Day 11: Eastward to Leavenworth
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2008
1
18
24
Trip End
Jun 24, 2008
Leavenworth, Washington
Monday, June 16, 2008
Today's photog: Kory
We left the Bellevue (east of Seattle) area today and drove about 130 miles, through the Cascades, to Leavenworth, where it was actually hot. We didn't see a temperature sign, but it must've been about 80.
Leavenworth is off the beaten path and was a dying town in the 60s, when it decided to take on the German theme to attract tourism. Clearly that has paid off for the town, although, as I'm writing this a day later, we've also visited the Dutch-influenced town of Lynden, and I liked Lynden better (more authentically influenced, it seems). Although that's not knocking Leavenworth - it's still charming, and has clearly embraced its mission fully.
We had a German meal of things I can't spell and Matthew mostly wouldn't eat, but hey, we tried it. Matthew was thrilled to find an arcade and mini-golf place next to our hotel; we didn't do mini-golf, but we did play several games of pool. Of course Mike made us all look bad. Actually, we all are pretty bad, except Mike, but it was still fun.
Oh, and before we left Bellevue this morning, in the blazing sun, guess what we could see from our hotel balcony? The gleaming white tip-top of Mt. Ranier! We're still hoping for a fuller view, but it looks like cloudy days are coming our way again soon.
