3 ideas for summer outings with the grandkids

Your grandkids are in town for a visit.

How do you entertain them?

If you want to get them outside — and away from the TV — here are three summer day-trip ideas sure to please.

Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, cash, a camera and all the energy you can muster.

Pick

blueberries

If your grandchildren like blueberries, let them gather the little orbs themselves on a real, live working farm.

Blueberries, which grow on upright bushes, are easier to pick than low-growing strawberries, and the kids will delight in a day on the farm, running up and down the rows between the bushes.

You’ll get the kids walking and you’ll be treating them to a nutritious treat at the same time.

Even kids who eschew blueberries have been known to be converted by some of the big varieties that grow in Snohomish County, including the legendary Bluecrop, a variety that can produce berries as wide as quarters.

U-pick blueberries are also easy on the budget, typically selling on the farm for about $2 a pound.

You can bring them home and show the children how make cobbler. (Check out our favorite recipe at tinyurl.com/effortlesscobbler.)

To locate a farm, see www.pugetsoundfresh.org, where you’ll find details for at least seven Snohomish County U-pick blueberry farms.

Two popular farms include the Mountainview Blueberry Farm, 7617 E. Lowell-Larimer Road, Snohomish (360-668-3391; www.mountainviewblueberryfarm.com) and Bryant Blueberry Farm and Nursery, 5628 Grandview Road, Arlington (360-474-8424; www.bryantblueberries.com).

Call to confirm hours and availability. Blueberry season typically starts by mid- to late July and continues until Labor Day.

Ride a ferry

One of the charms of the Northwest is riding a ferry (Washington State Ferries system, 888-808-7977; www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries), just the thing for kids visiting from landlocked states.

Though we locals mostly use ferries to get from place to place, why not slow down and ride the ferry just to ride the ferry?

Start your adventure at Mukilteo’s Lighthouse Park, 601 Front St. (425-263-8180; www.ci.mukilteo.wa.us), where you can frolic on the beach and check out the local lighthouse. Then walk aboard the Kittitas or Cathlamet.

Boats depart just about every half hour. Once on deck, you can explore the corridors, have a snack and bask in the views.

Seniors age 65 and older and kids 6 to 18 travel at discounted rates of $2.10 and $3.40 respectively. Age 5 and younger ride for free. Other ages pay $4.20 to walk aboard.

On the other side of the water in the town of Clinton, walk just north of the ferry landing to a small, new waterfront park (www.portofsouthwhidbey.com), offering beach access, restrooms, picnic spots, a small fishing dock and driftwood galore.

Explore Everett

If it’s raining or cold, take your grandkids to the Imagine Children’s Museum, 1502 Wall St., Everett (425-258-1006; www.imaginecm.org; closed Mondays).

If it’s nice outside, use the day to explore Everett.

Start with a fish and chips lunch at the local Waterfront Fish Market, 2831 W. Marine View Drive (425-258-1987; www.waterfrontfishmarket.com; closed Sundays).

Your grandkids will love the waffle-style French fries and you will devour the fish.

Then head over to the Port of Everett Marina, 1720 W. Marine View Drive (www.portofeverett.com) to see one of the largest marinas on the West Coast, including sailboats and fancy yachts.

The Port of Everett recently opened the final segment of its marina trail system and waterfront walkways, including a 4-mile loop route that provides pedestrian access to the marina facilities, from Marina Village on the south end to the 10th Street Boat Launch on the north.

End the day with ice cream at one of the many marina restaurants and cafes.

Meyer’s Cafe, 1700 W. Marine View Drive (425-259-3875), serves milkshakes.

Vitality main page

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.