There are three attraction here that make for a fun, relaxing, and free day trip: 1) Locks  2) Salmon ladder  3) Botanical gardens.  I'm not really into boats, but watching 8 million gallons of water lift a boat up 15 feet from the salt water sound to a fresh water lake is a pretty interesting sight.  Also, the best time to view large salmon going up the ladder is during July, August, and September.

A short and beautiful drive from Seattle, Remlinger Farms is a great place to get away from the city and stock up on fresh produce.  It's a popular place during the weekends for families and during the week for school field trips.  Come for the Fall Harvest festival from the end of September through October and explore the corn maze and pumpkin-patch. 

Depending on the time of year, this park can be almost unbearably busy.  The main park area is flat and grassy, making it a great place for a picnic (with an amazing view).  The park also has a small beach popular with local divers.  If the park is too busy, the surrounding area is equally breathtaking.  Drive past it and park on the road further down.  There is a great walking path that follows the cliffs with beach access to the beaches below.  The beaches here are rocky, making for great tidepooling, some of the best I've ever encountered on the Monterey Bay.

Make sure to walk to the end of the wharf, where you can watch the sea lions relaxing below you through large holes carved out of the boards.  It's a nice relaxing stroll with good souvenir shopping and dining options.  Also, great views of the Boardwalk and West Cliff.

From the Boardwalk to Natural Bridges State Park, West Cliff is one of the most beautiful drives on the west coast.  It's best enjoyed, however, outside of the car.  Take a walk, watch the surfers and sea otters play.  Take one of several stairs along the path down to the tide pools and touch sea stars and anemones.  During the winter, watch the enormous waves crash into the cliffs--sometimes sending water and foam onto the road.  

I've read many reviews where people think this place is a total rip off.  I, however, thought it was one of the coolest ideas ever!  EVERYTHING is ice.  We ordered from a ice bar, sat on ice, and drank from an ice glass. While it does cost to get it, it's not rediculously expensive.  I paid $25 which included one drink and coat rental.  While they say your stay is limited to 30 minutes, we left when we wanted to and no one was timing us.  If you want the deluxe experience it costs $80/person for a fur coat rental, hat (that you keep), two drinks, and free souvenir picture.  Even if you just do it once, it's a  pure Vegas experience.

It's a small but beautiful garden found right next to the hotel's lobby.  It only takes a few minutes to walk through.  Every season/holiday is celebrated with different flower displays and artwork.  Since it constantly changes, if you visit Las Vegas often, it's a fun place to come and see the new designs.     

Amazingly beautiful and intricate pastries.  It's also home to the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain that cascades down from the ceiling on small glass tiers.  Even if you don't eat anything here (although it's difficult to resist), it's fun seeing the fountain.

Delicious creamy custard in a flaky crunchy shell.  You can't have just one.  Explore the bakery's maze of rooms, be surrounded by walls of azulejos, and catch a glimpse into the kitchen behind a wall of glass to watch pastries being made.

There are so many options when building your own burger, it can be overwhelming. The restaurant itself is a fun and relaxed environment with small TVs in every booth.  The cheesecake  or chocolate burgers are unique options for dessert, but even better than that is the HUGE milkshake menu and beer ice cream floats.

Taking a ranger-led tour down to the cliff dwellings is an absolute must.  Walking through the 800+ year old ruins is an amazing experience for kids and grown-ups alike.

I'm not really into trains, but I would take this ride over and over.  The ride is amazingly beautiful and there is so much to see!  Silverton is such a cool quaint old west town to visit and the train is a great way to get there.

Stunning drive that makes for a perfect day escape from Portland.  Don't just stop at the most popular Multnomah Falls, it's usually too crowded to enjoy it and there are so many other beautiful sights to see.

Little Italy makes for a quick day outing while in San Diego.  Filippi's Pizza Grotto serves a delicious pizza.  While waiting to be seated, its fun to walk around the small Italian market in the front. 

