Leavenworth!!

Oh my god, what a weekend. They had no Internet in the woods so that's why the contribution is late =)

We started of on Saturday morning as we sat in the car and headed for Leavenworth that is east of Seattle, about two hours away. It was a long ride but we went trough a wonderful landscape so it wasn't hard to enjoy it.

Leavenworth is a small village that looks like a German village. The houses, signs, decorations. Everything is so German that it actually felt like being in Germany. It was awesome, and with the mountains all around it was like looking at a painting of the Alps.

When we arrived, the first thing we did was to get something to eat. Together with us on this trip was the Stendahl family with Henrik, Jenny and their three kids: Agnes, Ebba and Axel. A really nice family and the kids are adorable. We found a Mexican restaurant where we could sit on the roof, and that was really needed because it was about 35 degrees and the sun was really hot. I ate a Burrito and it was good, and off course a lot of nachos ;)

Then we went to our camping spot, a nice fresh looking camping. The Americans isn't so different in camping than we Swedish. Except they've got these huge RVs so I don't think that counts as camping. We on the other hand, slept in tent. Stendahls had the biggest, most exclusive tent with a doormat ;) and I had a really small one. You couldn't stand at all, it was like a long worm you just crawl in to. But it was OK for me.

Because of the heat we went straight to the river to cool down in the water. And if we did! The water was really cold, and we were in the shade because the sun was on the other side of the river. But it was great and we went with the swiftly-flowing water and it was cool but also a bit scary. Even though the swift was not strong you really had to fight to get back to land. I got aches in my arms =)

On the evening we lighted a fire and grilled marshmallows and bananas with chocolate. It was so good!

Because we had five kids with us, that don't know the meaning of a long sleep in the morning, I woke up at like 7:30!! I tried to fall back to sleep but the walls of a tent isn't very isolated so it was no idea.

The breakfast was typically American: pancakes, egg and bacon. It was really good, especially after a night with the crickets symphony orchestra playing. They were so loud!

The morning started of a bid colder than the day before but as soon as the sun raised it was hot again. so we packed our things in to the car and went to a place were they offered tubing. It's when you get a big rubber tire that you are gonna flow down the river at. A guide drove us up the river and then we launched at a calm place and slowly started our ride down the river. This was one of the most amazing thing I've ever done. You just laid there and saw some amazing views passing bye. Sometime it was really shallow and I even hit my but at one time ;) on other places it was like 2-3 meters. Sometime the current was really calm but sometime it was a bit wilder. And the thing was that you could choose how long you wanted the trip to take. You could paddle your way and go faster or, as we did, just relaxed and let the river take us with it. We also went back on land at one place where it was a nice beach so the kids could play and I laid in the water just lap for the sun ;)

Oh, it was so cool and I really want to do that again and I recommend it to everyone out there. And the kids loved it as well and I mean Ebba and Axel are three years old and that was no problem. They went with mum and dad and it was also possible to hook the tubes together.

This was an amazing weekend and it's hard to put words on every feeling or try to describe the views. I think it can't be explained, it has to be experienced.

It took about three hours for us to make it the hole way and it was a great way of spending a warm summer day in September ;)

We went in to the city and ate Bratwurst in typical German way and just strolled down the streets and stores before we went back to Kirkland. The kids past out almost immediately and I think I also closed my eyes for a minute or so. We all were very tired and it's no wonder after a weekend full of activities in the sun and probably not enough of sleep.

It felt good to come home and sleep in my (new) own bed! =)

Miss you all!

Love Sandra