Every outing
counts
A full day out is wonderful when it's possible. So is an hour at a market, or a slow loop of the block, or ten minutes sitting in the garden with a cup of tea because it stopped raining. All of it counts, and the small version done often beats the big version planned and never taken.
The years you pictured
It started with something we noticed. Active and engaged people tend to live higher quality lives. Going places keeps people physically and mentally active. Not big places necessarily. The coffee shop, the library, the garden, the water.
Getting out does a lot at once. Daylight helps sleep. Moving helps balance. Being places with other people helps in ways that are harder to measure but easy to see on someone's face when they get home.
The hard part is rarely wanting to go. It's having somewhere in mind, and a reason to go today. So each week we share ideas worth getting out of the house for.
Go for a walk
Somewhere flat, pleasant, and worth the trip. A waterfront, a park loop, a garden path, a quiet neighborhood with good benches. We look for places with somewhere to sit partway and parking that doesn't require a hike of its own.
Go see people
Coffee with a friend, a church service, a club, a farmers market on a Saturday morning. The destination matters less than being somewhere with other people in it.
Go learn something
Library talks and reading groups, senior center classes, museum afternoons, garden club meetings. Most are free, welcome newcomers, and are quieter and friendlier than people expect.
Go somewhere good
A favorite view, a bakery worth the drive, a ferry ride, a market, a garden in the one week a year it looks its best. Outings that exist purely because they're nice.
If someone uses a wheelchair or a walker, being pushed around a garden or along a waterfront path is a proper outing. The point is being out of the house and in the world, not how far anyone travels under their own steam.
Places worth the trip
We share places that actually work around here: the flat paths, the gardens with benches, the libraries running something worth turning up for, the markets, the viewpoints you can reach without a hike. Local, specific, and checked.
Right now that means Western Washington: King and Snohomish counties, in and around Seattle, Bellevue, and Everett.
Come along with us
The weekly ideas go out on social, which is the easiest way to keep up.
That's the whole ask. Follow along, and take any idea that's useful to you.
ElderCare Placement Advisors
We are ElderCare Placement Advisors, a senior placement service here in Western Washington. Most of our work is helping families find the right senior living community when staying at home stops being the best option.
We started Get Outside because so many families tell us afterwards that they wish they'd thought about this part sooner. If it's ever useful to talk something through, our number is 425-448-2573.
Our services are zero cost to families, including the WA State adult family home assessment.
Common questions
Who is this for?
Both of you, honestly. If you're helping a parent, these are ideas for your next visit, something to do together that isn't an appointment. And if you're doing this for yourself, they're just suggestions from people who know the area. Take the ones that appeal and ignore the rest.
Do I need to be fit to take part?
No. Most of what we suggest involves a short, flat walk at most, and we always say how far it is and where you can sit down.
What if my parent uses a wheelchair or can't walk far?
Then this is still for them. We look specifically for places with accessible paths, parking close to the entrance, and benches along the way, and we say so when we share them. Being pushed along a waterfront counts every bit as much as walking it.
What if my parent can't really leave the house at the moment?
That happens, and it's worth saying plainly: some weeks and some seasons, getting out isn't realistic. When that's the case, the smallest version still counts. A chair by an open door, a few minutes on the porch, a slow turn around the garden. And if getting out has become hard in a way that isn't changing, that's worth a conversation with their doctor.
It rains here. A lot.
It does. Which is why half of what we share is indoors at the far end: libraries, museums, markets under cover, a warm cafe with a view of the weather. Getting out and getting wet are not the same thing.
Do you cover my area?
We cover Western Washington, King and Snohomish counties, including Bellevue, Bothell, Everett, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, Seattle, Woodinville, and the Whidbey area as examples.
Do I have to give you my email address?
No. There's no mailing list and no sign-up form. The ideas are posted publicly on social and that's the whole thing.
Get Outside shares general ideas for everyday life. It is not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for guidance from a doctor. Everyone's situation is different, so please check with a doctor before starting anything new, particularly where there are existing health conditions or a recent illness or fall. For well-tested activity guidance for older adults, the National Institute on Aging and the CDC both publish free resources.
Last updated: August 2026