Our Travel North
While the family and I were all dreaming of a White Christmas, this year in Portland it just wasn’t to be. However, we were prepared to hit the road and head north to spend a couple days in the “Alps” of Washington to get a day-after White Christmas experience.
Without stops for charging the car (or our stomachs), it’s about a 5-hour drive from Portland up to the Bavarian-like town of Leavenworth, Washington. Add in the stops and reasonably it’s around 7-hours door-to-door. The drive is so beautiful though as we traveled the Gorge east along highway 84 with the Columbia River to our left and the view south out the window to our right of the many waterfalls whizzing past, time just flew by. About an hour in we crossed the Columbia River into Washington, turned north and traveled through the snow-covered mountains and the expansive Yakima Valley of central Washington along Highways 82, 90 and 97 before arriving in the early evening at the Icicle Village Resort, where we had a 2-room condo awaiting us.
We quickly got ourselves situated, but it had been such a long day that we were all pretty spent and we decided to cancel our dinner reservations at Mozart’s and to just get some burgers and tots from the HeidelBurger Drive In, which was directly across the street from the resort. While I have to plan travel and adjust to everyone’s tastes and needs, not experiencing that Austrian-inspired restaurant was my one regret for this trip, not only for myself but for everyone else along for the ride. I certainly expect to go back to Leavenworth in the Spring or Summer and will make certain to get Mozart’s back on the schedule.
Mountain Snowmobiling
Friday morning entailed an early and quick buffet in the lodge dining room (included with the room) then about a 20-minute drive north of town to Leavenworth Snowmobile Tours where we were scheduled to spend the next 4-hours with our guide, Robin, where he would lead us on the back country trails of the Eagle Creek Sno Park, snowmobiling over groomed trails and 5-feet of fresh new snow. We got all the extra gear we needed that we hadn’t brought along (a couple extra goggles and some snow boot rentals), warmed up in the warming hut, got some last-minute instructions and rules of the road, then headed out. This was my second time snowmobiling and everyone else’s first, so it took about 15-20 minutes to get everyone comfortable and confident with their machines. (Reminder, print out your Sno Park pass before arriving. The Snowmobile shop is next to the Sno Park and luckily, I was able to purchase a parking pass online and they gave me a hardcopy of one of theirs to put in the window after I verified that I had the pass).
As we sped along the fully groomed trails, we headed back into the mountainous terrain over 6-miles, gaining hundreds of feet of altitude while fresh snow lightly fell on us and continued to pile up. About an hour into the ride, with the sky clearing, on top of one of the ridges we stopped and checked out the views (only barely becoming visible as the sun rose higher burning off the fog below us), took some pics and yes even made a few snow angels.
The snow muffled all sound and with the fog swirling in the background, the trees covered in freshly fallen snow and the sun attempting to shine through the clouds it was all a bit surreal, peaceful and beautiful and we all took it in. Break time over, and with nearly 3-hours of experience under our belts, Robin let us freestyle a bit so B3 and I took off full throttle down the trail until we all met up again at the mountaintop warming hut.
With less than 20 minutes or so left on our 4-hour tour we blazed down the last 6-miles of the trail in a matter of minutes, the snowmobiles leaving giant sprays of snow behind like jet ski rooster tails.
What an incredibly exhilarating way to start the day. When I told Kay we’d be on snowmobiles for 4-hours she was dubious. By the end she exclaimed that it was just the right amount of time and that she enjoyed every minute. When in Leavenworth (or really any trip to the Northwest in the winter), find yourself a good snowmobile outfit and get out there on the trails and fresh powder. I recommend paying the extra money for the guide too if you aren’t well-versed in riding these machines or the trails that you will be on, and when in Leavenworth, I further recommend Leavenworth Snowmobile Tours.
The Alpine Coaster
An easy 3-minute walk across the street from the resort is the Leavenworth Adventure Park, which includes the Tumwater Twister Alpine Coaster. We had reservations for two rides down the mountain and were all very excited to experience this adventure. (Here’s a site that does a great job reviewing the coaster and the experience. Except for the fact that snow was covering the ground during our experience, it pretty much mirrored what this author went through).
