A Morning Adventure in Vashon

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I’m a do-er. I love to do things. With kids it became harder to do things since we have to navigate around naps, bring a car load of things everywhere, and basically get them to leave the house without (too much) whining. Not to mention my obsessive need to keep to a schedule. However, we still manage to get out and do things as a family.

Every few months, I get this itch to get out to do something further away from our usual things. One of these moments was last fall in the midst of the coronavirus. We’re still struggling to find things to do with the coronavirus closures, but there are things nearby that can still be fun. This time the answer was: Vashon! It’s close to home and yet feels like a bigger adventure. We went for a full morning and returned in home to catch a late nap for the little guy. It was the perfect day. 

Here’s what we did for our Vashon morning adventure (note: we visited October 17, 2020):

Ferry

We are up pretty early with the kids…scratch that, the kids are up early so we are therefore up early. On the bright side, this makes it easy for us to go out early to do things. We caught the 8:25 am ferry. The ferry ride is short - like 15-20 minutes - which is perfect for kids. It’s not too long but just enough for all the excitement. Seriously, you can just take the ferry there and back and I’m sure it’ll make your kids day. We even saw seals on our way across. 

Check out the ferry schedule from Point Defiance to Tahlequah here.

Vashon Coffee Roasters

Of course, our first stop is coffee. We love getting a latte on the weekends as a little treat to ourselves. Lately, for better or for worse, Caleb’s discovered he can get hot chocolate when we go to coffeeshops. So he was begging for one , too. How can we resist? So first stop we headed to Vashon Coffee Roasters. The store is great with all sorts of things to look at while you wait for your latte to steam up. The kids enjoyed cranking the old roaster. 

Minglement

You can cross over to Minglement while inside Vashon Coffee Roasters. There were lots of hipster type things for sale like honey, vinegar, teas, and other natural and organic products. It’s fun to look around at see some of the local fares. We purchased some honey and it was quite delicious on our morning toast. 

Mica’s Kitchen

Since it was an adventure, we wanted to see what else we could discover so we started through the little downtown area. Some things were closed either for the season, but mostly because of coronavirus. However, we spied the Mica’s Kitchen sign and we were lured inside to find out what was offered. To our delight, there were freshly baked goodies - score! It was hard to decide but we ended up with the maple bar and morning roll. Both were parent and kid-approved. 

We were served by Mica herself who was friendly and shared how she just opened up this year, but what a hard year it is to open during a pandemic. If you head to Vashon, stop by and support her! 

Point Robinson Lighthouse

We felt ready to do something outdoors with our caffeine and sugar fix fulfilled. It was a great spot with the kids. There is a small trail down to the lighthouse from the parking lot - not very long; something like 5-10 minutes depending on how fast or curious the little feet stomping down are going. The lighthouse is on the smaller side. I heard another couple say how small it was in dismay…but that didn’t really matter to us. The lighthouse was closed, so we couldn’t go inside. It sounds like it’s open specific days during the summer during non-covid times, though. 

We loved exploring the surrounding beach. There was driftwood to climb and there were little “huts” that we could climb into and let pretend with. Then we saw some jelly fish and lots of shells. It was a bit blustery, but the fresh air felt great and the views were gorgeous.

The Country Store & Farm

I fell in love with this little store. It had all the outdoorsy things that I love like Patagonia and Pendleton (although those brands are a bit pricey). There was a little kids corner with cute toys, then a fun candy section with old time candies like taffy and lollipop sticks. There was men and women’s clothing and accessories, candles, and other fun things like bitters and whatnot. The upstairs had some clothing consignment and even a few consignment toys. It turned out to be a great shop for everyone in the family. 

Little Birds Garden Nursery 

Next door, using the same parking lot, was the sweetest nursery. They did a fantastic job with the plants and decoration. If we had more room in the car, I probably would have taken a plant home with me. I am not the best plant person, but I still enjoyed how they had everything displayed. 

Nashi Orchards

This was the big event for the trip. We learned about this cidery on a previous visit pre-kids. Then I saw it recently as an article in South Sound magazine. We always intended to return, but just hadn’t gotten to it. The hardest part about getting to it, is the fact they open at noon. And first we had Caleb napping and now we have Wesley napping…and nap time is at 1pm. We couldn’t figure out an afternoon trip since naps aren’t done until 3pm at the earliest and that’s not enough time for a trip. Of course, we could do a driving nap, but we just never did it.

Give this, if you want to go here, it’s going to be noon or after. You also need to make an appointment. I think you had to do this pre-covid days as well. We just texted the number from their website in the morning, and they said we could come at noon, so you don’t have to have the trip uber-planned out. 

This place is so picturesque I could get it up. Or, I should day, drink it up…because it’s cider, hard cider that is, so don’t let your kids drink it. Oh man, I just laughed to myself. I have a story about mead and my mom in Ireland, you can ask me about it someday. Honestly, the cider was on the drier side for my taste, but it was the most enjoyable experience (my hubby liked the cider, btw). We did like the Black Ice cordial (who else thinks of Anne of Green Gables with cordial?); it was totally unique, so we brought a bottle home. Even if you’r not a huge cider fan, this is still a fun stop.

More Places and Things

Our trip ended after all the above adventures, but there is still much more you can do on a trip to Vashon. We just wanted to get back home for nap, which we surprisingly managed (yup, we did all that and got home by 1:30pm for nap time…boom, parenting).

Before you Go

  • We’ve been to Vashon before (pre-kids) and we made the unfortunate choice to go in the winter. Many places close for the winter season, so be sure to check out what you want to do before heading over and ensuring they are open! Not to mention, covid causing things to close as well.

  • Check out the ferry schedule to ensure you have a good idea on return trips! Also, the ferry can get a line up and you have to wait sometimes, so keep that in mind with your planning.

  • Bring coats! The ferry ride can be cold and windy!

I hope you go and have some fun! Share what you’ve done on Vashon in the comments!