Light Up Leavenworth
For our honeymoon we had gone up to a little town called Leavenworth about three hours north. It's a little Bavarian village, and it's super neat. Last year on the Today Show I had seen them fire up all the lights, and it looked so neat. Jason's mom had gone there this year for Thanksgiving and mentioned she had just missed the lighting. So we made a point to go. It was neat!
We left right before Z went down for his nap, that way he would sleep in the car. For some reason we were under the impression it would take only two hours to get there, but were we wrong. Not to mention the potty breaks. Z fell asleep for an hour (really all we are guaranteed in the car), so when he woke up we were about 10 minutes out of Ellensburg. We prep'd him to wait to go to the bathroom, and by jove he made it! J grabbed some coffee, we had a granola bar, and Z ate some cookies. We had made them that morning (well, the dough had been made the day before). Z liked to roll, cut and sprinkle, but only for about 10 minutes. Then I was left to finish. We used his very small cookie cutters, so they were Zach sized. They didn't taste that great (pretty boring) as I used the lowest calorie recipe I could find and then tweaked it. But they got the job done - I thought he'd like the making process.
Anyway, about 30 minutes from our destination and just as far to any known restroom, Z said he had to go poo. We told him to wait as we'd try to find a potty. About 5-10 minutes later, he says it again. I told Jason we might just have to let him poo in the woods as we were in the middle of nowhere. So we stopped and while J got Z out of the car I set up two decent sized sticks to set his seat on. Let's just say Z didn't like the idea. Of course he was cold, but he didn't want to go poo, no matter how many times I told him Paul and Maggie would be proud, or how they go poo and pee-pee in the woods when they go camping. So after about 10 minutes we got back in the car and kept driving. It was an experience, though I'm not sure he enjoyed it :).
We got in town about 30 minutes before they were going to have the lighting ceremony - way closer than we had planned. I had wanted to bum around a bit before it got dark, but we didn't have much time at all. We drove through town to make sure we knew where we ought to be, then turned around and parked at McDee's. After changing into much heavier clothing and layers, we hoofed it to the town center. There were gobs of people there! We didn't get to be where it would have been the best view, but we were next to several trees that had heaps of lights. After waiting for a while and not being able to understand the person with the microphone, they turned on some tree lights. They had several willow trees that lit up that I didn't even realized had lights on them. Unfortunately they didn't turn them all on at the same time, but Z was looking in the direction of the first one when it came on. Because he thought it was that neat or because of the response of the crowd, he had his own "oooo." It was cute. Then they counted down and lit up all the buildings. So many lights! It was cool. Then the throngs of people started trying to move. I heard several people comment that they had to get out of there quick, so I guess just like anything else some must want to get home right away. We stayed and went to the Cheesemonger's Shop. Oh, how incredibly wonderful! When we went for our anniversary we bought some cheese - and then left it in Bob's fridge when we took off for Kentucky! We didn't realize until hours later, but I'm not sure Bob minded :). So we made sure to stock up this time. When Jeanie had been up there for Thanksgiving, she had brought us some back - we had a veg session one night. So this time we got several different varieties, including a few she had picked out for us. They'll give you just about as many samples as you want to pick out the cheeses that you'll enjoy. It was soooo busy, but the staff was awesome. And there was this couple next to us that we ended up sharing our samples with. It worked out well! Including the $5 worth of crackers, we spent 40 bucks there. We got some smoked gouda, which has really grown on me and would be excellent with meat, some garlic stuff, some cheddar, some cheddar smoked over applewood, and my favorite - some spreadable cheese with garlic and herbs. Yum! Though I found out from our previous veg session that my stomach can't handle the high content of fat very well. Reminds me of French Kiss when Kate starts getting stomach cramps from being lactose intolerant. I'm not, but the higher fat content doesn't work very well. That's why I switched from 2% to skim.
Anyway, after spending forever at the cheese shop (really the only place we had intended to go), we walked through the town some more. The crowd had really diminished. It was pretty cold, but shockingly I don't think it went below freezing. They had fires and heat lamps set up for people to stand under. Jason really likes bratwurst type things, but I couldn't seem to find any outside vendors that carried anything I really wanted. We wanted to go to Rumpelstiltskin's, but after looking on Jason's phone, we're not sure it even exists anymore. So we just went to the first place we could find with a menu outside. We had to wait a while, but at least we got to sit inside - that was worth a little more cash! Jason got an angus burger and I got some beer battered/fried halibut. With a salad :). Zach had a small cup of chili. And some of Jason's fries :). He loves fries (we all do, even if we aren't willing to admit it openly), so we had to make him take bites of chili or fish (mostly just the fishy center, not the oiled breading) before he got more fries. Finally it was down to two fries. We had him take some more bites of food, then passed of a fry. Then, as if working for the American relay team this past Olympics, they fumbled the handoff. Down tumbled the fry to the floor. As Jason and I made some sort of "oh no!" noises. Jason told Z he was sorry, but since we don't eat food off of the floor he couldn't have it. Z's face started to scrunch up and we could tell he was fighting off tears. Poor guy! He was really looking forward to that fry. I apologized and told him we can always get more later, but he could have more fish. It was a bummer.
We decided we needed to take at least one picture, so here it is. We had a dude take a couple pics of us, but this one is better.
Here are all the trees lit up. Almost all of the buildings have lights on them, and this is only the center. It was really quite beautiful.
After spending 3 1/2 hours there, we spent another 3 hours in the car. We spent twice as much time in the car as we did there! But it was neat. And we got cheese! I managed to drive the whole way home (the last few road trips I've been getting very tired) and Z went to sleep like a champ. He just throws the blanket over his head and he's done. J even dozed off. But it was worth it - it was something neat to do that not everybody can say they've done.
