Smokin' Hot Anniversary...

Now that I have your attention, let me explain myself. First of all, if you have been following my blog, you know that my anniversary was last month, but since I was heading to China that day, we held off on our celebration. With the girls heading off for a week of camp, and Josh being a counselor there too, Kellen took care of the dogs and we headed for Leavenworth this past week, a beautiful Bavarian styled town, nestled in the Cascade Mountains.

Smokin' hot you say?  Well before you think that is TMI, I'm talking about the forest fires in Eastern Washington right now. Some of the highway as you descend the pass into Leavenworth was and still is closed. On the upside, the traffic was nearly obsolete, best we have ever encountered heading east.  This photo doesn't do it justice, and this was shot from a moving car, but the smoke caused quite the haze.

But making the trip over was totally worth it. It was warm and beautiful, and again, on the upside for us but not for business, the crowds were smaller than normal. You can see how all the buildings are reminiscent of Bavaria, and the flowers are gorgeous. The ice cream's not too bad either!

Mike had made reservations at a quaint family ran hotel, Pension Anna, right downtown and within walking distance of the action. One of my favorite shops is the Christmas store, Kris Kringle. It reminds me of a Christmas store we shopped at when we went to Oberammergau, in the heart of Bavaria, back in the 1990's.  Since I did not take my camera, this selfie, from Mike's phone in front of the store, will have to suffice.

Day two was much cooler, but that worked for us, since we were going mountain biking. We biked on a newly made trail that had some beautiful views of the area.  Despite the falling rain, we stayed fairly dry under the canopy of the forest.

Our warm summer weather definitely was on a break.  After our bike ride and a quick shower, we opted for a brats and Bavarian pretzel lunch, next to some warm coals.

That night we watched a live performance of The Sound of Music in an amphitheater situated on the same hill we had biked that morning. What a perfect setting for the musical, if it wasn't for the rain! Yep, shortly following the intermission, buckets of rain came down, but the show went on!  Fortunately we had checked the forecast, and purchased the $1 poncho they sold at the entrance. They did their job and kept us dry. Not so much for the performers though, as they were soaking wet. A worker even came out and mopped the stage during a scene change, after one actor slipped and fell. It made the evening even that much more memorable though. No pictures of us in our ponchos, as it was dark by then, but here we are in yet another selfie, at the start of the show...

The following morning, as a much needed rain for the fires continued to fall, we headed home. Thanks babe for a wonderful 26th Smokin' Hot celebration! Looking forward to our 27th...