Discovering Discovery Beach

this weekend we went to discovery beach and park. we learned about discovery beach from a recommendation of a friend. (thanks carla!) discovery beach is nestled just outside the heart of the city of seattle, but once you are in the park you forget where you are. the park is full of easy to moderate hiking trails, 2 beaches (rocky and sandy), picnic areas, open play areas, and a visitor center with all sorts of neat displays. we had a perfect day to be outside so we made the most of it. we started out hiking over to the south beach. the hike over to the beach was not as easy as it had appeared on the map. the trails are beautifully kept up so that was not the problem, the problem was it was a pretty long hike with 2 boys and a wife!! yes, i am telling on myself. we are a group that enjoys instant gratification and 30 minutes in we were still not seeing any sign of a beach. patience paid off, we made it to the beach after about 1.5 hours and played there for a while and even found some sea glass, which was the main reason i wanted to go to discovery beach. then it was lunchtime, and you guessed it, our picnic was back in the armada. so away we went. of course getting back always seems to go faster, so in no time we were back feasting!! after a nice picnic lunch and some playing catch in the park, we were feeling refreshed and decided we needed to conquer the north beach trail. well, we started out and about a 1/4 of a mile in, we were starting to question our quest. but each of us is as stubborn as the other, so ahead we forged. after about another mile or so, we made it to our destination. boy, it sure was worth it. by now it is about 4:15 in the afternoon and we pretty much have the beach to ourselves. the boys played in the sand and shawn and i explored the rocky edges of the oldest light house in the puget sound. after about an hour, we were starting to run out daylight and decided it was time to trek back. the car never looked so good. we definitely got our workout in and shawn decided if we are serious about climbing rainier in a year, he better start getting in shape. for once, i was not the sore one at the end of the day!! put that one in the record books! yeah, i'll leave out the fact he carried grady on his shoulders most of the day!!!