Weekend Travel with Grans

Since Jason's mother was here for a week to help me while Jason is gone, we decided to go on a little weekend trip around Washington. On Saturday we left to drive Highway 2 to Leavenworth. We stopped on the way at the fabulous bakery in Sultan for lunch. After enormous sandwiches we took a box full of pastries with us on the drive. We reached Leavenworth an hour later. This being a beautiful Saturday afternoon in summer, the little town was full of tourists. Leavenworth is a fake Bavarian town in the Cascades full of little shops, restaurants, and hotels. We spent an hour walking around (a little bit goes a long way in Leavenworth). The plan was to spent the night in Wenatchee, so we continued on to Cashmere and Wenatchee. The town was completely sold out. After asking at a few motels we found out about a baseball tournament. So we drove on to Ellensberg to have dinner. We stayed with the theme of the day and ate at the "Matterhorn Inn". Amelia dined on a full bowl of olives. While she liked having one stuck to her finger, it freaked her out to have three on them. Since it is only 2 hours from Ellensberg to Seattle, we drove home. It saved us a lot of money, because Central Washington seems to be a booming tourist destination, and the girls found it easy the next day to sleep in in their own beds. While Marlene was in church on Sunday morning, the girls and I slept until 9 am, which has not happened in a long time. After breakfast the two Marlenes went to the playground, while Amelia and I mowed the lawn (this is the time of year when you can watch the grass grow). I am looking forward to summer when the grass dies and I don't have to mow all the time any more. After a fast lunch we drove to Edmonds to take a ferry ride to Kingston and back. On a sunny day it is like taking a mini-cruise. The actual crossing time is 20 minutes, which is just enough time to keep the kids interested. The Edmonds waterfront is beautiful. There is a park with sculptures and other art that goes along the beach, and let's not forget the beautiful houses and gardens all long the walk. After the ferry trip we went to Ballard to have dinner at the fire house, which houses a great family oriented restaurant. Our timing was great because in the early evening the clouds moved in and it got much cooler. So ended our weekend of travels, in which we had the best of Washington: Mountain passes, forest, snow, high plains, the ocean (okay only the sound), a nice city walk, and the beach.