Mom kept seeing people posting information and pictures of the Christmas lighting in Leavenworth over the years and she decided this year we were going to go. A few months ago mom asked me if we should make this into a girls weekend and do it during the first part of December. I said sure. Let's ask everyone. We got Erika on board, I talked to Trish and she said it sounded like fun, we got grandma to agree and mom asked Angela and she said she would do it as well. Mom went and looked for a hotel for the night. I told her if she waited too long we would have to stay in one in Wenatchee. We ended up having to stay in East Wenatchee which wasn't that bad. We just had to drive further out after the lighting ceremony.
In the weeks leading up to it we made sure everyone was still coming and where to get them since we were going to all drive together in mom's Expedition, since it had the most room. Angela ended up deciding not to go at the last minute so we didn't have to worry about her and she ended up paying her portion to mom later on.
Erika and I got up around 6:30 and got the rest of our stuff ready. We had packed a lot of it the night before. I ate a quick breakfast, made sure my cat got his food and changed his water. I did my bathroom stuff, got my clothes on and now waited for mom and grandma. They got to my house around 7:15. I threw my stuff in and got into the driver's seat since mom doesn't like to drive.
We headed towards the freeway via Marvin Road. We ended up getting stuck behind a train for a while and I just wanted to be on our way since we had to stop in Puyallup to pick up Trish. We finally got onto I-5 and just hoped now there wasn't any traffic, accidents or off season construction. Fortunately, we did not encounter any of them. I let Trish know we were almost to Puyallup via 512.
She was ready in the parking lot for us. She had all of her bags, pillows and shoes and we helped her put the stuff into the Expedition and mom handed out goodie bags for coming on the trip. Inside were hats, hand sanitizer, gum, chapstick, handwarmers and $5 Starbucks cards. That was really nice of mom to make those and bring them. We all thanked her. Before we left Puyallup Erika wanted to get something at Starbucks which was right down the street from Korum. We parked and just Erika and I went in. Erika used her giftcard she just got and I used one I had from a previous gift I saved. Erika got a peppermint mocha and I just got a hot chocolate.
We merged onto Hwy 167 and then onto Hwy 18 towards I-90. It didn't take us long to get to I-90 since there wasn't that much traffic on a Saturday morning. As we went up the grade, we could feel the side winds near Snoqualmie Pass. There was snow on the pass but none of it was on the roads thankfully. I was hoping for some snow on the ground in Leavenworth.
We got off at the Wenatchee exit and had to follow a slow Fiat for a while. There wasn't a very good opportunity to pass them or I would have sooner. Just before we started going up the grade to Blewett Pass I made the pass on the Fiat. I did also notice we were running low on gas but I knew we would make it to a gas station once we got over the pass. I asked anyone if they wanted to stop on top of the pass to get out and stretch and hang out in the snow. I was going to even if they said no. When we stopped mom, Trish and I got out to enjoy the snow for a few moments.
After about a half hour we made it to the US 97/Hwy 2 junction and was disappointed the snow went away. We followed Hwy 2 west to Leavenworth. I told everyone to be on the lookout for a gas station. As we got into the city limits of Leavenworth, we saw a Safeway on our right. I thought must take that opportunity while it was there. Of course there was a line. We got in line, yes there was a line, while some of us went to the restroom. I really needed to go so we all went inside and left mom in the Expedition to keep our place in line. I hurried out to see if mom was doing okay and she was trying to get gas but her card was giving her a hard time so I had to pay for it instead. I went inside and asked the ladies inside when they turned the lights on and they said they start heading that way around 4:45...once it starts to get dark. I thanked them and headed back out to the Expedition. I asked mom if she needed to use the restroom. We parked in a spot and she ran in really quick.
We continued on into town. I asked mom where she wanted to park and she said just find a spot since town is insanely packed with people. I found a church parking lot and they were asking for a $20 donation and it was secure by volunteers. I said sure, why not. We parked, made sure we had all the stuff we might need during the day, locked up and walked towards downtown. It was going to be a cold day.
