Cascade Loop Scenic Highway

For Travis' birthday tour, we hopped on to the Cascade Scenic Loop. It's something we've wanted to do for a while. Well worth the trip for sure. Something every Washingtonian needs to do.

The trip through Steven's Pass started out so cloudy. We were afraid we wouldn't get to see one of our favorite set of mountains. Things cleared up as we got closer.

A must stop in Leavenworth, is the bratwurst stand. The Munchen Haus. There is just no other option. Perfect place to go when its hot or cold. All the seating is outdoors, so you don't miss on any scenery.

It was toasty, for sure! Now for trips in the summer, we won't go without swim gear. New thing to do for us, is swim at the community pool. Is was blazing hot, on a Saturday and wasn't too busy. Maybe I shouldn't say that. It's probably supposed to be a secret.

Our sweet, suite! Great find Jeanette! It's only been open 8 weeks. The staff was so friendly. We even got a tour of our suite by the owner himself. It had a full kitchen, fully stocked with anything you'd need to cook, eat, etc... The bathroom in the bedroom had a giant spa tub.Yay! HAD to have a bath. 

The back porch was fully screened. No bugs! And, it looked over the river.

The new wood smelled so good!

Great bakery in town. Clever name. Organic and local ingredients.

This IS a Cinnamon Twisp. SO, so delicious. 

Bye Twisp, on our way to Winthrop.

This town reminds me of Jackson Hole, WY. A very Old West kind of town. No sidewalks. Just wood boardwalks. Every sign, including realty, and gas station price signs, are hand painted. Loved it.

More baked goodies! 

Our first glimpse of the big Northern mountains.

Can't describe how majestic these were. Standing in the midst of so much beauty, leaves me speechless.

A patch of snow still left.

This look out is definitely worth the stop. It's right at the top of Washington Pass.

The road we just came up.

"Liberty Bell"

Lake Diablo. I promise I didn't play with these colors at all. The turquoise/green is from suspended rock and the reflection of the surrounding forest.

If you look really close you can see kayaks on the rock island.

The first food we could find, after being up high in the peaks, was in a town called Marblemount.

An old train car, converted into a smokey BBQ joint, with picnic tables out back under a giant shady tree.

So sad to leave the mountains. It was only 20 or so miles until we were back on to I-5.

My baby passed her big milestone on the trip. She's all grown up.

Check it out! Maybe for your next trip? 

http://www.cascadeloop.com/

Whidbey Island

Thanks to our cousins Maggie and David, we found out about this lovely hike at Ebey's Landing on Whidbey Island. The pictures they posted were so beautiful, we had to see this for ourselves. It was everything we'd hoped. It was sunny all morning. Once we got out of the car to hike, the sky turned dark and threatening. So beautiful. Didn't mind getting pelted by wind and rain one bit.




At the top of this hill, we saw three bald eagles! THREE! The nest was very close. We could hear them. However, of course we couldn't get any shots of them. Trust me, they were there.

Myrtle Beach

Jeanette and I, flew with our cousin Kate ,to surprise our cousin/sister Erin and family in North Carolina. It was an awesome trip. On Saturday we all piled in cars and drove to the beach. It rained the whole day! We only were physically on the beach for maybe 15 minutes. We were drenched!
We thoroughly enjoyed those 15 minutes. I was determined to put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean. Something I had yet to do.
I could've stayed on that beach until I was soaked to the bone. It was almost like I never left Washington. It was chilly. Not as cold as it would've been at the Pacific beaches this time of year.
I can't wait to go back when it's sunny and warm!

Port Gamble

This was the first weekend in a very long time, that we had beautiful weather. It would've been a crime to not get out and enjoy it. We didn't really have a plan on where to go. It was to the mountains on the east or to the west. We love going to the Olympic mountains. There's something so mysterious about them.
We love this little town. It has a population of only 72. I don't even know where they would all live. It's so small. Every house has a white picket fence.


This little cafe, is our new favorite restaurant. We've been here twice and the food is amazing! It's cute, quaint, and the service is excellent. It's tucked in the back of the general store, with views of the water.
The general store is a really beautiful building. Very high ceilings and original wood everywhere. In business since 1916.

They have several vacation cottages to rent. These two are the closest to the water. Beautiful place to get away, any time of the year.