The Journey continues - Wenatchee and Lake Chelan

Day 3 of the adventure began with....rain.  And snow on the tops of Icicle Ridge.

Bill and Kathy at The Enchanted River Inn B&B served a terrific GF Breakfast of "Everything" Quiche with a hash brown crust and saffron sauce.  Freshly made and served to us on the Wenatchee River.

We "hiked" for just a bit on the Icicle Ridge trail passing beautiful scenery along the way.  The trail crosses over the Icicle creek (which looks like a river to me) and then begins to snake through the ridge.  It is an amazing place that causes one to say "Wow" over and over again.

After our small hike, we decided to drive to the town where Brent was born, Wenatchee, Washington.  The day was an adventure in pronunciation, as I practiced learning all the Native American names of towns, rivers, and streets.  We drove passed the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers and walked along the river walk.  Afterwards we drove up to Lake Chelan, Washington- a drive that passes by several wineries and orchards. Beautiful country and great conversation ruled the day.

We had dinner at Pavz's Restaurant in Leavenworth where the food was fabulous.  Fresh Sea Scallops for me and Halibut for Brent that was the best meal we have had in a long time.  All and all a very relaxing, lazy day.  Perfect.

Cougars Game & Leavenworth

Perhaps it wise to just pass over comment on last night's game.  After saying goodbye to Dennis and Linda, Brent and I drove toward our next adventure.  Highway 2 is a great two lane road through Stevens Pass. A winding ribbon of road which snakes through the forest which is changing colors because of the cool nights and rainy days. The scenery is enough to cause you to believe that God lives in Washington, although being from Colorado, I know that could not possibly be true.
To say that my new husband is a fanatic, well, that would be an understatement. We rode the monorail from downtown Seattle toward the Stadium with our WSU Cougar gear on.  The rain gear was close by as it had been raining most of the day.  We reached SafeCo field in the pouring rain. Hoods in place and ponchos on we watched the beloved Cougs get spanked, but we had a truly great time. On a good note, our new rain gear did an amazing job of keeping us dry and we had such a fantastic evening. 
To say that my new husband is a fanatic, well, that would be an understatement. We rode the monorail from downtown Seattle toward the Stadium with our WSU Cougar gear on.  The rain gear was close by as it had been raining most of the day.  We reached SafeCo field in the pouring rain. Hoods in place and ponchos on we watched the beloved Cougs get spanked, but we had a truly great time. On a good note, our new rain gear did an amazing job of keeping us dry and we had such a fantastic evening. 




After saying goodbye to Dennis and Linda, Brent and I drove toward our next adventure.  Highway 2 is a great two lane road through Stevens Pass. A winding ribbon of road which snakes through the forest which is changing colors because of the cool nights and rainy days. The scenery is enough to cause you to believe that God lives in Washington, although being from Colorado, I know that could not possibly be true.
We ate dinner in town at Visconti's Italian restaurant which had great gluten free dinner menu. The Ocean prawns were superb, the conversation spirited and the Wine from nearby Quincy, Washington, a great treat.

This morning after starting our day at Starbucks, we met Dennis and Linda Byrnes for brunch at Arnie's in Mulkilteo, Washington. Brunch included mimosas and great conversation, so, of course, it was a good time. After finishing brunch, we rode the ferry across Puget Sound to Whidbey Island. The ride was quick but beautiful and while on board Brent used his considerable  I.T. skill to access our home DVR on his cell phone so that we were able to watch the Seahawks win their game against the Houston Texans in overtime.  He had quite a gathering of interested people on the ferry watching over his shoulder as the Seahawks won 23-20. 

We arrived in Leavenworth, Washington at dinner time. A quaint town of Bavarian style, Leavenworth is loaded with shops and bratwurst, wine tasting and tourists.  The hanging flowers greet you at every turn.  We drove to our destination, the Enchanter River Inn and were not disappointed.  Our hosts Bill and Kathy were kind and accommodating and the room was beyond our expectation. The B&B sits right on the Wenatchee River in an setting that is impossible to describe. The river flows at the back door of the B&B bending around the property swiftly making an amazing sound as it goes. The "mountain" looms nearby in the background changing color with the season. Clouds hang low between the valleys creating a fog that creates a beautiful backdrop. 

The day was so great it almost made us forget the score of last night's game.
Almost.

The "Honeymoon"

A rainy morning in Seattle.

I know some might think "honeymoon"and have images of sand, sea and sun.  But Brent and I are a bit non-traditional, we like it that way.

We spent the morning walking through the downtown streets of Seattle, Washington in a light mist. We had arrived at the airport yesterday afternoon and rode the rail into downtown.  It was nice to be able to see the people along the way.  Seattle is a beautiful city and even in the mist of the morning we had a great time.






When here last July, we had enjoyed breakfast at the Portage Bay Cafe and we were pleased to find one very near our hotel.  The food was fabulous (and of course, Gluten Free).

After breakfast we made our way to the WSU Cougars store to be certain that we had the required uniform for tonight's game when we will watch the WSU Cougars game against the Stanford Cardinal in Seahawks stadium.  Brent has a new Cougars rain jacket and hat.

My husband (doesn't that sound odd?!) assures me that the rain will stop at 6:45PM, conveniently in time for the 7 PM kickoff. Either way, we have rain gear and ponchos, waterproof boots and sweatshirts.  All the necessary items for the game.  I am really looking forward to it.

We walked over to the site of the first REI which is located near downtown but looks as though we walked into a Rain Forest.  There is a large porch area in front of the store where we sat and just listened to the rain. The trees surrounding the building are huge and beautiful and the sound of the rain in the trees was amazing.

I noticed something odd this afternoon.  The rain picked up and stayed steady, we walked all throughout downtown in our newly acquired clear rain ponchos.  Everyone we met along the way walked with their heads down bracing against the wind and rain.  Every once in a while, sometimes in a loud voice, sometimes barely audible,  I would hear the same thing repeated over and over again.  In hotel lobbies, in restaurants or stores, on the street.  It must be a secret Seattle greeting, some kind of NW thing?  Brent seemed to know it, as he echoed back the greeting to strangers along the way.

Go Cougs!