Wednesday, December 15th., 2021…… We slept well last night. We were
up and showered and out before 9:00am. We made the short walk to the main
village area and looked for a place for breakfast. Some places didn’t open
until 10:00am but we found a coffee kiosk that said try Louie’s, it was the
place the locals go. It was just up the street and we got in and seated with no
problem. I enjoyed the meal and especially the German sausage gravy! We still
had some time before the shops opened so we headed back to the inn so Cathye
could swap out her shoes for some with a little more traction. Later, we headed
back to town and spent quite a long time just walking in and out of the local
shops. We found a place for lunch called the Soup Cellar. It was really good!
We hit the Nutcracker Museum. We decided to do that tour and it was really
interesting! They say they have the largest nutcracker collection in the
world! And we believe them! Cases and cases on two floors were crammed
with nutcrackers in various themes and shapes and sizes.
It was very interesting. We
watched a movie and learned that some of these guys can go for some serious
coin! MY favorite was the Hilary model, complete with the nutcracker between
her legs! Hilarious!
After that, we headed back home to rest before our walk back to town on the way to the event we had tickets for. We wanted to find a place for dinner but discovered that neither of us were hungry, so we spent some more time just looking around some more. We even went to a thrift shop. We stopped at the local market and got some milk and then went to the bakery next door and got some pastries for a snack and also some for the train trip tomorrow morning. We made our way to the local high school, taking pics along the way. This town really does a great job in decorating for the holidays! Lots of snow and there were kids sledding around the town square gazebo.
We got to the school before most of everyone else, since we didn’t want to walk around in the snow. We were going to see the local Leavenworth Village Chorus in concert. Cathye had found this online and booked us tickets for the 7:00pm show. I had already called and scheduled a shuttle/taxi to pick us up afterward, because it was going to be late and we didn’t trust the weather. Since it was just starting to snow when we went into the auditorium, we thought it was a good choice. The show was pretty good. They had a guest chorus from the school do a few songs plus they had a couple of guest singers.
It let out around 9:00pm and we only had to wait a few minutes for the driver to come get us. And yes, it was snowing when we went outside. Good call! Next up was another shuttle for the early morning pickup back to the train depot. I sure hope that one works out as well as this one was!
Thursday, December 16th., 2021…… This morning, we were scheduled to catch the same Empire Builder headed back from Chicago to Seattle. It was due in at 6:08am. Our shuttle driver called when he was across the street. We were next on his schedule and got standing room only on the bus but at least we got on and would make our train! Whew! Once we got there, we only had a few minutes to wait before the train got to us. Again, our car was for mid-range riders, so we easily found good seats. The ride back was really nice. Leavenworth is only 1200 ft. elevation, but it’s on the eastern side of the Cascades, so they get snow at lower elevations than we do here in Oregon. We went up and over Stevens Pass (4,061 ft) and by the time we got back to Seattle, the snow was long gone. We made that really long 200 ft. walk across the street and dropped off our bags again. It was only 10:30am so we knew we would need to go find breakfast before we could check in. We walked next door and had an excellent breakfast at the 13 Coins. Much better than dinner the other night! Nadya was there to meet us and said she had our room ready! Boy, she really came through! She gave us a corner room on the 15th floor, overlooking the city and the sound! We left the curtains open all day (and all night) just to see it all.
We
rested for a while and actually napped! We weren’t really hungry but wanted to go back
to Sluggers again. It turns out that
when we made the walk over there, we found we worked up an appetite so we each
had linner. We walked back to the hotel and stopped at 13 Coins to get dessert
(chocolate cake) and took it back to our room. Later, we went down to the reception area and
had a beer and some chips. After that, we went back and changed into our
swimsuits and hit the spa. This time we had it to ourselves. It was the perfect
end to a nice trip!
But we weren’t done yet….
Friday, December 17th., 2021…… Our train back to Albany today was the Coast Starlight.
