Monday, August 11, 2008

Leavenworth - A little bit of Bavaria in Washington

The Hochstrasser family (now there's a German surname if ever there was one) in front of the wagon which is holding it's cargo for Ocktoberfest. Emily, Jeff, Megan, Kaitlin and Jacob. Thanks Hochstrassers for taking us along on this really fun trip with your family. We had a ball.
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Shops . . . there were a plenty. Some even sold Viking supplies for visiting Swedes.
And of course, there was the Danish Bakery.
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The plan was to take a day trip to Leavenworth, Washington, a Bavarian themed town in the mountains of Western Washington, about a three hour drive from Seattle. Of course, Melanie was on the look out for Ranier cherries. Since it was late in the cherry season, we were not hopeful of finding any. However, about two hours from Seattle on the way to Leavenworth, I heard a scream . . . Look ! Cherries Ahead ! Sure enough, we have been enjoying Ranier cherries all weekend. Megan and Jeff watch Emily on the sawhorse while Melanie cleans out the cherry stock in the background.
We made a stop at the Terry's new chalet in Leavenworth. Parked there and really appreciated Terry's letting us use the place as a 'home base' during our day in Leavenworth. The home was originally an early settler's Methodist Church which has been converted to a home.
Melanie met a new friend, Heinz. She really liked his Lederhosen. Good thing I'm English/Swedish or I'd probably have a pair of these leather hot pants too.
Melanie, Jacob and Kaitlin enjoying a concert of German Musik in the park with Heinz.
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SEATTLE & DOLLY

An Evening with Dolly in Seattle.

Earlier this year Melanie learned that one of her favorite performers, the incomparable DOLLY PARTON was going to be on tour this year. Since we had so much fun at Dollywood last year, we kept looking for a venue that would work with our schedule to see her show. Lo and behold, the weekend we planned to go to Seattle to visit Melanie's sister Megan and her family, Dolly was performing at the Wamu theater Friday night. We landed about 6:40 p.m., picked up luggage and rushed to the National Car speed pick up location at the airport, got the GPS started and headed downtown to the Wamu. We were able to get a pair of tickets in the handicapped section, and got to our seats just as the band struck it's first notes. Dolly was great . . . performed for 2 1/2 hours. (She's 62) During her show she answered some questions submitted by local radio stations. When asked, "What would you like people to say about you a hundred years from now ?" she replied, "I'd like them to say, she looks pretty good for her age !"

So we now have seen Dolly Parton and Frankie Valli in concert recently. Maybe we need to check on the Beach Boys or the Stones schedules next. Trouble is we don't know any of the younger performers.
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Monday, August 4, 2008

Sisters Trip - San Francisco


Oh, The City by the Bay !
Are you ready for a Sister's Trip, plus Mom ?
They lit up the town - Chinatown
The Gray girls (or at least some of them)
Met Cousin Becky for lunch
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