We left right before Z went down for his nap, that way he would sleep in the car. For some reason we were under the impression it would take only two hours to get there, but were we wrong. Not to mention the potty breaks. Z fell asleep for an hour (really all we are guaranteed in the car), so when he woke up we were about 10 minutes out of Ellensburg. We prep'd him to wait to go to the bathroom, and by jove he made it! J grabbed some coffee, we had a granola bar, and Z ate some cookies. We had made them that morning (well, the dough had been made the day before). Z liked to roll, cut and sprinkle, but only for about 10 minutes. Then I was left to finish. We used his very small cookie cutters, so they were Zach sized. They didn't taste that great (pretty boring) as I used the lowest calorie recipe I could find and then tweaked it. But they got the job done - I thought he'd like the making process.
Anyway, about 30 minutes from our destination and just as far to any known restroom, Z said he had to go poo. We told him to wait as we'd try to find a potty. About 5-10 minutes later, he says it again. I told Jason we might just have to let him poo in the woods as we were in the middle of nowhere. So we stopped and while J got Z out of the car I set up two decent sized sticks to set his seat on. Let's just say Z didn't like the idea. Of course he was cold, but he didn't want to go poo, no matter how many times I told him Paul and Maggie would be proud, or how they go poo and pee-pee in the woods when they go camping. So after about 10 minutes we got back in the car and kept driving. It was an experience, though I'm not sure he enjoyed it :).
We got in town about 30 minutes before they were going to have the lighting ceremony - way closer than we had planned. I had wanted to bum around a bit before it got dark, but we didn't have much time at all. We drove through town to make sure we knew where we ought to be, then turned around and parked at McDee's. After changing into much heavier clothing and layers, we hoofed it to the town center. There were gobs of people there! We didn't get to be where it would have been the best view, but we were next to several trees that had heaps of lights. After waiting for a while and not being able to understand the person with the microphone, they turned on some tree lights. They had several willow trees that lit up that I didn't even realized had lights on them. Unfortunately they didn't turn them all on at the same time, but Z was looking in the direction of the first one when it came on. Because he thought it was that neat or because of the response of the crowd, he had his own "oooo." It was cute. Then they counted down and lit up all the buildings. So many lights! It was cool. Then the throngs of people started trying to move. I heard several people comment that they had to get out of there quick, so I guess just like anything else some must want to get home right away. We stayed and went to the Cheesemonger's Shop. Oh, how incredibly wonderful! When we went for our anniversary we bought some cheese - and then left it in Bob's fridge when we took off for Kentucky! We didn't realize until hours later, but I'm not sure Bob minded :). So we made sure to stock up this time. When Jeanie had been up there for Thanksgiving, she had brought us some back - we had a veg session one night. So this time we got several different varieties, including a few she had picked out for us. They'll give you just about as many samples as you want to pick out the cheeses that you'll enjoy. It was soooo busy, but the staff was awesome. And there was this couple next to us that we ended up sharing our samples with. It worked out well! Including the $5 worth of crackers, we spent 40 bucks there. We got some smoked gouda, which has really grown on me and would be excellent with meat, some garlic stuff, some cheddar, some cheddar smoked over applewood, and my favorite - some spreadable cheese with garlic and herbs. Yum! Though I found out from our previous veg session that my stomach can't handle the high content of fat very well. Reminds me of French Kiss when Kate starts getting stomach cramps from being lactose intolerant. I'm not, but the higher fat content doesn't work very well. That's why I switched from 2% to skim.
Anyway, after spending forever at the cheese shop (really the only place we had intended to go), we walked through the town some more. The crowd had really diminished. It was pretty cold, but shockingly I don't think it went below freezing. They had fires and heat lamps set up for people to stand under. Jason really likes bratwurst type things, but I couldn't seem to find any outside vendors that carried anything I really wanted. We wanted to go to Rumpelstiltskin's, but after looking on Jason's phone, we're not sure it even exists anymore. So we just went to the first place we could find with a menu outside. We had to wait a while, but at least we got to sit inside - that was worth a little more cash! Jason got an angus burger and I got some beer battered/fried halibut. With a salad :). Zach had a small cup of chili. And some of Jason's fries :). He loves fries (we all do, even if we aren't willing to admit it openly), so we had to make him take bites of chili or fish (mostly just the fishy center, not the oiled breading) before he got more fries. Finally it was down to two fries. We had him take some more bites of food, then passed of a fry. Then, as if working for the American relay team this past Olympics, they fumbled the handoff. Down tumbled the fry to the floor. As Jason and I made some sort of "oh no!" noises. Jason told Z he was sorry, but since we don't eat food off of the floor he couldn't have it. Z's face started to scrunch up and we could tell he was fighting off tears. Poor guy! He was really looking forward to that fry. I apologized and told him we can always get more later, but he could have more fish. It was a bummer.
We decided we needed to take at least one picture, so here it is. We had a dude take a couple pics of us, but this one is better.
Here are all the trees lit up. Almost all of the buildings have lights on them, and this is only the center. It was really quite beautiful.
After spending 3 1/2 hours there, we spent another 3 hours in the car. We spent twice as much time in the car as we did there! But it was neat. And we got cheese! I managed to drive the whole way home (the last few road trips I've been getting very tired) and Z went to sleep like a champ. He just throws the blanket over his head and he's done. J even dozed off. But it was worth it - it was something neat to do that not everybody can say they've done.
posted by Jason and Jodee at 12:20 PM
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