On a recent trip to Seattle, we decided to take a day and go over to Bainbridge Island and wander around. I mean, ferry rides! Gorgeous views! Aimless wandering! What's not to like?

We have a 10-month-old, and we traveled with friends who have a 9- and 7-year-old. We just squeaked in at the scheduled time to shove off, but the ferry ran a bit late, which wasn't fun for regular commuters, but happy for us. We also did the walk-on (parking is expensive, but ferrying your car over full of people is even more so), which saved us time.

The ferry was very clean -- which made me happy since I felt ok letting our toddler walk around (at least indoors). The older kids were thrilled to find candy machines at their bidding, and we adults were pleasantly surprised to find that the food service was back up and running (with good food and drink offered, also).

Outside was...invigorating! We did enjoy walking around the ferry, taking in the views, people-watching and being battered by the stiff wind. Definitely in any weather, should you take the ferry, bring jackets for the kidlets. Also, I saw people letting little ones walk outside by themselves -- I wouldn't recommend it. Not. Safe.

Once you hit Bainbridge, there are loads of little shops to peruse, food places to enjoy and parks to explore in downtown Winslow. Many of the shops are not especially geared toward young ones, so be prepared to hold your kidlets, hold hands, or avoid at all costs. :)

We simply hoofed it up and around the neighborhoods, finding a fabulous fudge shop (thank GOODNESS they also had kid-oriented candy, too) and an awesome, awesome new play structure not too far from the Eagle Harbor. We dined al fresco at one of the many restaurants in Eagle Harbor and then went on to more wandering. (Used to tourists, most places here are pretty kid-friendly -- though our restaurant didn't have a place in the teeny restrooms to change our baby, they offered us a counter nearby and suggested we change her there. The area was an out-of use bus-station. :D )

You definitely can spend an entire day exploring, then eating and relaxing and exploring again, all on foot, or by bike. A great way to wear out the whole family!

The ferry schedule, plus links to boatloads (hee!) of good information (wait times, parking info, food info)can be found here.

Fares are relatively reasonable for a daylong outing, find a sample here.