Leavenworth "Washington's Bavarian Village"

We took our first Washington road trip yesterday. We headed 2 1/2 hours east to the Cascade Mountain region to a little town called Leavenworth. The town was originally settled by pioneers in search of gold, furs and fertile farmland. In the early 1900's the town began to blossom with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway. This brought great opportunity for work, commerce and a new economy. Eventually, a sawmill and a healthy logging industry fell apart and for more than 30 years, Leavenworth was on the brink of extinction. In the 1960's, the leaders of the community decided to change Leavenworth's appearance, hoping to bring tourism into the area. So the community rallied and created the illusion of Bavaria in the middle of Washington. Today, more than a million visitors come to Leavenworth every year.


The drive up to Leavenworth was very scenic. The mountains are all around you and the road slowly winds up and down the mountains. There were many overlooks and views of the river.



Our first stop was the Leavenworth Wine Tasting Festival at Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat. The grounds of the retreat were very pretty, nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and an area called Icicle Canyon. It was a beautiul day and we all enjoyed the wine, music and the surroundings.






After the wine festival, we headed to the town to take in "Bavaria". The girls noticed the horse and carriage rides so off we went.


Our fun day ended with a good German meal and ice cream and then off we went for the scenic ride home!

Our First Visitors

Our friends, Mark and Vikki, came out and spent a few days with us. We were very happy to see them and to show them around. We took them to see the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle and a boat trip through the locks.








The 4 of us enjoy wines by Chateau Ste. Michelle and the winery is located about 30 minutes from our house so we headed there for a tour and wine tasting. The girls really loved it because while we were tasting wine, they were given glasses of grape juice! It was really nice.






Our weekend was full of fun and flew by and we are already looking forward to having them out again!

Happy 4th Birthday Jenna!!!

It is hard to believe that Baby Jenna is now 4 years old. The time has truly flown by and she is growing up way too quickly. It seems like yesterday that she was practically bald and now she has beautiful brown hair to match her big brown eyes. She makes Ian and I laugh out loud so often with the funny little things she does and she amazes us every day with the things she is learning too. I think she had our new telephone number memorized before Ian and I did! Here is a look back to Jenna over the past 4 years.

San Juan Islands

We were invited by a coworker of Ian's named Jim to join his flotilla for a trip on our boat to the San Juan Islands. We thought it was a great opportunity since we would be traveling with a group who was very familiar with the area and who would be great tour guides for us. And as a bonus there were other kids around Jenna and Miranda's ages. We left our marina on July 21st and met up with Jim and his family aboard his boat. Our first stop was Deer Harbor, which is located on Orcas Island. The cruise up there took about 3 hours. Even though the skys were overcast, the water was very calm and it was a wonderful cruise. The scenery was beautiful! It was neat traveling past so many different islands on our way up there. It was the longest trip we have taken on our boat and Jenna and Miranda did great. Miranda actually fell asleep shortly after we got underway and slept almost the whole 3 hour cruise.


Here we are docked at Deer Harbor!

And the girls quickly became friends with Kate, Jim's daughter.

Previously when we slept on our boat, Miranda would sleep in this little enclosed tent-like thing called a Pea Pod. We decided to try her in a sleeping bag on this trip and it worked out great! Her and Jenna share a little cabin so their sleeping bags were laying right next to each other. Miranda would crawl right into her sleeping bag and ask to get covered and she would fall asleep. It was really cute!

One of Jenna's favorite things to do on our boat is pretend to fish. She is getting really good at casting so I think it is time to consider a real hook!

Many sea planes would take off and land at Deer Harbor so that was neat to see.

After spending a couple of days at Deer Harbor, we were on our way to Roche Harbor, which is located on San Juan Island. It was beautiful! The entire marina and village were very picturesque.




The girls really enjoy having "Happy Hour" on the bridge of the boat. Here they are being silly and cute!





Many beautiful sunsets were also enjoyed from the bridge and around the marina!




There was a nice pool at the marina and the girls loved swimming and playing in it. Jenna has gotten pretty good with her "swimmies".



The flowers and gardens around the marina property were beautiful and made for great photo opportunities.







In the woods not too far from the marina is a mausoleum. It was built by John McMillin, the founder of the Roche Harbor Lime and Cement Company, to honor his family. It is called Afterglow Vista and it looks very Roman with its large columns. It was really fascinating!





Jenna and Ian rented a kayak one afternoon and explored the marina. It was Jenna's first time on a kayak and she loved it. She even did her share of the paddling! They were able to paddle right past our boat to say "Hi" to Miranda and I.




We are already looking forward to our next trip to the San Juan Islands. My favorite spot was Roche Harbor so I would love to go back there, maybe even before the summer is over!