It had been over a year since our little family took a vacation together. I'd traveled with my mom and the girls last summer, my husband had gone off for a few days to recharge his batteries, but time together as a family was sorely lacking. There seemed always to be schoolwork to help with, events to run to, meals to cook and clean up after, laundry to do, yardwork, errands, and other commitments. When we found ourselves all together in the evening, often one of us was too tired, someone else wanted to watch something on TV, another person couldn't tear themselves off the computer, and someone else was cranky and needing an early bedtime. All 4 of us fit into each of those categories on a regular basis, although never simultaneously. We needed to disconnect, and get away.
My husband and I had gone to Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort 5 years ago, our first (and so far, last) trip away for just the two of us since the girls were born. It's a quiet place with no TV, cozy cabins, a rustic hot pool (no jets) for soaking, and best of all, a full breakfast AND DINNER included!
It was time to return as a family, to relax and spend time together, and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning. Here are photos from our amazing 53 hour getaway...
We started out by following the silver Odysseys, the ones that looked just like ours. We figured they were going toward the fun just like us.
Hating to rely on roadside "greasy spoon" diners or fast food, I'd packed lunch for us to eat in the car so we wouldn't have to stop. Egg salad sandwiches, ham sandwiches, organic grape tomatoes, and honeycrisp apple slices fueled us up for the snowshoeing we had planned as we crossed the mountain pass.
It hadn't snowed for a while, so we were a little concerned that there wouldn't be enough snow for us, but the higher you go, the better it gets. We all got snowshoes this year. 2 pair we got at the REI garage sale -- they were customer returns, lightly used. Another pair was new, found through Craigslist. And Little K's pair were new from LLBean, on clearance.
My husband I and were set to travel far, but the girls were having so much fun just flopping in the snow, rolling like puppies, that we abandoned the trail map and eventually headed back down to the car through the snowy woods and got back on the road. We were all eager to check into the resort, even though we were having a lot of fun at the snowy mountain pass.
Although it's called a resort, it's more a retreat center. There's no room service (we're not the type, anyway), you haul your own luggage, and there's no fancy entertainment. There is a little pub on the property for those who need "adult refreshments," as my husband longingly referred to them after 24 hours without a drink, but mostly it's a place of quiet and calm. When we checked in it had not snowed for quite awhile and the little snow they had was dirty and slushy -- no fun for playing in. But a big dump of snow was scheduled to arrive in just a few hours!
Our room was perfect: a queen bed for my husband and me, and twin alcove beds for the girls.
Can you imagine anything more cozy?
Best of all was when we woke the next morning, there was fresh snow on all the trees, making an already enchanting place even more magical.
Look at that snow piling up... I see more snowshoeing in our future!
If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you probably know that for me it's all about the food, and at the Sleeping Lady the food is exceptionally delicious. Meals are served buffet style in the giant dining lodge. The emphasis is on organic, sustainable, and prepared from scratch, but there is plenty of meat and potatoes for the picky American diners (not us, we're food snobs, we like all the grains and greens).
They even have a special station of foods for kids, including makings for s'mores in the big stone fireplace.
We've never toasted marshmallows indoors before!
The salad bar has a wide assortment of organic greens, good italian olives, several types of artisan cheeses, home-made crustini and nitrate-free proschuto, and at the end there...
Cut your own pea sprouts! Now that's fresh! We'd never had pea sprouts before, and were delighted to find them sweet and tasty.
The coffee station was a favorite destination, not only because they served an amazingly smooth but robust coffee, but because there was fresh baked biscotti there morning and night. It was loaded with macadamia nuts, pistacios, cranberries, and currants, and it was warm and slightly chewy. I don't usually like biscotti because it can break your teeth, but this was completely different in texture and taste.
I was not alone in loitering at the coffee station! I think we nursed 5 cups of coffee per meal -- each!
The owner of the resort is a devoted patron of the arts, so all over the grounds were unexpected art installations. We especially loved this tree adorned in blown glass "eyes."
A wasted no time in finding her favorite "eye" hanging on the tree.
The resort is located in the Bavarian-theme tourist town of Leavenworth, WA.
