Washington Vacations in the Evergreen StateThe cascade mountain range divides the state into two distinct climates. To the west of the mountains you will find a lush green environment year round, the cities such as Seattle and Tacoma, a rain forest and the Pacific Ocean coast. To the east of the cascades you will find predominately prairie and desert landscapes, Ponderosa pine, along with orchard and wheat fields a plenty. Therefore, Eastern Washington is the hotter dryer part of the state. Both Eastern and Western Washington have one thing in common; beauty that leaves you wanting to explore more of Washington and plan several Washington vacations. Western Washington VacationsSeattle, Washington VacationsWhen visiting the urban area of Seattle you will quickly notice just how close you still are to the lush green Washington environment.Seattle Center - The Seattle center is a must see on your Washington vacation. In the middle of the Seattle center you will find the Space Needle built for the 1962 world’s fair, at a height of 605 feet, on a clear day it is worth the price tag for a ride to the visitor’s center, however, on an overcast or rainy day save your bucks for other attractions. The Seattle center is also home to the Pacific Science Center, which features 5 buildings of hands-on science exhibits and 2 IMAX theaters. Childrens Museum for children under the age of 10, Fun Forest amusement Park, and a fountain park. On warm days the fountain park is a local place to let your children run through. If you’re looking for cheap eats there is a food court in the upper floor of the Children Museum Building that offers good food. A working carousel, large arcade, watching the ferry boats, and strolling along the waterfront is great fun for the whole family. There are lots of yummy eats from ice cream to pacific coast seafood along the waterfront. For an entirely different shopping experience, go up a couple streets from the Seattle waterfront to the famed Pike Place Market on First Avenue. This is a hoping Farmers Market on the weekends with the flying fish at the fish market and many shoppers, so if you use a stroller for the young ones I would try this on a weekday. But it should part of your Washington vacation plans. Safeco Field - If you happen to be a major league baseball fan this is a wonderful baseball park. I would definitely recommend taking in a game, if you’re in Seattle during baseball season. There is no bad seat in the house and a play place for children if they get bored during the game. Food inside Safeco field is pricy, so try and eat before you go! Qwest Field - If you’re a NFL football fan you can visit Qwest field the home of the Seattle Seahawks, however this is not a little kid facility. The fans are “In to Football” and the drinking and language can get out of hand. But, for those of you with older kids who are also football fans or Dad needs a day away, Qwest field is unique NFL destination. The Woodland Park Zoo is located just north of downtown Seattle and is 92 acres with over 300 species of animals. Most of the exhibits are large free roaming areas. Here are a few of the highlights: Tropical Rain Forest, with gorillas and jaguar. Tropical Asia, with the elephants. African Savanna, with the Hippopotamus, giraffes, monkeys and lions. the Northern Trail habitat features the bears and otters. Woodland park zoo is favorite stop for most families planning Washington vacations. The Museum of Flight is located south of Seattle right on Boeing Field airport. The main gallery has 43 replica aircraft dating back to the Wright brothers. The courage wing has all the fighter planes. The outdoor section of the museum houses Air Force One, and the Concord both of which you can walk through on your tour. For those of you with children who love airplanes this is the stop for you. Here's some pictures on our blog from the Museum of flight. An inexpensive way to see several of the Seattle city sights is the “City Pass” . Consider this as you plan your Washington vacations, if you plan to see at least five Seattle attractions this money savings option is better than paying higher individual entrance fees. Tacoma, Washington VacationsTacoma is another Washington city to the south of Seattle, located on the Puget Sound, it is a port city and has a lot to offer on your Washington vacation.Point Defiance Park is 700 acres along Puget Sound. The park has beach access, rose gardens, Nisqually Fort, Never, Never land for the kids and Pt . Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. This is the only zoo aquarium combined in the Pacific Northwest. This is a much smaller zoo then the Seattle Woodland Park zoo but is still great with its white Beluga whales, penguins and aquarium. Outside of Tacoma Northwest Trek - This is a great animal park for you and your family to visit. This is a 723 acre wildlife park with animals native to the Northwest. There is a free roaming area with Bison, elk, moose, just to name a few animals you might see on your tram ride. There is a small hands on discovery center for younger children, this is a fun area as you never know what might be on display one year they even had a bee hive behind glass that you could watch as the bees busily collected nectar and made honey! The other part of the park has animals in their natural habit type areas bears, otters, and beaver just to name a few. Northwest Trek is located about 40 miles south of Seattle and 25 miles south of Tacoma, the drive to this park is a bit long but worth it! Full day Trips to consider for your Washington VacationsMount Rainer National Park - Mount Rainer is a beautiful landmark of the Pacific Northwest, on a clear day the snow topped Mt Rainer at an elevation of 14,411 feet can be seen from most locations. Deep green forests cover the mountainside to 5000 feet then alpine meadow and wildflowers. The mountain is topped with 26 glaciers.Visitor’s centers are: Sunrise, Paradise, Longmire, and Ohanapecosh. The Nisqually also known as the southwest entrance and Nisqually-Paradise road are the only roads open all year unless avalanche threatens. The other three entrances are closed from late October or first snowfall. I would recommend buying a book on Mt Rainer prior to your visit to help you plan better. You can drive through to two of the 4 visitor’s centers in a day reaching Longmire and Sunrise or Ohanapecosh and Paradise but reaching both in one day without spending a night in the park is just not possible and you would miss a lot of great mountain sites. There are numerous, easy, moderate and hard hiking trails along either drive with beautiful scenery. Here are some pictures on our blog from our trip to Sunrise and more Sunrise pictures here: Mt Rainer Sunrise Trip Mt. St Helens - In southwestern Washington you will find the active volcano Mount St. Helens and its visitor’s center. Until this area was devastated by the 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens was the crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Today the volcano is still active and is beautiful 110,000 acre monument. Access to the area is limited, local roads only skirt the area but all end with scenic views of the mountain. Roads are open late May or Mid June until Mid October depending on weather. 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