Return from Chelan

It feel wonderful to be back home, but sad to be back home too 😦  Jacob and I had an awesome vacation.  Just what we needed!

I woke up early Friday morning at my parents lake house to a beautiful sunrise.  Perfect to start the day with.  After breakfast we were off for the long drive heading north.

We just couldn’t resist making a stop at the outlet mall of course.  I stocked up on winter running clothes and new shoes at the Nike clearance store. 

The drive drove us crazy… it turned out to be a lot longer than we thought.  Once we got there it was dinner time.  The receptionist gave us a recommendation to a pub she thought we’d like.  And we did.  

My dinner was exactly what I wanted.  Roasted red and golden beets and spring greens topped with blood orange vinaigrette and gorgonzola, along with grilled salmon.    So good.  After I finished it I was already planning to recreate it when I get home. 

The next day we went to 4 different wineries.  Jacob and I had never been wine tasting before  so it was something fun and new to do. 

There were beautiful views.

And wines were delicious.

Fun times.

The next day we went hiking!  It turns out we really weren’t supposed to hike where we went so I’m not going to list this as a hike anyone else should do,  but after the long windy drive up the mountain we wanted to get moving. 

The Echo Ridge trails were mostly hard packed with snow.  There were a couple spots where the snow was melting and muddy paths were forming.

The views of the Cascades were glorious.  We couldn’t have asked for a better day to hike.  Sunny but a crisp 40-50 degree day.

We ended up hiking just under 6 miles in 3 hours.  After that we were pooped and ready to head back to our time share.

The following day we took a trip to Leavenworth.  Leavenworth is a Bavarian town in the middle of Washington, only an hour drive from where we were staying in Chelan.

The whole town looks like a picture out of Germany. 

Even the Starbucks 🙂

We spent the day wandering the town, going into the different shops.  We both enjoyed a truffle after lunch.

When we returned to Chelan the rain was just finishing up.  We were lucky to leave and head to Leavenworth for a sunny day there.

The sun set view from the balcony.

Chelan and Leavenworth were both so beautiful.  It was nice to be surrounded by mountains, some covered in snow, while others were dirt or enormous green trees. 

I was glad to get 2 runs in on the vacation (30 minutes on Friday, 15 minutes in my new Nike Free on Monday), 3 hours of hiking on Sunday and even 20 minutes swimming in the covered outdoor pool at the resort Tuesday morning.

I felt surprisingly comfortable and had fun swimming yesterday.  I’m excited to go swimming again in the pool nearby my house.  Next time I’ll have goggles though.  I don’t like going underwater much without them. 

Question about my new shoes:  Has anyone transitioned into Nike Frees?  How slowly should I start out running in them before they turn into my long run shoes?