A week off of school is not something to be taken lightly. I know a lot of people whose plans for spring break can be explained in one of two words: “Sleep” or “nothing.”
With as many amazing opportunities, activities, and cool places as this area of our lovely green state has, that is simply not an acceptable plan.
“But…what is there to do here?”
Hey, I get it. It’s hard to realize and remember what’s in a place when you’ve lived for so long – you almost become desensitized to your surroundings.
But never fear – I have a list of awesome, free or relatively cheap stuff to do. Just because you don’t have a plane ticket doesn’t mean you can’t have some vacation-worthy experiences.
The Washington Park Arboretum
Located in Seattle and owned by UW, the arboretum contains a lush 320 acres of greenery. It has greenhouses, expansive trails, and plenty of places to picnic (weather permitting). There are two bus routes that run there (43 and 48).
Fremont Troll
Made of rebar steel and concrete, the Fremont Troll is a free exhibit located under the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. A great photo opportunity, and if you have any younger siblings you can give them quite a scare (or they might just enjoy making faces at it; everyone’s different). Friday, March 23 is “Cajun Night,” a free night of live music and fun located near the Troll at the Gypsy Pub & Café. Thursday, March 29 is a free Open Mike Night in the same café.
Snoqualmie Falls
This is another great photo op. Nearby is a gift shop ,as well as other quaint little shops in historic downtown Snoqualmie, including The Black Dog, a restaurant that has “Fare Share Suppers on Monday nights 5:30-7:00 p.m. The concept of these is to “pay what you can for dinner,” meant to help families that are working hard to stretch their food budget.
Chism Beach Park
Tucked away in Bellevue, this place has a gorgeous view (though I wouldn’t recommend swimming just yet…).
International District, Seattle
This is a really awesome place with cheap food.
Pike Place Market
Not only does Pike Place have cheap food, it also has free samples.
Red Robin
Get a table with a friend (or a few). Order two drinks, and one plate of fries. Refills on both are free for as long as you want.
Barbeque
To save money, ask people to bring one food/drink item to contribute (another weather permitting activity, but as long as it’s dry.
Spontaneous Road Trip
This is probably the least cheap, given gas prices and all. But odds are one of your friends has a car, and chipping in for gas and snacks can be worth it in the name of adventure. See where you end up. There’s no telling what you’ll discover, and the act of going somewhere unknown is exciting and gives an intoxicating feeling.
Bellevue Library
I know, I know, a lot of you are probably sick of studying in libraries by the time finals are over. However, if you’re like me and love books any time of the year, this is a really great place to go. Their corner bookshop (near the entrance) is stocked with tons of great, gently used books, some for as little as 25 cents.
Even if you’re not into the whole book deal, given that it’s one of the bigger libraries in the KCLS system, they have a pretty big collection of DVDs. You can check out a few for a movie night for way less than Blockbusters.