We asked everyone if we wanted to walk the shops for a bit then find a place to eat? Everyone agreed. All I wanted to do was make sure I found my Cougar Butch nutcracker. We walked along Front Street. This was my second time to Leavenworth but my first time actually walking around town. There were soo many people! I might have to come back another time when it is less busy to enjoy the town. We spent an hour working from the west part of town to the east part of town. There were a lot of shops selling homemade items, to food and drinks, to commercial items, to clothing, etc. I saw some really cool stuff but saved my money for my nutcracker.
We made our way to the Nussknacker Haus, one of the well known shops in Leavenworth. I was really excited when I got inside. There were thousands of nutcrackers! Growing up I remember mom had a bunch of nutcrackers and German mugs in a display case so getting one of my own was pretty memorable. I immediately found my Cougar Butch nutcracker. I got a few postcards, a magnet and a tiny nutcracker for my Secret Santa at work.
We all finished our shopping and decided we should probably get something to eat since we will be waiting a while since the town of Leavenworth quadrupled in size over the last 48 hours. We picked the closest place, The Soup Celler. It was a quaint little German deli restaurant situated downstairs from street level. We knew there would be a line but we were surprised when it moved somewhat quickly. You ordered your food and paid for it before you sat down. Seating was a little unorthodox. We had to wait until a table became open. In the meantime, we grabbed our drinks and whoever ordered a salad. I grabbed some Sharpies because here you decorate $1 and put them on the wall. I thought it would be fun for us to do as a group while we waited for our food. We took turns passing the dollar bill around until we filled it up. I grabbed some tape and enshrined it to their wall. We got a group shot.
By then our food arrived. It was so nice to warm up and eat some delicious hot food. I got a French dip, fries and a Pepsi. It was noms. Everyone else enjoyed their food. When we were done we all decided to walk the second half of town. We found the Civic Center and decided it was time to use the restroom. While we were in there we stood in line for a picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus. When it was our turn we had to arrange ourselves to fit in the picture because there were too many of us. Haha!
We walked around town some more and I checked my geocaching app to see if there were any nearby. There was one within a short walking distance. I talked Trish into walking there with me to find it. Erika, mom and Grandma continued walking around. We approached The Hills Are Alive (GC4QEDW) and it took me a minute to figure out where it could be since it was in front of a small hotel. At first I thought it was in the rock but then I figured it out. I had to wait until a few muggles walked by before I could grab it. We signed it, took a photo, but it back and went to find the rest of our posse.
We wandered around a few more stores before settling into our spot, around 3:30 to watch the lighting ceremony. We figured if we found a spot where we could sit before everyone else did we would be in good shape. Erika, Trish and I walked back to the Expedition to grab a few more warm clothes, blankets and gloves while mom and Grandma kept our spot in check. We wandered back, I got a picture of me with the Leavenworth sign and we went and made ourselves comfortable.
We spent a lot of time people watching while we waited. It started to get a bit more chilly.
Erika wanted some more coffee so we collected some of the coffee cards mom had gifted us earlier. I mostly just wanted something warm to hold. Haha. We got everyone's orders and made our way to the crowd towards Starbucks. The place was swimming in people and we knew that going into it. I told Erika to get in line while I walked over to the Civic Center to use the bathroom (Starbucks' bathroom was packed!) and she said okay. When I got back I expected her to still be in line. I made my way over to the counter where Erika was grabbing our cups of coffee, hot chocolate and Chai tea. I asked her how she got up here so fast. She said due to mob mentality it was easy to cut in front of people. Right on. We made our way back to where everyone was sitting.
We waited about a half hour more until they turned the gazebo lights on. The ceremony was starting. There was a story, people with plastic stars, music and finally the lights came on in three different phases. We got our photos, we enjoyed the ambiance and then decided to head back to the Expedition.
I knew traffic was going to be horrible. Leavenworth has very few ways out of town. I thought I was cleaver to drive around all the traffic but got stuck in it because we were forced to all get onto a road that took you around Hwy 2 or put you onto Hwy 2. Since everyone was leaving at the same time we were stuck there for quite awhile. Everyone forgets the basic rules of traffic. I wish people would learn the zipper because it would save a lot of time however people are selfish and don't care about others and bulldoze their way in just to get in front of you. I was in a good spot close to the end of the misery when guy in a van from Oregon pulled out in front of me (with very little room, he almost hit us) I flipped him off and made sure he saw me. He pretended he was flattered by the gift I was giving him so I called him a fucker. I was so mad at how big of a douchebag he was. I wanted to get out of the Expedition and hit him with a baseball bat.
