Seattle

When we discussed our plans for our Christmas trip to Washington, Seattle was high on our list! We originally planned to go to Seattle halfway through our trip, but actually ended up stopping here at the end of our trip. We definitely think we saved the best for last.

We left Sequim early in the morning, and headed towards Tacoma, WA, in search of the famous Top Pot Doughnuts for breakfast! I had the Peppermint Chocolate doughnut, Zach had the Cookies and Cream doughnut, and we each had to get a classic glazed doughnut (obviously...).

The doughnuts were pretty good. Not quite as good as Bennet's Fresh Roast doughnut shop in Fort Myers, FL., but pretty good nonetheless. 

As we got closer to Seattle, it was so cool to see the traffic signs for Vancouver, B.C. My Aunt and Uncle live just across the way in Victoria and it would have been so easy to hop on a ferry and go visit them! 

When we made it into the city we drove right past the SAFECO field where a NFL game was being played that day!!! The bubbly, vibrant energy around the field and the people going into the stadium was contagious and we found ourselves getting giddy to be there! 

Our first stop was at the Olympic Sculpture Park/Centennial Park, where we took a good hour walking around the cool sculptures and beach. We loved this park, because even though it was busy, it is so large that you don't notice all the people there. 

Next, we headed to Pike Place Public Market! It was so busy, but so awesome! I loved all the fresh flowers and different vendors. We couldn't stay long at the marketplace because the dogs were in the car (don't worry we were in underground parking, it was cool out, and we left the windows open slightly). While we were there we discovered the disgustingly unique gum wall, the Great Wheel, Elleno's yogurt, Rachel the piggybank, and the famous Pike Place Fish Co. We could have easily spent all day at the market, but I always feel so bad about leaving the dogs in the car, even though they had been out walking with us for a good few hours earlier in the morning. 

After the market, we headed to Kerry Park. Kerry Park is a popular area to get an awesome view of the city and on a clear day you can see Mount Rainier in the backdrop! We were so lucky that we had good weather when we were in the city!! Kerry Park is also super close to the Fremont Troll, so you can hit both places one right after the other. After taking pictures at Kerry Park, we decided it was time to head back to the cabin and in our rush to get back before it got too dark, we totally forgot to stop to see the Fremont Troll (face palm...)

Instead of taking the long way back through Tacoma, we decided to take the ferry!! Boy oh boy, do they ever cram vehicles on the ferries! It was a cool experience though, especially for me, because I am a huge Grey's Anatomy fan and it made me feel like I could just happen upon Meredith Grey taking the ferry home! 

It was really relaxing to just wander around the ferry and take in all the beautiful views! 

When we got closer to Sequim, we decided to make one last quick stop at the Dungeness Spit. This is the USA's longest natural sand spit, and juts out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca about 6 -7miles. Dogs aren't allowed because it is a National Wildlife Refuge, so I just ran down really quick. I would have loved to explore the length of the spit, but by the time I got back to the car, Zach was already getting concerned about my whereabouts and was just getting ready to come look for me... whoops! It wasn't my fault that it was so peaceful listening to the water crash along the shore, while watching the sun set!

The next day we started our trek back home. We originally wanted to try to have a long day of driving and make it back in one day, but all of us got too tired, so we stopped in Coeur d'Alene for a night. After 10ish days on the road, it was really nice to get settled back at home! 

-S

Up Next: Month long road trip down to Florida

Washington State Road-trip: Part 1

This past Christmas, Zach and I decided to get away from all the hustle and bustle of a commercial holiday and spend some quality time together- dogs included.

I am a huge fan of the cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies and wanted to try to recreate a Christmas like the ones you see in the movies. So, I headed to my Google search and typed in "Best Christmas Towns in the USA". Up popped a picture very similar to this one:

Leavenworth, WA

Leavenworth is a cute little Bavarian town situated in the Cascade Mountains in Central Washington. Leavenworth has reindeer farms, sleigh rides, hiking trails, snowmobiling, and beautiful Christmas lights throughout the town. To me it looked like the perfect Christmas destination. 