A fun thing to do while in San Diego.  Old Town feels like a piece of Mexico.  There are tons of little shops selling Mexican odds and ends, plus lots of Mexican restaurants with great food! 

Gorgeous hotel located on a beautiful beach.  You don't have to stay there to enjoy it.  If staying in San Diego, Coronado is a short drive away.  Admire the hotel by walking its grounds and grab an ice cream at the hotel's ice cream shop to enjoy while looking out over the Pacific.  A cheap and easy way to feel like you're staying there.

It's dirty and overly touristy.  Once you look at Grauman's Chinese Theater, look at the Hollywood sign (what you can see of it through the pollution), and walk through the Hollywood & Highland shopping center, you're done.

Three words:  Chocolate, Martini, Bar.  Since my ultimate chocolate fantasy of eating my way through Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory most likely won't ever come true, this is definately the next best thing.  Not only is there a boundless supply of chocolate cakes and truffles but also 12+ chocolate martinis to choose from and a seemingly endless list of liqueur spiked milkshakes and espressos.   Go for happy hour with $5 chocolate martinis and half-price appetizers.

I question this quality of any restaurant claiming to be the "best" of anything and this restaurant is no exception--claiming to be "The Best German Food in Washington State... Guaranteed."  I've never eaten German food anywhere else in Washington State so I can't completely attest to the statement; however, the food was surprisingly good.  Grab one of their handcrafted German beers with some Schnitzel, Rotkraut, and Spätzle.  

If you only have a short amount of time, don't worry about going in and admire the amazing architecture from the outside. It's absolutely awe-inspiring.

Fun thing to do if you LOVE music, especially on those drizzly Seattle days.  The admission price is a little steep for the museum's content, especially if you aren't a huge music fan.  In that case, I would skip paying to go in and admire the building from the outside.

A typical Vegas buffet with endless food options.  There are 6+ food stations with Mexican, Asian, Middle Eastern, American, Italian, and Seafood.  It was good, but not amazing.  I've been to other buffets where the desserts looked better than they tasted.  Desserts here, however, were definitely of higher quality and delicious.  They even had cotton candy, which was fun.  

In my opinion, the most beautiful duomo in Tuscany.  While the outside itself is incredibly impressive, make sure you go inside.  It took my breath away!

The trail to Devil's Postpile is short and easy (0.8 miles roundtrip), perfect for a family hike.  Once you reach the rock formation, remember to take the short detour to the top of the formation to see another side of the rock formations.  Another fun trail in this park is to Rainbow Falls.  It's a longer 5-mile trek and it goes through a large area of burnt out forest, so shade is rare.  Definitely bring lots of water.  The falls at the end of the hike, however, is beautiful.  Take the trail down to the bottom of the falls and wade in the water for a cool break. 

Located in Bishop Creek Canyon, about 22 miles west of
Bishop, South Lake is a great escape from summer's heat and the hurry of every day life.  At an elevation of 9,768 feet, the lake is calm and cool even in the middle of the summer.  It's a great fishing spot, being regularly stocked with trout and the Bishop Creek Resort provides full and half-day boat rentals.  It's the end of the road for motorists, but also trailhead for 20+ other small alpine lakes reachable by hiking. 

New Orleans is a food paradise.  Out of all the places in this wonderful city to visit and have a taste of creole food, I don't suggest trying this one.  It felt like a tourist trap.  Gumbo is all about its depth of flavor, I found this restaurant's gumbo to be one-note and boring. 

If you're ever in LA you have to make a stop at this hole in a wall hot dog stand, just to say that you've been there.  It's open late (until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays) and there is ALWAYS a line.  The chili cheese hot dog is huge and incredibly greasy... but amazing.  

Terceira Island is a small island, the whole thing can easily be seen in a day and this viewpoint is a necessary stop.  It's possibly the most beautiful place I've ever seen.  The road up to the viewpoint is disintegrating and narrow, but a fun journey.  Once you arrive, it's literally breathtaking.  Endless green pastures, outlined in black basalt fences and dotted with cows.

