Monday, August 6, 2012

Oh Canada!

Our week long visit to Washington started Tuesday morning when we headed to Leavenworth, which is a quaint little German-esque town in Eastern Washington, and since we had to be in Seattle that evening to pick Jon up anyway, it was the perfect destination to kill some time.
As soon as we arrived we headed to the Muenchen Haus for some delicious authentic brats. Yum!
Leavenworth has lot of fun shops to look around, including a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, cheese and wine shops, clothing stores, and a great gelatto place.
There's also the "Famous Hat Shop" where Lucy and Zach love trying on lots of different hats and glasses. They had a blast!
We spent a great couple of hours exploring and enjoying the cooler weather (cooler than Idaho at least!), then headed to Seattle to be at the airport to meet Jon, so we could then head on to Anacortes to take the ferry to Victoria the next morning.
After a long, long evening of driving and getting where we needed to be, we had to wake up bright and early (like at 5 a.m.) to get in line for the first ferry of the morning. Luckily the kids cooperated and we made it to Victoria, BC by early afternoon and immediately headed to the world famous Butchart Gardens.
Canada was COLD!! The kids and I had never been, so this was our first time ever. But admittedly, the cooler temperatures came as a welcome relief since it was the first time in weeks I wasn't feeling totally swollen.
Lucy and Zach were actually really good sports to admire the flowers and wander around the grounds, and were thrilled when we found a carousel.
Zach LOVED all the totem poles! He couldn't figure out why they wanted to stand on each other's heads.
The gardens were in full bloom and the scenery was breathtaking! I think everyone's favorite was the rose garden. So beautiful!
After a few hours of walking combined with our super early start, everyone was exhausted so we headed to the hotel to recuperate.
After a good night's rest we woke up Thursday morning and headed to a little British breakfast nook that served fresh scones and tea (we opted for the hot chocolate though).
Jon got some yummy french toast, but I wanted to try the scones and eggs benedict, which was the die for!
Then we got to check out the downtown area, including City Hall, the Museum, and the Inner Harbor. It was all so beautiful and had echoes of European influence everywhere which I loved!
We got to take a peek inside the beautiful Empress Hotel, which boasts a world-famous tea service, but at $100 a person, we decided to pass.
After a quick afternoon nap for Zach, and dip in the pool for Luce, we headed to the harbor to "Barb's" for some authentic, fresh fish and chips. They were SO greasy and good!! Mmmmm!! That was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.
We walked around the harbor and admired the water and boats, and then Jon and I headed back downtown for some more shopping while Grandma and Grandpa headed back to the hotel with Lucy and Zach.
Friday morning found us headed back on the ferry to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Washington. Both Lucy and Zach really enjoyed getting to ride on the big boat!
Saturday it was high time for little Zach to get his haircut, so this is the BEFORE picture,
And here is the end result! He looks like a new little boy! No more curls, but I'm sure he is much, much cooler.
That afternoon we went to Miner's for Jon's all-time favorite hamburger, and spent the rest of the day relaxing and letting the kids play at home.
Sunday we went to church and had a super surf and turf dinner, complete with homemade ice cream AND waffle cones! It was a such a great treat! Zach helped make the ice cream, so he was really anxious to try it and kept asking Grandma all through church when it would be time to taste it.
Tuesday we had to head back over to Seattle, in order for us to catch an early 6 a.m. flight back to Raleigh the next morning. We decided to spend the afternoon at Pike's Market.
Zachary fascinated by the fish throwers! That place is so much fun-- I think I could spend all day wandering around there.
We got a late lunch at Ivar's restaurant which has amazing seafood, but the highlight by far was getting to feed the seagulls with our left over french fries when we were finished.
We had such an amazing time staying in the beautiful Pacific Northwest-- and our first time to Canada was definitely a success. Although it was sad to say goodbye, it was time to come home and get Lucy ready for kindergarten, and Zach ready for preschool (which starts next week)! With just a little time left we better squeeze the most out of the rest of our summer break!