September 22-24, 2010: Leavenworth, WA

Driving into Leavenworth

A few days after we arrived at Cathy & Adam's, we planned a trip out to Leavenworth, WA.

A little history on Leavenworth:
In the 1900's Leavenworth became a booming town with the arrival of the Great Northern rail line. The rail brought with it a sawmill and a healthy logging industry. When the railway re-routed and the sawmill subsequently closed, Leavenworth was transformed from the bustling town into a ghost town. It stayed this way for 30 years.

Then in 1960, in a last ditch effort, the towns people rallied. The leaders decided to change the town's appearance to draw in tourism. Utilizing the beautiful mountainous backdrop they chose to go with a Bavarian theme. But it's not just a facade. They also worked tirelessly to create festivals for their visitors.

Today, Leavenworth draws more than a million tourists each year. And after our visit, we'd say they did a DARN good job!

This was our scenery upon our arrival

Mia and Ba as we stopped for a late lunch at a brewery. The beer there was AWESOME

Mia hamming it up as usual for the camera
The next day we went out for a jog and Cathy and I came across the most beautiful clearing. The water was icy cold and crystal clear.

No Bavarian village would be complete without goats. Here were the 2 that resided at the putting green. We first encountered them at night and I thought it was some odd long haired dog. Then we got closer. Yowzers. Goats. Cathy tried to feed one of them a dog biscuit. Not so much. Apparently they have a preference for dinner rolls.

Meeting the goats

I kid you not, we stayed at the most amazing inn, the Enzian Inn. I would recommend them to anyone ten-fold. They were so kind, the hotel was so accessible and the breakfast buffet was more than accommodating. On top of it all, was Old Man Bob and his horn. Yes, he played this every morning outside the breakfast hall for the guests. The kids were enthralled.

Some more beautiful pics from the balcony of the breakfast hall

One parting shot of the family in the Inn before we left

September 21, 2010: Seattle, WA

On our way out to Seattle on Tuesday, we stopped by Deception Pass for a quick visit. It was about 10AM and still quite chilly. But the view was breathtaking.

Then it was finally time to head out for Seattle. We arrived close to noon and we were all pretty hungry. After a quick stop into the original Starbucks (which is like any other Starbucks I've been in, except it has really old hardwood floors), we found this little gem. Piroshky. Russian pastries. Sweet, savory, you name it. Of course we had to hit it up!

Happy happy girl

Mia, too, enjoyed Pike's farmers market. Snax everywhere we looked =)

I thought the fish market would be huge. It's only one counter!

Time for another break. This time a visit to the Pike Brewery!

Mia trying to decide what she's going to have

And then we head up to the street level. mmmm... apples just my style

They're having their own conversation =)

We came upon this arcade place and decided to check it out

It had a carousel which Mia just adored. She waved and sayed OooOoo every time we passed

We didn't know it before, but she's a race car FIEND! She likes to drive FAST! And laugh

She was also a big fan of the water fountains

Peace out Seattle. Until next time...

September 20, 2010: Anacortes, WA

Our first day trip outside of Oak Harbor was to the adorable town of Anacortes. Anacortes is just due north of Whidbey Island. Technically on the mainland, but there's a little strait that connects the area of Anacortes to the true mainland.

The weather was a little dreary, but that didn't stop us from noticing what a fun place this could be on a weekend.

Mia enjoyed cruising around in her stroller. For all of 20 minutes.

We found a store that sold Everything. So it claimed. We found Greek fishermen hats

Mia's preferred method of transportation. Using Mommy as a sherpa.

Dad found the most patriotic water fountain I've ever seen

We finally made our way to a late lunch at Rock Fish grill. mmmmm... rockin fish & chips. even more rockin fish tacos!

Mia hamming it up (as usual???)

We leave you with a toast from Rock Fish, Anacortes

Whidbey Island, WA

What a magnificent state Washington is. At least it is in late September!

