My grandmother, Doris, is 99 years old this year. She lives in a nursing home in Wenatchee, Washington.  She’s receiving hospice care now and will not be with us much longer. When Dad was alive, he and mother made regular trips from Kansas City to visit. With him gone, and mother’s ability to travel alone diminished, we felt like it was our responsibility to make these visits continue.  Last year, Dave needed to come to the area to plan a yearly convention in Seattle for his company, so he brought mother along to visit Doris and other family members. He needed to return this year for the convention so he planned to bring mother along again. His duties won’t let him get away as much time as he had last year so he enlisted my assistance to meet them in Seattle and then drive mother to Wenatchee.

We lived in the Pacific Northwest for seven years when the kids were younger, and I truly believe it is one of the most beautiful places in America. Flying into Seattle, we were greeted by the overwhelming presence of Mt. Rainier. The day was clear enough we could behold it’s entire beauty as well as some other peaks along the range. When I moved to New England, I felt like I’d traveled to another country. Landing in Washington, I felt like I was back home.

I met Dave and Mother at the airport, and we headed in to the city for lunch. I have to laugh at my mid-western family when they panic about backed up traffic. Sure Seattle has a lot of cars, and congestion exists. However, living in the Boston area, and making frequent trips to New Jersey has made me quite accustomed to city traffic. I wasn’t phased, and soon we were at the waterfront for a nice meal together. The Seattle waterfront is famous for the Pike’s Market where employees throw fish at their customers. It also houses a number of restaurants, amusement rides, and entertainment venues. I love watching the ferries as they cross Puget Sound.

After dropping Dave off at his hotel, mother and I made our way out of town and headed to the central part of the state. There are two passes over the mountains to get to Wenatchee, the freeway and the scenic route. Since I’d taken the freeway a few times when we lived in Portland, I decided to take Route 2 and enjoy a beautiful drive. My only disappointment with this choice was the inability to stop and take pictures of the beautiful scenery!

Shortly before arriving in Wenatchee the route travels through Leavenworth and Cashmere. These are two small towns that are very popular tourist adventures. Cashmere is known for it’s fruit based candy, Aplets and Cotlets, which are made from locally grown apples and apricots. We didn’t stop in Cashmere because traffic was backed up and we were eager to get to the hotel. However, Leavenworth was a must see. It is a destination in itself. As we came near, my mother told me the story of how the town used to support a small ski area in the early part of the twentieth century. After a couple of years with no snow, the ski area closed down, and the town faced dire times. City planners hired consultants to figure out how to rebrand the community and came up with the idea of creating a Bavarian Village. The idea was a success and has placed the tiny town on the map. I can’t believe how many times I’ve been to this area and never seen this gem of a town. Most of the buildings in the town have a Swiss Alps style architecture complete with murals and sign boards. The hanging baskets of petunias just add to the festive nature of the town. We only stayed long enough for me to get out and take pictures, but it looked like the perfect getaway for Janet and me, if we ever make it back here.  They even have the worlds largest nutcracker museum, can’t miss that!

We made it to Wenatchee and checked into our hotel. After a short rest, we headed out to find dinner. It was a lot of fun driving through town and seeing mother point out at all the buildings that held significance to her youth. We saw the parade route where in 1958, she was the last Princess Orondo in the Apple Blossom Festival, and the post office where she enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and the building that held the business college she attended for a semester. I reminded her that I also had memories of my youth, like seeing the Great Northern Railway engine at the foot of the bridge, and the baseball fields where I fell off the bleachers.  Tomorrow we’ll revisit more of those memories, but for now it’s time for bed.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller