After my parents’ repeat visits it was time to welcome Alex’s parents for their spring visit to Seattle. Donna and Stan came out to spend some time with us last weekend. They arrived on Friday morning and we had a quick lunch at the Hi Spot before we packed up the SUV and hit the road to head for the mountains.
It was a beautiful day for a drive and we loved checking out the views through Snoqualmie Pass and Bluwett Pass as we approached our cabin in Peshastin, Washington, just outside the town of Leavenworth. It took us just over 2 hours to get there from our house, which was a nice and easy drive to get us out of town. Our rental cabin was so cute!! It was really in the middle of nowhere, situated on a huge lot. The cabin had a funny layout but it worked really well for us with a galley kitchen that opened up onto the dining room and living room. The view of the Cascade Mountains from the front of the cabin was incredible.
Jackson was in paradise the whole time we were at the cabin. The property allowed for him to go outside off leash and run around and roam free. He and Alex played ball for hours upon hours. Jackson has some pretty substantial anxiety issues, we’ve realized, so we were a bit nervous and unsure of how he would do in the new space. Much to our surprise he actually did do pretty well! At our last cabin weekend at Crystal Mountain we didn’t get any sleep at all the first night because Jackson was up crying all night from anxiety and restlessness. Thankfully he went to bed just fine both nights and was able to feel comfortable in the house and he didn’t feel the need to mark his territory in the house, either.
We didn’t have much on the agenda for our first night, other than to run into Leavenworth, check out the town and grab some groceries. We picked up some steaks, a lot of wine and some appetizers to enjoy back at the cabin. It was so nice to relax and catch up with Alex’s parents on our first night.
On Saturday we had a wonderfully relaxing morning at the cabin before packing up the car and driving about 45 minutes to Stevens Pass to go skiing for the day. Alex and I typically ski at Crystal Mountain and I have only skied at Stevens Pass once, while Alex has skied there a handful of times. Neither one of us is too familiar with the mountain so it was fun to explore some new terrain.
The weather on Saturday was wonderful! We enjoyed skiing in the sunshine – it was so warm that most of us ended up dropping a layer in a locker we rented. I always get a kick out of skiing with Donna and Stan because it is amazing to watch how much they improve from the start of the day to the end. The last time they had skied was in Breckenridge at Thanksgiving when they had their ski lesson. I think the pointers from ski instructor Rick really stuck with them! Stan, especially, showed drastic improvements – he truly looked like a different skier from the first run to the last.
After our fun ski day we headed back home to soak in the hot tub. It’s not a ski vacation unless there’s a hot tub! We had a wonderful dinner together before we all passed out on the comfy sectional in the living room.
One of the disappointing parts of great weekends is they always go too fast! We were all enjoying our time at the cabin so much that it was very sad when it was time to say goodbye on Sunday morning. It was such a relaxing environment for all of us, which was much needed. I wish we could have stayed longer!
On our way back to Seattle we decided to stop in Leavenworth again to spend a few hours perusing the town and grabbing lunch. Leavenworth is an adorable Bavarian-style town in the heart of the Cascade Mountains. It is really quite picturesque. Alex and I have spent more and more time here in the last few years and adore the town.
Since it was another gorgeous day Alex and Stan parked themselves at an outdoor beer garden and ordered a stein of beer to enjoy while Donna and I browsed in some of the shops and did a couple wine tastings. We met up with the boys for a lunch of sausage and pretzels at the Muchen Haus before getting back on the road to Seattle.
The rest of our day kept in line with being very relaxing. We shared a bottle of wine on our front porch before walking up to the new restaurant in our neighborhood, Red Cow, for a delicious steak dinner. I haven’t been impressed with Red Cow’s dessert menu, so I suggested we walk across the street to Bottlehouse to see if they’re still open. Everything about Bottlehouse is impressive, including their dessert menu, so we were happy to see that they still allowed us to come in for a night cap even though they had already technically closed. One of the many perks of being regulars, I guess! Donna and Stan got to catch up with Henri, one of the owners, while Alex and I ordered a bottle of bubbly and some pots de creme, two of our favorites.
Monday meant back to work for Alex and me. Donna and Stan were feeling independent so they hopped on the city bus and headed downtown to do a little shopping before meeting Alex for lunch near his new office. Shortly thereafter it was time for me to take them to the airport before I had to go to work.
It’s hard to believe how quickly our time came and went with Alex’s parents! As always, it was wonderful to have them come and visit. We are so fortunate that although we live so far away from our parents they still come to see us in Seattle and we always have a great time!