Last weekend we took some time to try to enjoy the last few sun filled days that Washington summers possess. On Saturday, we had a easy day, I let Amy sleep in and we did stuff around the house. Then, we bought a couple baseball gloves and went out to play some catch in the park and then to the driving range to hit some golf balls. It was a gorgeous day, cloudless sky with 75 degree temperatures. On Sunday we decided to head 2 hours east to a small Bavarian town called Leavenworth. The drive was nice, curving through the mountains, it was beautiful scenery. On the way, Amy wanted to stop at a
town where the old TV show
Northern Exposure was filmed. If you are familiar with the show you may recognize this first picture. I, myself, had no idea what the show was, so we quickly drove in, took this picture of a painted wall, and drove out of this small little town. We also stopped at a great little fruit stand and bakery a few miles from Leavenworth. We drove away with a bunch of Apples and a great Peach Scone from the Bakery. After leaving, we drove upon the town of Leavenworth. Nestled in the valley and surrounded by mountains, it was a scene out of the movie,
The Sound of Music. Old German style shop fronts lined the streets with a gorgeous mountainous background. We parked on the main street and were immediately greeted by a gentleman in lederhosen. They had a small art fair that day so we walked around and enjoyed the small little town. We walked downstairs and found ourselves in a great little cheese shop where you could sample all the cheeses. After a half
hour and many cheeses later, we left the store with a few choice selections. We wandered into a few shops (most selling touristy stuff) and into a store called Kris Kringle to
amuse Amy's love and fascination with Christmas. We actually walked away without buying anything!! I was so proud. We then grabbed lunch at an authentic Bavarian restaurant and tried many of the German staple foods.....Knockwurst, bratwurst, and another wurst, wiener schnitzel, spietzel, and sauerkraut, black forest cake and of course German beer. Besides the German sausages I felt the dishes were very bland, so I was generous with the lemon and salt (not on the cake or the beer). Overall, the meal was ok, (the sour faced photo is the result of putting too much lemon on the Schnitzel, but then I washed it down with a nice german beer)...the beer was Awesome...and I had a few....We stumbled out of the restaurant and then went back on main street to explore the sites and the wineries for tastings. Along the main street of town lies many wineries that are local to the valley.....and along that road we didn't find one that we liked. We usually walk out of wineries with a few bottles of wine, but we haven't been to thrilled with the wines we have been tasting in Washington so far. Leavenworth was definitely worth seeing, and we enjoyed our time there very much. We hope to maybe return one day this fall when they celebrate their OKTOBERFEST! I enjoyed driving my car back down the winding roads of the mountain while Amy slept for the whole ride. On Monday, we had plans to see our new house!!! Yes, we are moving...and thank god. When we first got here, we were in a pinch to find housing ASAP, so settled on something that we normally wouldn't choose to live in. Now that our 3 month lease is up, I found a nice little beach house overlooking the Puget Sound to move into for the remaining 4-6 weeks that we will be here. We are both very excited to move into the house as the view and location are beautiful. Then, we drove right to the town of Puyallup to their annual county fair. Now, the fair is one of the oldest standing traditions in Washington history, and is the biggest in the state, courting performers such as Carrie Underwood, Fergie, and Frankie Vallie. We walked in and felt immediately engulfed in the fair. It was huge! Besides thousands of commercial and private vendors, we saw a plethora of livestock, (Amy was so fascinated that she coerced me to go watch them walk in a circle), rides and attractions galore, and food everywhere. Of all the walking around we did, we bypassed going on the rides and I got to experience the most incredible event I have ever beared witness to........Mutton Bustin'. Yes, I know what you're thinking, what's Mutton Bustin' and how can I bust some Mutton. Well my friends, Mutton bustin' is "The Toughest Sport on
Wool" only for the kids, and is an entertaining, yet disturbing display of child exploitation, where you strap your 3-6 year old child (ewe boy) to the back of an ewe, and see if it can last 6 seconds without getting bucked off. Yes....again, know what you're thinking...where can I sign up my kid to get bucked off a ewe? Only at the Puyallup Fair. Amy and I also witnessed a man getting shot out of a cannon, which was pretty cool. We have a busy couple of weeks ahead of us, so we have been preparing the house for guests, preparing our stuff for moving to a new house. Tomorrow, we have our friend Tricia from Florida coming to visit....great timing
having her here while my dolphins play her Patriots, then we are moving in on Wednesday to the new house, and then my sister Vanessa is coming from Pennsylvania to visit for the weekend where we hope to do some whale watching. Until next time............Muttin Bustin' 4 Ever!!!