This train begins in Seattle and ends up in Los Angeles! So, it was another long-distance train with
plenty of amenities. This time we were given a seat assignment. Still good
seats. We settled in for the 5-hour ride back to Albany. This time the train
was running behind and ended up 36 minutes late to get us back to our stop. But
sis was there and we loaded up and headed home. I think it was closer to 5:30pm
when we drove into the driveway. The dogs were sure happy to see us! We came in and unpacked and stacked laundry
for tomorrow. What a nice trip! Cathye
kept track on her FitBit and discovered that in the 6 days we were out, we averaged
over 11,000 steps each day. And we rode a train four times! But I doubt we lost weight because we took
advantage of the food and drink everywhere we went. Hey, we’re on vacation!
Saturday, December 18th., 2021…… Laundry day. We slept in but once we were up and ready, we
went out with the dogs. Even though the weather was cold and damp, it was still
fun to be with them again! After
breakfast, we had a few things on our to-do lists. Cathye had some shopping to
do. I did some more shopping online but I still needed to get my appointment
for my second shingles shot. I had had the first shot at the Walgreens in
Albany, but when I went online, I found they were able to schedule me at the
Lebanon store (about a mile away). Plus, they had an opening today at 2:30. I took it!
We headed off to get the mail at
the trailer and Cathye wanted to straighten up before Heather and Charlie get
here on Monday. I left her there and went to Walgreens. I had to wait in the
normal prescription order/pickup line but it went pretty quickly and they got
me signed in and the rest only took 10 minutes and I was out of there. We went
to Hangry Solutions food truck and split a chicken ranch wrap and went home to
eat. Later, and so far, other than some minor soreness, no issues with this
shot. But I did go to bed early and tossed and turned for a bit until I could
find a comfortable position to sleep.
Sunday, December 19th., 2021…… I managed to get a little sleep
last night but I was awake every time I rolled over. No worries, today is Sunday
and I have no plans so I can rest. The weather is getting colder here lately.
They say if the next front coming in stays a cold front, we could get low-elevation
snowfall. We are at about 340’ so that means us! But right now, it’s just raining. Today’s
rain was light enough for us to get out with minimal rain gear to walk the
dogs. It did come down pretty hard later in the morning. Cathye was able to get
out and drive to church and I hung around the house for the day.
Monday, December 20th., 2021…… We both slept well last night. No more sore shoulder
from the shot. I am good to go! We had taken our single blow-up bed over to the
trailer the other day for Charlie to use and made sure it was operational. We went
back later today and found it was down!
But I checked and found the escape valve wasn’t quite tight and it should
be ok for one night. Heather’s dad and the rest of that side of the family is
in Sweet Home. They are coming down to visit them so we won’t see them on this
short of a trip. Heather’s mother (Mary)
is Cathye’s sister and lives in Benson AZ. They will be going there later in
the year. We also needed to get the place ready for Cathye’s party tonight. She’s
having the girls over for a party/gift exchange. I got the task of making
dinner! Not really. She said she needed
to make a casserole and I had shared one my family liked since way back when. We
called it “squiggly noodle casserole” and it’s easy to make, so I volunteered
to make it for them. She had gone shopping already and got all of the ingredients.
It was easy to assemble and I had it in and out of the oven and ready right on
time. The girls (Lona, Misty, Robin, Cherrelyn, Penny, and Judy) all got here
and started partying. I stayed in my office and worked on the previous blog and
stayed away! They had a fun night – some of it at my expense as I heard from
them later! Good times!
Tuesday, December 21st., 2021…… Cathye went to her church for a morning
of volunteer work boxing up for the needy. But no one was there! She called her friend and was told they were
now working out of the SHEM (Sweet Home Emergency Ministries) foodbank store in
town, so she met up with them there and worked for a few hours. Once she got
home, we went over and picked up the blow-up bed and brought it back here. We
made plans for Christmas dinner and present exchange. That set, we were good to
go. I think we only need one more item and our gift lists will be complete. I have all of my stuff wrapped but Cathye has
several to go. So, she went off to her workspace in the office for that. Leftover casserole for dinner and relaxing
time with tv until bed.
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