After showing Zach the pictures of this town, he was on board with heading to Washington for the holidays. I started searching Pinterest for all things Leavenworth/Washington and soon realized that there is so much to see and do. As a result, we decided to split our trip up so we could get a little sample of all that Washington had to offer.

First off, Leavenworth, Wenatchee, and Lake Chelan. 
We decided to try out AirBnB for the first time on this trip, mainly because most of the hotels were already booked for the holidays. Both of us were kind of skeptical of staying in someone else's home, but decided to give it a shot. We ended up finding a cute little house about an hour outside of Leavenworth, in the town of Orondo. The hosts were awesome and even left our dogs some treats and us a bottle of wine. If you are ever in Central Washington and are looking for a place to stay you should definitely check out this AirBnb.

The next day we decided the dogs needed to let off some steam after being in the car for so long the day before, so we headed in to the town of Wenatchee to walk along the Apple Capital Loop Trail. This loop is a 10 mile trail that circles the Columbia River. The trail consists of a couple different riverfront parks. We could only bear the cold long enough to explore the Wenatchee Riverfront Park, which includes a sculpture garden, railroad, boat launch and docks, and Walla Walla Point Park, which has plenty of wide open spaces, sports fields, and a swimming lagoon (obviously it was way too cold to go swimming, but this would be a great place to spend a day in the summer).  

- Fun fact, Wenatchee is the apple capital of the world! There were apple orchards all over. 

Hopping into the toasty car to warm up we decided to head over to Leavenworth, where we decided to brave the cold again and discover what Blackbird Island had to offer. During the spring and summer I am sure there are all sorts of beautiful birds and other critters roaming about, but since it was the end of December, it was more like a frozen tundra. Oh well, at least the dogs were able to get some exercise! 

After freezing outside for a good portion of the day, we decided to call it quits, grab supper and head back to the house. We headed over to Rudloof's Pizza, where we had an awesome Bavarian pizza with ground mustard, sauerkraut, bratwurst, and red and green peppers. Sounds weird, right? But it was strangely a really good combination! 

  

Over the next few days we drove up to Lake Chelan, revisited Wenatchee, ate some killer BBQ in Cashmere, and then spent our last few days in Leavenworth, driving up Icicle Road where we did a few hikes, and then spent the night enjoying the lights and shops.

             

Lake Chelan

Best Brisket ever!

Zach's pulled pork was amazing too!

If you are ever in Central Washington, you have to go eat at Country Boys Southern Style BBQ! The only other place I have had BBQ that tasted this good was in Texas! These guys know how to do it right! 

Icicle Road

FYI, they call it Icicle Road for a reason. We totally almost crashed our new Explorer as we rounded the last corner of the road and slid into a drift that landed us inches from a tree. Looking back on it, it is almost comical how close we were to hitting that stinking tree! The theatrics continued when a really nice family hooked their truck up to our vehicle and tried to get us out; the road was so slippery that they ended up getting sucked into the drift as well. Then, another truck, who was obviously more prepared for an emergency, came over with their equipment and got both the first truck and us out with no damage to any vehicle. We are so grateful to all those that helped us get the car out of the drift, because if they hadn't come along, we would have had to call a tow truck from the next closest town which was an hour away.

Probably one of my favourite things to do was to just enjoy the lights in town, and after our little car sliding accident, we needed to reset and relax. Downtown Leavenworth really had that warm, exciting, joyful Christmas feel. There were kids sledding down the small town hill, hot chocolate in the gazebo, and sleigh rides that took you right down main street! Sorry for the picture overload to come, there were just so many details in this cute Bavarian town. 

If you ever have the chance to come to Leavenworth, do! There is plenty to see, and whether you come for the lights in the winter, or hiking in the summer you will enjoy the time you spend in this town. We know we did! 

Start planning your Leavenworth vacation here.

Thanks for popping by,

-S

Up next: Cape Disappointment State Park and Mt. St. Helen's