Leavenworth

I know it’s March 2017, but I finally got around to posting about Christmas 2016!

On the weekend before Christmas, we travelled to Leavenworth to check out the Christmas lighting event that so many people talk about. Leavenworth is a small town and it’s no surprise that we could not get a hotel room right in town – apparently you need to make your reservation a year in advance.

We spent 2 nights in Wenatchee (apple capital of the world) at the Comfort Inn. It cost us $400 for the 2 night stay… in a Comfort Inn!!!!!

Wenatchee is 30minutes away from Leavenworth but you know what, it wasn’t that bad as there are a lot of dining options there without the long line-ups in Leavenworth.

The drive to Leavenworth through Stevens Pass was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately we were caught in the traffic jam heading into Leavenworth as we made our way to Wenatchee.

The next morning, after our free breakfast at the Comfort Inn we decided to head into Leavenworth even though the festivities did not start till noon. We wandered the streets of Leavenworth and then made our way to a restaurant for an early lunch. By the time we finished our lunch, the restaurant was packed with many people waiting for tables.

More people arrived at Leavenworth as we approached the late afternoon. By the time the Christmas lighting started at 4:30pm, the whole town was filled with people!

The people of Leavenworth really know how to throw a show to get into the Christmas spirit. It was a good show, that’s why people travel many miles to see it. For us, once is enough.

The drive home is another adventure. It snowed overnight and by the time we hit the roads, it was all covered in snow. We decided that driving through Stevens Pass was probably not a good idea due to the elevation and took another route home. We drove through Snoqualmie Pass – hmm, a lot of snow!!! The kids and I have never seen so many trucks stopped at the side of the highway putting on chains, it was for miles and miles. Driving conditions were really bad and we even saw a few vehicles that had slid off the highway and onto the ditch.

We got home safe and sound – the only issue was that front steps leading to our place disappeared under all the snow that had fallen while we were away… And that was our not so well planned adventure to end 2016. The End.