WASHINGTON STATE?!? #3

 Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!!  This should be the last post about the trip to Washington State.

So... let's talk about the remaining things done while on the West Coast.

JMA's co-worker/friend lives in the Seattle-Tacoma area.  For many years (I think he may have said 30?), he has been renting a cabin in the Leavenworth area for some "down time"... be it vacation or just to chill.  In fact, he is the one who recommended we consider Leavenworth for a vacay.  He was actually staying at the cabin while we were visiting... unplanned!  But what a delight for us.  He invited us to the cabin for a dinner.  It was such an incredible spot.  We just took it all in and relaxed immediately!

Wow.  Relaxing to just SEE this place!

Nice hot tub for those cooler months.

River? Creek? Stream?  Dunno'.  But a great view from the porch... and a great place to get in for a little cool-off!!  Absolutely beautiful.

The owners, with whom JMA's friend is acquainted after all the years, actually built this place!  Very nicely done.

The kitchen area was just so charming (it does say "Country Charm" so I reckon it's accurate)!

We had a wonderful dinner (grilled salmon... YUM!) with fun conversation.  I totally understand his desire to return here year after year.

So... on our last full day, we decided to take the advice of one of the wine tasting rooms' guy... and travel about an hour+ to the Lake Chelan area for some tastings.  He told us there were incredible wineries out there... plus the beauty of a massive lake.  The drive was interesting.  We literally drove "along" this lake for MILES!  Beautiful scenery.  We visited two excellent wineries.

Benson Vineyard:

This vineyard was atop a hill area, sloping down toward the lake.  This is a picture from the back patio attached to the tasting room.  Below you see the seating areas that are set up for lake viewing, tasting, and dining!

Benson is 100% estate.  All of the wines they offer are made from grapes grown strictly on their property.  And they had very nice wines.

Well... heck... it's just darned pretty... the wine is excellent... why not try the pizza out under the pavilion below?!?  So we did.  And the pizza was excellent, too.  Ahhhhhh.

Tsillan Cellars:

Tsillan Cellars is 100% estate, also.  It was chosen as the 2020 Washington Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest magazine... followed by winning five gold medals at the Washington State Wine Competition!!  Nice.  Again... beautiful outdoor tasting areas with a view of the lake.  Oh... and what's with those glasses? 

Well, this winery provides five wines for tasting.  With a huge outdoor space, they can't really bring you one wine at a time (although you can do that inside)... so... someone came up with this great "stand" that holds the five glasses, pre-poured, for one to carry out (see the circle at the top... hand fits nicely into it!) to choose a table.  It was great.  Again... relaxation to the max.

So... while we were able to do so much in our three full days there, these have been the highlights.  If you somehow end up planning a trip in that area, I can recommend several things!

Until next post...

WASHINGTON STATE?!? #2

 Welcome back, Blogging Buddies!!  Washington State trip continues!

So, while at the Fox Den B&B, we had plenty of fur-babies to enjoy.  The owners were animal rescue fans... and did exactly that!  There were two dogs (Maya, a Husky/Malamute mix, I believe... and "Z", a German Shepherd), two cats (Balou, an orangey/whitish mix... and a new baby totally black with long hair... and yellow eyes), and two miniature horses, (Callie and Cooper).  "Z" adopted us and made certain he walked us to our suite each time we came in.  Pretty funny.  He occasionally slept in the hallway just outside our door, also... which made the need for checking before exiting!  LOL!  The pictures I got were of the mini-horses.

The owners had built this very nice shed, added the fence, and were working to expand the area the horses could roam.

Cooper and Callie each had their own "side" in the shed.

This is Callie.  The owner chopped up some carrots for us to go give to the horses so we could get a good look at them.  I was handing a piece at a time to Callie.

This is Cooper.  He has apparently been "addressed" by Callie when she wants something he has... so he stays a bit away during the times when goodies are being distributed.  He did, however, get some carrots.  JMA was making sure he received his.

Amusingly enough, Callie left me and headed toward JMA, making Cooper move back.  She apparently thought she should get even more carrots.  JMA, however, did not allow that to happen!!  Callie was scolded.  LOL!

So... on our first full day, we headed downtown to see what was there.  Very interesting place.  Not a true Bavarian town... but structured to appear as one, making for a specific "feeling" while there.  During the Covid pandemic, they had shut down the main street to vehicles, leaving it for pedestrians only (with delivery trucks the exception).  Apparently that had worked well... so they have continued with it as a pedestrian area where one can walk along the street and view all shops, coffee shops, restaurants, wine tasting rooms, etc., without having to deal with constant traffic.  Actually quite nice.

We sat outside on a patio area for a wine tasting... and this is the view that exists up and down the entire street.  It's only about 4 or 5 city blocks long... but lots to see!

The side streets contain lots of shops, etc., as well.  We wandered down 8th Street and found the "Leavenworth Unique Artique" shop!!  It was such fun!  Interesting pieces from various local artists.  The couple running the place were great... and I decided to allow her to provide me with a caricature.  I have two already... one from 1996 while in Austin and one from 2011 while in Louisiana.  Both are quite cute with just a slight caricature-style flair.  The new one?  Oh MY!!!!  A true caricature with rampant flair and insanity!  I LOVE it!!  When she "revealed" it to me, I had to ask her if she had seen some Barbara Streisand in me!  LOL!!  See what you think:

Our second full day there was one when we decided to go do our morning walk downtown.  The B&B owner had given us information on walking paths along the river that were literally right downtown!  So... off we went.  Below are a few shots (and videos) of what we saw as we walked.  Absolutely wonderful.

Alrighty!!  Probably enough for today!  Looks like this may become 4 posts!!  There are still pics to see and tales to hear!

Until next post...