On our last full day in Seattle, we started out with the Woodlawn Zoo. We got to see a lot of animals that our zoo is just too small and cold to have including giraffes, hippos, and a lot of large monkeys and apes. Before our trip, Rachael had been asking to go to a zoo with elephants. Check that off our list.
There were several preschool/daycare groups there that day, so we had to work to see some of the animals. We enjoyed how shaded the paths and exhibits were from all the trees. There were some secluded little shortcuts that the girls had fun exploring. All the walking was a little hard on Patrick, but we made it through.
After we grabbed lunch, we decided we could just make the ferry to Bainbridge Island. The girls were excited about driving onto a boat. Rachael and I spent the trip there and back spotting jellyfish over the side of the ferry.
We visited a tiny historical museum on the island. There were displays that covered several eras of life on the island from native peoples through WWII. The girls liked pushing the buttons for the audio presentations, but they weren't too interested in listening.
We drove a short way around the island to the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. During WWII, the entire Japanese American population living on the island were forced to leave and live in camps far away. I knew about this event in US history, but actually being in the place where these families had to walk away from their homes and lives really struck me. It was a very beautiful memorial in a very peaceful setting. The story of this event was engraved along with the words of some of those affected on plaques along the winding wall that marked their march to the boats. All the names of the people who had to leave were accompanied by gifts and paper cranes made by family members.
On the ferry on the way back, we were treated to some great views of Seattle and Mt Rainier.
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