While daddy did some cross-country skiing, the girls and I did some window shopping. Originally the town imported many things from Germany, then Europe, and now most everything comes from China. The store the girls are standing in front of started out with a local woodworker who hand-made puzzles in the back of the shop, but today, beyond the enticing window, much of the shop is filled with cheap imported plastic dollar-store quality crip-crap.
We did find one shop where things were still loving hand-made by the shop owner. This lady had a doll house and toy store, and she made miniture foods and other things out of FIMO modeling clay. The scale was perfect for the girls' playmobil world back home, so I had no hesitation in opening my wallet and handing over a chunk of cash to the artisan who created these tiny treasures.
The only other thing we bought were pretzels and pastry from the Danish Bakery. They weren't nearly as good as the pastry we were getting back at the resort, but we couldn't resist their pretzel tree advertisement.
In the afternoon the sun came out. After months of slogging around beneath gray clouds, it was time to get some Vitamin D! Nevermind the fact that it's below freezing. We Pacific Northwesterners are a hearty bunch, especially the more youthful among us.
Snowball fights take on a whole new angle when those ice balls hit bare skin! OK, girls, I'm getting chilled just watching! (I was smart enough to keep my clothes on -- this time).
Thank goodness there's a hot pool nearby!
Ah, that's better!
Despite our cozy accomodations that encourage relaxation and even suggested naps to some of us, we couldn't help but spend most of the daylight hours outdoors. There was sledding to do with another family we met, and more snowshoeing.
There were adorable babies for me to lust after, part of families also enjoying the simple pleasure of a winter retreat. In fact there were lots of families at the resort with us. In the dining hall I did see some couples, including an elderly pair who held hands and made eyes at each other through their entire dinner.
In the evening we went into Leavenworth village, where it's perpetually Christmas, especially after dark.
Whenever we travel we have to check out the local haunts, which of course includes the tiny public library.
Back at the Sleeping Lady Daddy turned in early while the girls and I spent time in the activity cabin with some other families. We cycled through ping pong, a pool table, jigsaw puzzles, board games, and charades up on the little stage. The girls fell in with these adorable spanish speaking boys. The older one was A's age and their attraction to each other took on a dimension I hadn't witnessed yet in my own child ... they were both flirting with each other! They were acting a little nervous, gazing at each other with that telltale grin, playfully teasing... Adolescence is upon us! Meanwhile Little K had fun with the 5 year old boy who was a total ham, constantly seeking attention through goofy gestures and facial expressions. For two hours I just stood back like a fly on the wall and watched my daughters in their different social interactions, one exploring the feminine art of flirtation, the other lost in exuberant silliness.
The next morning it was time to check out and think about heading home, but we only got a couple miles down the road before stopping for a Forest Ranger led snowshoe trek.
The ranger was full of facts and information, and had a great sense of humor, too. It was snowing rather heavily when we first started out, but then let up and even allowed us a peek at blue sky.
Above, you can see A on the right, up on the hill. She blazed a new trail for herself, challenging her new snowshoes and her ability to use them. She was always in sight, of course, but by the time we got within 1/4 mile of the end she was done, collapsing in an exhausted heap, face down and crying in the snow. She'd taken the hard road and pushed herself much harder than any of the rest of us. There was a fish hatchery to explore before we got back in our car and headed home over the mountain pass.
Once we started toward the pass, the snow fell steadily. The temp was near freezing, so the flakes were heavy, fluffy, and piled up quickly. Check out that snowblower/plow ahead of us on the road!
The weather forecast was for the snow to follow us home. When we were within 15 minutes of home it was lightly drizzling rain, but the moment we pulled into our driveway the snowflakes caught up with us, and by the next morning we had 7 inches at home.
Our 53 hour family getaway felt like a week's retreat and was truly refreshing, especially for me. Unlike when we go camping, this time I didn't have to pack food or cook meals, or wash dishes. We enjoyed snowshoeing together, being outdoors, exploring new territory, and just spending time with each other. It was just what we needed!
I love this post! We've always wanted to go here...it looks like a ton of fun!
Posted by: Lori | Thursday, April 07, 2011 at 10:37 PM