Cathy & Adam built a beautiful home in the city of Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. About 2 hours west of Seattle. To get there from the mainland (and airport), you can drive there via Deception Pass. OMG. The views are amazing.

Cathy and Adam have been busy making their new house their new home in the short 2 months they've been there. Walls have been painted, rooms have been decorated, yard has been seeded and most importantly, firepit has been built.

We first arrived in Seattle around lunch time on Saturday. After a little confusion with the rental cars, we finally set our sights on Whidbey Island. Unfortunately, we had been up since 5AM (3AM PST) and were too pooped to enjoy the scenery. We all slept most of the way there and then crashed out pretty early that night.

The next morning, we woke up full of spunk! Mark and I hit the road for our long run of the week. Mark 6 miles, myself 8 miles.

Isn't something you commonly find on a leisurely Austin jog!

After our jog, we quickly got cleaned up and headed to church. Mia had a great time hopping from arm to arm and generally distracting those around us. We sat in the 2nd to last row, but nonetheless, the pastor showed up in our pew at the end of mass before we had even exited to say we must take her to the the parish hall to show her off and buy a homemade pie. We never disagree with pastors that speak this way and made our way over to do both =)

After church, we made our way home to have a huge Mom & Dad cooked pho meal. Cathy & Adam's friends joined us. Some had never had it, some were so excited to have it again. And it even helped soothe one morning sickened mommy-to-be. Mia couldn't be happier to be eating her pho with us.

Yes, you can see her happiness in her smile.

After lunch, Mia, and the rest of the crew was pretty spent. We all passed out for a little nap and when we woke up, it was time to hit that adorable icecream parlor I passed in downtown Oak Harbor for some goodies.

Again, all smiles after enjoying some icecream!

Aunt Cathy took us to a local park to get a closer view of the water. We had a good time taking in the scenery and letting Mia stretch her growing legs.

Her walking is getting so much better!

I'm afraid these headbands might be short lived...

September 18, 2010: Mia Goes Airborne!

Just give me a bite of that stinkin muffin already!!!

So we stressed and stressed about flying with Mia. Have we booked the most optimal time for her sleep schedule? Would she do ok for hours on the plane? Would she be able to sleep? If not, how ever would we entertain her? Will the pressure hurt her ears? If so, would she or we be able to help relieve the pressure? Will she scream? Will the other passengers and pilots hate us? The questions just went on and on.

In the end, it worked out just fine. We went to spend the night before the flight at Tommy & Stephanie's which is only 15 minutes from the Austin airport. We woke up at 5AM for our 6:55AM flight. We arrived at the airport at 5:45 with just over an hour to get situated. Check in was easy with the assistance of the desk personel. Mia was enthralled with the entire airport experience that morning. She just kept smiling and waving at everyone that passed her.

After a quick bathroom break, I sat down to enjoy a banana. When she saw me eating, she immediately signed "more." Which to her means "eat", "drink", "more", etc. The people around us giggled at her signing.

We were hanging out at the gate for maybe 15 minutes before families traveling with children under 2 were called to board.

Mama & Mia going through the gate

As I carried her down the isle, she waved to every passenger as if she was the queen of the pageant and waving to everyone was her job. This, once again, solicited many giggles. The flight was sold out so Mia had to sit on my lap, which she had no problems with. She settled in and fell asleep... before we even taxied. Oh, how nice.

Mia daring someone to sit in our row

3 seconds later, fingers in mouth, too tired to mess with people

The flight was about 2 hours and she slept for a good 1 1/2 hours. Woke up and had a small snack before we landed and were in the Denver airport for a very brief layover. We had about 50 minutes. This was enough time for more bathroom breaks, purchasing of snacks and refilling of hot water (for her formula). We got to the gate and she even had enough time to get down and crawl around and make some new friends. She loved this part, too.

As we boarded the 2nd time, she had the routine down pat. Wave, wave, smile. Toothy laugh. Repeat. There was a 4 month old baby girl across the isle from us who was on her 8th plane trip. Wow. They are brave. There was an Aussie flight attendant who helped seat us. She was just so so sweet on Mia. She came back several times to play with her as she seated the other guests.