town where the old TV show Northern Exposure was filmed. If you are familiar with the show you may recognize this first picture. I, myself, had no idea what the show was, so we quickly drove in, took this picture of a painted wall, and drove out of this small little town. We also stopped at a great little fruit stand and bakery a few miles from Leavenworth. We drove away with a bunch of Apples and a great Peach Scone from the Bakery. After leaving, we drove upon the town of Leavenworth. Nestled in the valley and surrounded by mountains, it was a scene out of the movie, The Sound of Music. Old German style shop fronts lined the streets with a gorgeous mountainous background. We parked on the main street and were immediately greeted by a gentleman in lederhosen. They had a small art fair that day so we walked around and enjoyed the small little town. We walked downstairs and found ourselves in a great little cheese shop where you could sample all the cheeses. After a half
amuse Amy's love and fascination with Christmas. We actually walked away without buying anything!! I was so proud. We then grabbed lunch at an authentic Bavarian restaurant and tried many of the German staple foods.....Knockwurst, bratwurst, and another wurst, wiener schnitzel, spietzel, and sauerkraut, black forest cake and of course German beer. Besides the German sausages I felt the dishes were very bland, so I was generous with the lemon and salt (not on the cake or the beer). Overall, the meal was ok, (the sour faced photo is the result of putting too much lemon on the Schnitzel, but then I washed it down with a nice german beer)...the beer was Awesome...and I had a few....We stumbled out of the restaurant and then went back on main street to explore the sites and the wineries for tastings. Along the main street of town lies many wineries that are local to the valley.....and along that road we didn't find one that we liked. We usually walk out of wineries with a few bottles of wine, but we haven't been to thrilled with the wines we have been tasting in Washington so far. Leavenworth was definitely worth seeing, and we enjoyed our time there very much. We hope to maybe return one day this fall when they celebrate their OKTOBERFEST! I enjoyed driving my car back down the winding roads of the mountain while Amy slept for the whole ride. On Monday, we had plans to see our new house!!! Yes, we are moving...and thank god. When we first got here, we were in a pinch to find housing ASAP, so settled on something that we normally wouldn't choose to live in. Now that our 3 month lease is up, I found a nice little beach house overlooking the Puget Sound to move into for the remaining 4-6 weeks that we will be here. We are both very excited to move into the house as the view and location are beautiful. Then, we drove right to the town of Puyallup to their annual county fair. Now, the fair is one of the oldest standing traditions in Washington history, and is the biggest in the state, courting performers such as Carrie Underwood, Fergie, and Frankie Vallie. We walked in and felt immediately engulfed in the fair. It was huge! Besides thousands of commercial and private vendors, we saw a plethora of livestock, (Amy was so fascinated that she coerced me to go watch them walk in a circle), rides and attractions galore, and food everywhere. Of all the walking around we did, we bypassed going on the rides and I got to experience the most incredible event I have ever beared witness to........Mutton Bustin'. Yes, I know what you're thinking, what's Mutton Bustin' and how can I bust some Mutton. Well my friends, Mutton bustin' is "The Toughest Sport on 
Wool" only for the kids, and is an entertaining, yet disturbing display of child exploitation, where you strap your 3-6 year old child (ewe boy) to the back of an ewe, and see if it can last 6 seconds without getting bucked off. Yes....again, know what you're thinking...where can I sign up my kid to get bucked off a ewe? Only at the Puyallup Fair. Amy and I also witnessed a man getting shot out of a cannon, which was pretty cool. We have a busy couple of weeks ahead of us, so we have been preparing the house for guests, preparing our stuff for moving to a new house. Tomorrow, we have our friend Tricia from Florida coming to visit....great timing 
having her here while my dolphins play her Patriots, then we are moving in on Wednesday to the new house, and then my sister Vanessa is coming from Pennsylvania to visit for the weekend where we hope to do some whale watching. Until next time............Muttin Bustin' 4 Ever!!!
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