Headed Home

Usually heading home from a trip is a solemn affair.  For me, it is usually a time that I think about the fun I've had and the work that waits for me once I get home.  This time it was different.  We had another train trip to look forward to, and this one would be during daylight.

We started very early in the morning with a 5:30am shuttle back to the train station.  The shuttle in Leavenworth is really good.  They let us sit in the car until the train arrived so that we could stay nice and warm.  It was about 25 degrees outside, so I definitely appreciated that!

Before we knew it we were back on the train.  The attendant let us stay in the bottom of the car so that we wouldn't have to fold down the stroller.  We had the whole area almost to ourselves, there was just one other couple in the room with us.  The way back was filled with amazing views.  They were hard to catch inside the moving train.

Not hard to catch?  Charlie's enjoyment as he watched everything speed by.  I think even he appreciated that he was seeing areas that you can't see when you head down by car.

At one point he took his little stuffed friend and ran to the back of the room we were in to show him all the sights.  I love his expressions in these photos.

Ephram was asleep for most of the ride, but woke up to enjoy the last 45 minutes or so.

It was a great train ride.  We stopped to say goodbye to the train as we disembarked.  Charlie has asked me several times when we can take the train to Leavenworth again.

Soon, Charlie.  Soon.

Beautiful Leavenworth

Leavenworth is a small place.  The main attraction is a collection of stores and restaurants in the center of town.  Most of the hotels and timeshares are pretty close to the shopping area.  Ours was about a mile away.  We had decided that this was a reasonable walking distance.  So, after we'd eaten and dressed, we bundled up the boys in their new winter clothing.  It was around 30 degrees outside, so we bought winter coats, mittens and hats just for this trip.  Then we headed out the door towards town.  The walk there was beautiful.

We spent a couple of hours going through several stores.  It was an exciting day in town because the Nutcracker Museum was getting extra attention.  It was the day that the new Conan show was premiering, and just that morning he'd announced that his first guest would be the curator from the Nutcracker Museum in Leavenworth.  We like Conan... so it was more proof that our little trip was a great idea.  All of us probably enjoyed this toy shop the most.  They had a ton of wooden puzzles and a good collection of toys.  Charlie had a mission of his own in town.  He really wanted a train whistle and had saved up money to buy one.  He didn't find one in this toy store, but he found one a few stores later. It is now one of his favorite toys.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in town.  Andy ordered a good German meal that included sausage. He liked it.  There wasn't a drop left on his plate when we left.

Charlie ordered his new favorite, fish and chips.

And Ephram enjoyed his meal from the comfort of his stroller.  He was a very neat eater, which pleased me.

And me?  I had the best fried egg sandwich I have ever had.  And I ate the whole thing, even though I intended to only eat half.  

Afterwards we did some more shopping and then headed back to the condo.

It was late afternoon at this point, so we had a snack and some quiet time... and then headed back out for dinner.  The town was already done up for Christmas, even though it was early November.  Charlie was excited to see all of the lights.  We had a great time in Leavenworth and can't wait to go back!

Our Condo in Leavenworth

Like every other WorldMark condo we've stayed in, Leavenworth was very nice.  The boys were wide awake from the train adventure and the freezing-cold night air.  So, after they got their pajamas on, we let them play in the family room.  They started out with one of their favorite activities, drumming.  They are getting better at keeping a beat.  Regardless of their rhythm difficulties, they have so much fun drumming.  It is really fun to watch! 

Then Charlie started playing with one of his stuffed animals with Ephram.  The game was a mix between "I'm going to get you" and "Peek-a-boo".  They were both laughing hysterically.  Andy, (in the background,) was smiling but quite tired.

Then we let Ephram practice his cruising around the condo.  He is pretty good, and has gotten very fast!

Finally we put the boys to bed and went to sleep ourselves.  We all slept very well.  In the morning, I woke up as the sun was coming up... with a little help from Ephram who was hungry.  I decided to go take a peek outside to see what was on the other side of our backdoor.  It had been pitch black when we arrived, so I didn't know what to expect.  I am so glad I looked... it was absolutely breathtaking.

I sat in the family room and just looked outside until Charlie woke up.  Soon after, Andy and Ephram were awake too.  We started our preparations to walk into town...

Getting to Leavenworth

Charlie loves trains.  From the time he came to live here, he has been fixated on them.  We own three different train sets, and he plays with all of them.  We've gone to look at trains at various places.  But we had never taken him on a real, live passenger train.

We love Leavenworth.  It's a quaint little town in the Cascade Mountains of Washington that has been done in a German style.  My grandparents used to live close to Leavenworth, my dad grew up not far from there, and so it has even more appeal to me due to nostalgia.  However, I hate driving through passes.  So we almost never go to Leavenworth.

One day this summer we had the brilliant idea to take the Amtrak train to Leavenworth.  Our time share has a condo there, so we reserved a few days in November and booked our tickets.  We were very excited.  Charlie seemed ambivalent ... but as we got closer he started to get really excited too.  When the day finally arrived, we packed up and headed to the train station in Everett.

Charlie saw one of the Sounder trains go by and then he was beyond himself with excitement.  I think he finally understood that we were going to get on a really big train.  He started reviewing his ticket and asked me where they were going to punch the letters.  "Um, this train isn't quite like the Polar Express."  I hoped that he wouldn't care that this train wasn't going to take us to the North Pole.

 On board the train it was dark outside, but we could see the cities as we rolled by.  Ephram and Charlie were both wide-eyed and enjoying the ride.

Then Andy and Charlie went on an adventure to find the dining car.  They had a good dinner.  Charlie chose a hot dog and potato chips.  Ephram was asleep so I stayed in the passenger car with him.  They came back with a piece of cheesecake for me.  It was very good.  Ephram woke up and played with Andy.  He did train travel very well.

Shortly after this picture we noticed that Charlie wasn't making noise anymore.  He had so much excitement that he couldn't take it... he passed out asleep for the last 30 minutes of the ride.

When we pulled into the Leavenworth station it was freezing (literally.)  Luckily the shuttle was there for us and drove us straight to the condo.  We will be taking the train to Leavenworth more often - it was so much easier than the drive... and much more of an adventure for the kids.