Unfortunately for us, the 2nd flight was a bit longer (and late in taking off!). AND... Mia was now well rested from her 1st flight and had no desire whatsoever to sleep. She was squirmy and antsy and nothing we had seemed to hold her attention. About an hour into the flight, that same attendant came back to play with Mia. She was quite alright with this. She then asked if it would be alright for her to hold her a bit? Let Mia stretch her legs? I was all for it as long as Mia was. And she totally was. She picked her up and Mia waved and said 'Hiii' (in her Paula Deen southern drawl) to the guests behind us. That got them laughing which made Mia very happy. She then reached past them to the passengers 2 rows behind us. She did the same thing for them. Next thing we know, we turn around and Mia is 3/4 of the way back on the plane. Still doing her same song and dance. Every now and then, we'd hear 3 or 4 people say 'ooOOoo' and we'd know that Mia had been there. That was her favorite thing to say for the week (just ask Uncle Adam). Eventually, we turned around and she was literally with the very last row of people by the rear bathrooms. Yup. That one is ours. The lady across the isle who Mia had befriended before we got on the plane told us, 'Enjoy. This must be the Southwest Deluxe service.' I couldn't agree more.

By the time she was delivered back to us, Mia finally realized that she couldn't see mama and dada any more and was in tears. LOL. It took her quite some time. She came back and those tears were dried up and she even earned her wings. Her experience left her exhausted and she slept for the next 1 1/2 hours in my lap. I love Southwest.

Mia proudly (and tiredly) displaying her well earned wings

We arrived in SEATAC without incident and by the time all our luggage came out, my parents had arrived from their Houston direct flight and both Adam and Cathy were in the airport. All the helping hands we could ask for.

And thus was Mia's 1st plane experience. Success. Majorly.

Kokomo

Aruba, JAMAICA, ooh I wanna take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, MONTEGO, baby why don't we go, JAMAICA

OK, so in case you didn't get the Beach Boys reference, we're going to Jamaica!!! Yahoo! Just booked last night and we are sooo stoked. We haven't been on vacation since we ate gelato in Italia.

But what shall we have in Jamaica? Hmmmm jerk chicken perhaps? I have a hard time seeing us eating that at every meal. Maybe we'll just have to settle for pina coladas! =)

Happy Stay-cation

In this recessionary time, when money is tight and spending should only be on the necessity, it becomes difficult how squeeze in a little get away. We got lucky this summer and IBM and the Four Seasons ran a great promotion allowing employees to book rooms at a greatly reduced price! So this weekend, we celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary ATX style

Here's the view from our room of Lady Bird Lake (aka Town Lake)

Stoli went off to stay with his grandparents in Bastrop, after 2 hours of playing at Auditorium Shores and Barton Springs pool. Mark & I headed over to the hotel pool until our room was ready. It was a balmy 106 degree day. The best part about the entire stay was that we could sleep in the room with the AC turned down to 65 degrees. A little slice of heaven in Austin, TX.

Mark really REALLY enjoying the bed and cool AC

We went down to the SoCo district and enjoyed local snacks such as Cornicopia and Hey Cupcake. We stopped into the eclectric Lucy's in Disguise and wondered why a costume shop was so packed in June. We went to a photography exhibit and saw a copy of the Gutenburg bible at the Harry Ransom Center at UT. We watched the bat fly out of the Congress Bridge at dusk from the hotel balcony. We had an amazingly relaxing and pampered dinner at Roy's.

The manager took a better picture of us on his camera and printed it out in a nice little souvenir frame for us!
We got up early the next morning and enjoyed our Whole Foods breakfast on the hotel lawn. I took a nap in a hammock while Mark watched joggers and bikers pass by below on the running trail. Finally, we went to see Transformers II on the big IMAX screen. The highlight of the weekend for Mark. So this is what it is like to be a tourist in our little town. I dig it.