Leavenworth 2014 – Days 1 & 2

I never would have imagined that getting over the mountains in March would have been such a problem! All three passes were a snowy mess and I-90 was completely closed due to an avalanche! So we had to drive all the way up to Hwy 2 over Stevens Pass. Everything seemed to be just fine heading up the pass… the roads were clear and it was 37 degrees. Then just as we reached the summit, we crossed the magical snow line: snow covered the roads, the trees, the temperature dropped instantly to 25! It’s a scary, steep and stressful drive down off the mountain in a mini-van with no studded tires or chains. But we eventually found a place to pull over and put on chains which we needed to have on all the way to Leavenworth. I think we would have had real problems getting into the hotel parking lot without them…

We haven’t been to Leavenworth in the winter since our honeymoon about 21 years ago! It is gorgeous! It didn’t hurt that the place we were staying in was gorgeous, too! As soon as we stepped into the room, we instantly relaxed. Probably because of the fantastic view from our fourth floor balcony, the fireplace and the jacuzzi tub!!!

With the forecast calling for pouring rain every day, we decided to take advantage of the dry and take a walk through town and enjoy the snow!

Leavenworth is always beautiful but there is something magical about being there in the snow with the Christmas lights all over town. It’s like being in Bavaria…

 

We ended the night with beer and almonds at the Icicle Brewing Co, sitting by their outdoor fireplace table and a soak in the tub back at the room…

In the morning we were surprised that it wasn’t raining. Right after breakfast we hurried out to do a bit of snowshoeing on Blackbird Island right behind our hotel. Not only did it not rain until just as we were heading back, God even gave us a bit of blue skies…

   After lunch the sun was really out, so we took advantage of the blue skies and dry weather to explore some of the shops in town and scout out a place for dinner…

It was hard to think about eating supper after all the delicious things we snacked on while wandering through town. It’s a good thing we didn’t get very far…

Crispy flaky Bavarian waffles with jam and buttercream, cheeses, sausages, wine, chocolates, tea, nuts…

  Amazingly, after all that great food and dinner at South, we still managed to down this entire banana hazelnut crepe for dessert…