We eventually got onto Chumstick and got onto North and into Dryden to avoid all the traffic on Hwy 2 until further down the road. Mom and dad's friend Heidi, lives in Cashmere so we stopped there and visited for a bit. We all got to use the bathroom while mom visited. We thanked her for letting us stop by. We drove into East Wenatchee to see where our hotel was and had Sharis for dinner. I got a burger and fries with a Pepsi. Since mom paid for Grandma's lunch I paid for Grandma's dinner.
Mom checked us into the hotel and we took our stuff to the two reserved rooms. Mom and Grandma shared a room while Erika, Trish and I shared the other. Trish got her own bed and Erika and I shared the other one. I got myself a shower, relaxed for a bit, talked to Ben and we all went to bed around 11.
December 9
I ended up getting up twice throughout the night to use the restroom because Trish's snoring woke me up. I had to eventually wear my ear plugs which drowned out some of the noise. We all got up around 7:30. A little while later mom knocked at the door to find out what we were doing. I told her we got up around 7:30 and we were getting ready and packed up for our day. Mom, Erika and Grandma headed to breakfast in the lobby around 8 while I waited for Trish to get out of the shower.
Once Trish was done we both headed out to the continental breakfast. I had the waffle and OJ and Trish had biscuits and gravy and some tiny cinnamon rolls. We were down there for a about a half hour and then headed back to the room to finish packing up our stuff so we can head out. Mom checked out while we loaded all the stuff into the Expedition. We started to leave when we found out the tire pressure was low. I asked someone to look up the closest Safeway on their phone because I was busy driving. No one could figure it out so I got frustrated because I didn't know what way we were suppose to go, remember we were in East Wenatchee. Mom had me going the wrong way for a while. Erika got on her phone and directed us towards the Safeway on the other side of the river in Wenatchee. It was out of the way but I've been to that one in the past a few times. I had suggested Safeway because it has air, bathrooms and if someone wants snacks or drinks it had everything.
Trish steered us the wrong way but we eventually got back on track after taking a tour of Wenatchee. We eventually got to the Safeway and found the air/water apparatus. Mom had a tire gage checker so we checked every tire and all of them needed a little bit of air. We found some quarters and started filling them up. A guy sitting next to us came out and asked if we needed help. We told he between all of us we got it. I drove us closer, we got out, used the restroom and some of us got snacks and drinks for the ride home.
Along Hwy 2 on our way to US 97 we kept seeing people on the side of the road with flags. We found out it was a memorial for a soldier who did in Afghanistan who was from the Wenatchee area. It slowed traffic down a bit. We finally got to US 97 and headed up Blewett Pass. I remembered this really cool stop along the Peshastin Creek and wanted to take mom while there was snow on the ground. We pulled over and just mom and I got out for some pictures.
We got back in and headed up the steep part of the pass. We didn't have to follow anyone which was nice because it started to lightly snow. We merged onto I-90 and the traffic doubled but not enough to cause delays. As we got closer to North Bend I asked everyone if they needed to go to the bathroom and everyone said yes, we probably should. We stopped at the Safeway and people used the restroom and we bought Grandma some snacks because she was getting hungry.
We got onto Hwy 18, the traffic was dumb, merged onto 167 and a guy lost his tire. We all watched it roll across several lanes of traffic. We dropped Trish off at her car at Korum. We helped her transport her stuff from the Expedition to her car, she thanked us for a really nice time and she added she's glad she went. We gave out hugs and everyone headed home. We got onto 512 and then merged onto I-5.
We decided to stop by Doug's house so Grandma could see where he lived. We played with the puppy for a bit and then decided we were ready to go home and relax. Mom dropped Erika and I off, I ate a sandwich, did some laundry, watched football, did some of my Christmas cards, made chicken and rice for dinner, got cleaned up, got my stuff ready for work and went to bed.
I will probably never do the lighting ceremony in Leavenworth again. It was just too many people. I might if we got a hotel within walking distance in Leavenworth.
Next Adventure: MNF: Vikings vs. Seahawks
No comments:
Post a Comment