Full throttle and no brakes was the motto B3 and I took on both rides, and while we both excitedly zipped down the hill each time, there were a few points along the way where we both questioned whether it was a good call, as the cart was whipped around on the track as it plunged down the hill at some very high speeds. The cart’s braking components physically surround rails in the track, making it next to impossible for a cart to fly off. That tickling feeling rising from our stomachs into our throats was mostly driven by the exhilaration, not fear, and as you can see both from the picture I snapped of B3 at the end, and the one the ride took of me about halfway down, we were all smiles the entire way. I would definitely do that ride again. At $20 a ride that lasts about 5-7 minutes it’s on the high end, but it’s such a unique experience that it’s worth at least one visit in your lifetime.
Main Street Leavenworth
By 5pm we were ramped up, energized and hungry. As we wrapped up the coaster ride, we walked the 1/2 mile or so down main street to the Platz where all the shops and restaurants (and hundreds of pedestrians) were. We had dinner reservations at Visconti’s, a great Italian restaurant right in the middle of everything, but we still had some time to kill before then and we wanted to see the sites and lights as we strolled around downtown (If you want to see what is happening right now in downtown Leavenworth, here are some live cameras).
Kay also wanted some pics in front of the Bavarian Lodge, and I think because of its location across the street from the town center’s gazebo and all the shopping and food joints, the next time we’re in town that is where we’ll be staying.
I didn’t get any pictures at Visconti’s, but everyone commented that nearly everything was perfect, with everyone immensely enjoying their meal and the service. The only hiccup was with my pork chop and risotto, which didn’t turn out as expected and was taken off the bill. Even that experience was handled well, and I would definitely return here (we’re already thinking about that next trip in the Summer).
Visiting Santa’s Reindeer
When Santa’s Reindeer can no longer play reindeer games with Rudolph and friends, they send them upstate to the Leavenworth Reindeer Farm where kids and adults alike get a chance to visit with them before they get turned into a very tasty sausage wrapped in a potato lefse with lingonberry jam and cream cheese.
While waiting for our tour time we got some of that sausage at their Blitzen Brew coffee stand. They have see-through igloos and fire pits in the waiting area to keep folks busy and of course we couldn’t pass up a chance for a little role play pic.
Once our tour started, they led us a couple hundred yards over to the opposite side of the property for a safety briefing, then they handed out cups of feed and let us into the large pen (about 100x100 feet) to get up close with the reindeer.
The visit wasn’t timed, but most folks generally hung out with the reindeer for about 15 minutes and could leave on their own. Once all our food had run out, we took a couple more pics ourselves and headed off to capture the memory in other locations on the property.
Yet again another experience that I think would be a blast for kids and is worthy of most adults’ time as well. My only critique is that they didn’t have any wash stations for cleaning the reindeer spit and snot off one’s hands, just one sanitizer station outside the outhouses.
Seattle at Night
After leaving Leavenworth, we traveled a very rainy and windy 2 1/2 hours west on Highway 90 to Seattle to check in at the Westin in downtown where we were pretty centrally located to several sites we wanted to see (This is a great hotel, and if you are a Bonvoy elite member they really recognize that and take care of you. The manager personally reached out before our stay and arranged for our upgraded waterfront rooms to be next to each other and they have a number of additional benefits like a $10 credit towards Uber, $25 per room credit in the restaurants and more). After dropping off our bags we grabbed an Uber, hit the trail and headed over to The Great Wheel along the waterfront.
Because we had a tight schedule and no reservations, upon arriving we opted for the VIP package which allowed us to skip the long (probably an hour wait) line, go right to the front and get in our private glass-bottomed gondola. The package came with free drinks and two free pictures as well (though I thought it was funny that my green jacket really threw off their green screen, making me semi-transparent in the picture).
The ride was three loops around and took a total of about ten minutes. The views of downtown and the Needle were great, but things got a little dicey (and yes, a little queasy) with the wind rocking the car back and forth, back and forth, when we were stopped at the top and they were unloading those cars on the bottom. A good time was had by all, but we were all definitely ready to get off after the third go-round.
Luckily, we hadn’t eaten first, but it was time, so while our stomachs settled we jumped in another Uber and headed the 10 minutes north to try out the Korean restaurant BlackinGold. I ended up ordering the GoldInBlack Jajang, a Korean-style Chinese dish very popular in Korea and in Korean restaurants here in America. Their unique take on the dish allowed for an upgrade from rice to Udon noodles and I opted in on that. The dish also came with zucchini, sliced brussels sprouts, kabocha squash, diced sauteed white onion, and the whole dish was tossed with a savory black bean sauce and topped with (what was supposed to be) a poached egg (but was really more of an even better sunny side up hard fried egg) and garnished with some cilantro. While not traditional, this was a classic remade that was outstandingly done. I’d definitely go back whenever I’m in the area.