Going to Huntington Gardens should be a full-day trip.  There is so much to see and do, from exploring the many different gardens to walking through the museums.  My absolute favorite section here is the desert garden.  It's 10-acres full of every type of cactus and succulent imaginable

The Tomales Point Trail provides amazing views of the Pacific and great wildlife watching, as it is a Tule Elk Reserve.  The weather is always cool, usually overcast, but at the same time, perfect.  It's a 9.5 mile round-trip hike, however, you really only have to do half of it to experience the best of it.

Just a short distance off of Highway 395, this is a great place to visit if you like fishing or have small children (even if you don't have either it's a beautiful location worth a visit).  It's a self-tour and you most likely won't see anyone else while you're there.  There are thousands of trout at various life stages that can be fed for 25 cents. 

From Seattle, it takes a while to get there, but it is well worth the time.  I went in July when the weather was warm and dry but the forest was still lush and green.  If you have limited time, definately do the Hall of Mosses trail, a very easy 0.8 mile loop, taking you into a ring of heavily mossed trees and ferns. Gorgeous! 

If coming to Tuolumne Meadows, this is the quintessential day-hike.  It's short, relatively easy and provides amazing views over the meadows and surrounding mountains. Beautiful!

If visiting in the summer, this is the best place to go after walking outside in the extreme heat and humidity.  The underground cavern is a natural air conditioner and the ice cold water is a welcome refreshment.  The vendors surrounding the cenote are great as well, especially those selling freshly cut open coconut juice.

The patchwork taro fields and surrounding mountains are green, green, green!  It's so easy to find and stop at, it's a must, when driving in the North Shore.

Playa del Carmen is a great alternative for those of us who want to enjoy the warm crystal blue waters of the Mexican Carribean coast or explore the ancient Mayan ruins, but don't want to endure the dirty party atmosphere of Cancun.  The area is extremely affordable and packed full of all-inclusive resorts within easy walking or biking distance from downtown.  Downtown Playa is full of the typical souvenir shops (some of which have free tequila tastings!) but it's also full of great food experiences.  From tradiational Mayan food restaurants to street tacos and fruit stands.  My favorite memory of staying here is eating the best street tacos I've ever had in my life (and I didn't get sick), topping them off with fresh watermelon, mango, coconut, pineapple, and honey dew spears that we bought for $1 at the nearby fruit stands.  Playa is also just a short ferry ride away from Cozumel, home to some of the best diving in the world.

This is a great hotel to stay in when visiting the French Quarter whether going to New Orleans to party or relax.  If you're there to party, your room is steps from Bourbon.  If you want to explore the history and culture of New Orleans, it's an extremely short distance from Jackson Square, Cafe du Monde, etc. Plus, the hotel itself used to be the Old French Opera House. If you aren't going to stay up all night, you will probably want to ask for a room in the back, rather than one facing the street.  However, the balconies facing Bourbon are amazing for people watching.  The location of the hotel alone makes it a great place to stay, right on the corner of Toulouse and Bourbon right in the heart of the Quarter.  The decore and atmosphere of the hotel is quiet and luxurious, which is quite different from what's happening outside on Bourbon. 

A great place to rent bicycle or kayaking supplies.  The Cannery Row location is located right across the street from the beach where kayaking begins and right next to a large bike trail. 
Kayaking on a crystal clear day with water like glass on the Monterey Bay is like nothing else.  While it takes a little bit of effort, it is easy to learn and incredibly enjoyable.  While there are laws against getting too close to sea otters, this is the best way to get as up close and personal with them other than in the aquarium.  Other wildlife includes seals, sea lions, and dolphins who are known to swim right by your kayak.  Only $30 provides you with all the gear necessary to have a fun day on the bay!

A gorgeous and easily accessible state park.  The nature trails perfect for either short or full-day hiking.  I highly recommend the Bennett Creek Trail which follows a small creek, taking you through large redwood groves full of ferns and lush vegetation.