trips but this trip wasn't the case. By the time we pulled into the driveway of my parents home we were happy to turn them over and take a breather!
On Wednesday, we travelled by ferry to Seattle. We drove to Seattle Center (home of the Space Needle) where there is a Harry Potter exhibit going on now at the Pacific Science Center. The exhibit was not cheap but we were assured it would be quite spectacular and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was pretty awesome, indeed! There were props and costumes galore, worn or used by many of the cast of Harry Potter. I couldn't believe how tiny so many of the actors are! We really enjoyed the exhibit but were bummed they wouldn't allow pictures. As with most exhibits, the end lead right into the gift shop. With not being allowed to take pictures we thought we would get an exhibition book. They are usually full of pictures from the exhibit along with stories. Well we found out that everything, literally, in that gift shop was overpriced....to the extreme! It was insulting, to say the least. A copy, made out of thin paper, of the Marauders Map was $45.00. Small magnets were $5.00 a piece, etc. I couldn't believe it! We left empty handed but took pictures of some of the advertising outside the exhibit. After the exhibit we went into the childrens museum and were quite excited to see a butterfly room. My mom, Elise and I went inside the hot, humid room. Butterflies were everywhere and flew around us. It was quite amazing. Elise was in heaven! The kids found some penny press machines. I swear they are addicted to those things, as is their father! It was no Harry Potter souvenir but they each got a penny press from the childrens museum---total cost: $1.02 (we can handle that!). We had a great day in Seattle!