Fueled up and ready for the next adventure, we headed the few minutes over to the Chihuly Garden and Glass.
Our next-door neighbors are owners in Bullseye Glass, the glass manufacturing company Dale Chihuly has used to make his pieces. So, in addition to experiencing the incredible beauty of his art up close, we have I suppose a very tangential connection to this place as well.
It’s really hard sometimes to get the scale of these pieces without seeing them in person. For example, look at the picture in the left position of the middle row, then look at the same piece from the other side with Kay in the frame to experience the size of the piece (probably 40-feet long).
I brought Kay and B3 up here a couple years ago and it appears that most, if not all, of the exhibits may be the same, but this time we were seeing it at night, so the outside garden experience was even more alluring with the lighting and shadows.
We had an 8pm reservation for the Space Needle Observation Deck and had been working everything else up to that point around that time slot. With our window of opportunity arriving, we walked the 5-minutes over to the Space Needle. Once inside, the line wound around the internal tower past a number of informative pictures and period graphics for about 30-minutes before we were allowed to get on the elevator that took us to the top in about 80-seconds.
Once on the Observation Deck, we were free to roam around and take pictures. Due to some rather bold Christmas decorations some of the pictures had a lot of unavoidable red in them unfortunately. A free photo is included in the ticket price, and I got a chance once again to sport the Stetson hat that B3 and his girlfriend bought me for Christmas.
After everyone got a chance to see the sites from the Space Needle, we headed back to the hotel lobby to have a night cap by using up our Bonvoy elite room credits on some Cosmopolitans.
The final day of Part B, Week 1 of our Christmas Break 2024 started out early with breakfast downstairs, then a 45-minute drive south along Highway 5 to Tacoma for our 10am reservations at the Museum of Glass. Kay and I had tickets to see the gallery of glass art, but I was able to get two additional tickets for B3 and Tatiana to actually go into the Hot Shop to blow their own glass. They both ended up each making a paperweight which, after cooling for several days, will be shipped to them down in California. For local area residents the made articles can also be picked up locally.
Kay and I sat in the viewing area watching them do their thing both in person and on the large screen tv with close up camera views of everything that was going on in the room. The museum has excellent outreach programs and the two girls working with B3 and Tatiana were local area high school Juniors that were already well-versed in their craft. It was very impressive to watch them both technically and socially interact while explaining how to blow the glass without just doing it themselves and giving the customer the opportunity to engage directly with the process.
After their project was wrapped up we all took a stroll through the museum’s gallery of glass art, much of which was made in this facility. The styles ranged across the board from this Damascus-like piece to the statuary, and more. It was all super impressive.
There was even a Dale Chihuly chandelier that he called his “end of the day” piece because it was made with leftover parts from other chandeliers he had made. I found this particularly interesting because the night before B3 had questioned whether or not Chihuly made extra parts when designing his artwork and this was a living example of the answer.
I was especially drawn to the opaque pieces and impressed by the animal likenesses. However, the thing I found most interesting was the wooden display cases filled with glass insects. The fine detail and coloration was most impressive and realistic.
A Slow Drive for a (sort of) Fast Finish
Today’s activities were also scheduled around a particular timed event later in the day. After a delicious lunch at Palace BBQ, a Korean restaurant in Tacoma just outside the Army and Air Force Bases there, we slowly made our way down I-5 back to Portland. At 430pm we had reservations for the Portland International Raceway’s annual Winter Wonderland, where they light the track with a million or more lights for various Christmas displays and let drivers take their personal vehicles onto the track.
Let’s be honest, I was not there for the lights. We were first in line at 430 when the gate opened and the sun didn’t set for another 5 minutes. I was there simply to have the opportunity to drive my Mustang Mach-e on the raceway where I had seen a Formula-e race just months before. While there was no lead car and really no instructions or nothing to stop me from speeding around the track, I observed a reasonable 15 mph speed limit and headed into turn 1….
With Week 1 of the break in the books and the New Year coming up (it will be Jan by the time this is posted), I want to thank those of you that are still with me and still taking the time to read this blog. I challenge each of you to get engaged both in response to my posts, and in your communities, and from our family to yours, we wish each of you a very Happy New Year with many blessings and good tidings in 2025.