We left from Ash Way around 8am, smooth ride all the way. We got up there a bit early (no complaints here!) The opening ceremony was at noon, but we were there around 10:30. The first place we hit was the cheese shop. The lady inside offered us a sample of the butterkase - a really rich butter cheese. Mom promptly bought a half pound to bring home. Because the temperature outside was in the mid to upper 20s, we didn't have to worry about keeping it cold!
We found our way then to the taffy shop. I grabbed a bag and filled it with Taffy for Mandy, while mom filled a bag for us. I've never seen chocolate chip cookie taffy before! There was also apple pie, cinnamon bun, and numerous others.The opening ceremonies went on and we took no notice. We were too busy getting some bratwurst from the Our Lady of the Snows Catholic church (isn't that the coolest name for a church?
After the opening ceremonies, there were several characters walking around. There was a reindeer, a snowman, Santa and Mrs. Claus, and two more traditional Father Christmas style guys. Their outfits were awesome, very ornate.From there, we ended up in the fudge shop. I bought 1.5 lbs of fudge (buy one pound, get half a pound free!). I got a half pound each of Candy Cane, Chocolate, and Chocolate-Orange fudge. We also bought some coffee and sat on a bench to people watch.
We hung out for a bit by the gazebo and watched the Lake Stevens Freshman choir, band, and jazz band. The sounded like a freshman band and choir. It was enjoyable however, so we watched their whole set.One big difference I've notice from the last time I was in Leavenworth is the number of wineries that have shown up , and this isn't just something that I noticed because I am now of legal drinking age. :-) In the last ten years, there has been a lot of growth in the Central Washington wine industry. We stopped in several of the wineries during the day, but they were so crowded that it wasn't worth trying to do a tasting.
Fortunately, after the Lake Stevens music, we walked over to a few tents and went in. Turns out that they were serving hot cider and hot spiced wine. I bought a glass of the spiced wine in a commemorative glass. Mom and I shared it and decided to buy a couple of bottles to share for New Year's Eve and when Mandy and Darren come to visit. Hot spiced wine is excellent for warming up the insides. :-)
We went back to the gazebo and watched a local group (bass, guitar, mandolin, and violin) play some Christmas and original songs. We started getting cold as the sun dropped behind the mountains, so we went for a walk and ended up at a great little bookstore that would be fun to explore. However, it was so crowded that it was hard to get through.
Continuing our lap of the upper area, we then headed back to the bus to drop off our bag of really heavy food and wine. We stayed there a bit to warm up, using the bus lavatory in the process. It seemed to be a popular thing to do - the bus was nearly a quarter full with people warming up before the final lighting.At 4:30, we headed out to the square which was packed with people. I didn't even know there were that many people in town! Around 4:50, they finally did the countdown and lit up the town. It was extraordinary. Unfortunately, since I didn't have a tripod and the long exposure needed in the dark, the pictures were mediocre. The best is the one of the Italian gelato shop. We got back on the bus and headed back to the Ash Way park and ride around 8pm. It was a lot of fun and I highly recommend that anyone with the opportunity to head up there at some point to do so. It definitely got me into the holiday mood.
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