Wake Up Call!

Enzian Inn Alphorn Breakfast Concert

Sometimes I hunger for a road trip. It doesn't take a week of following old Route 66 alternates across the country to satisfy my itchy-footed soul. Once my late husband and I ventured no farther than Grand Forks for a fifth anniversary celebration, less than an hour and a half away, and felt satisfied that we were indeed in another country, as we sampled borst and piroshki. But the journey does need to take me to someplace that doesn't look like where I live.

This past week Leavenworth filled the bill. About a five-hour drive from my home south of Colville, this Bavarian village combines kitschy gift shops...music boxes, mustards, chapeaux...with three live summer theater productions and dozens of winery tasting rooms and eateries featuring wursts and schnitzels.

My friend Jane and I took in a lively production of Footloose. Even without Kevin Bacon, this play brought back all the exuberance of the original '80s film and included some performers with remarkable voices. Amazingly, the major actors on alternating nights perform as well in roles in the annual Leavenworth production of The Sound of Music and this year's other offering, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Coincidentally, I'd just seen the latter at the New Theatre in Oxford, England, and wondered why it wasn't in revivals more in the States. If we'd stayed an extra day or two I would have welcomed seeing it again in Leavenworth.

After a bountiful breakfast at the Enzian, which includes an alphorn concert at 8:15 and 9:15 each morning, courtesy of the hotel's owner, plus an omelette bar, we browsed the shops. One I particularly enjoyed...A Matter of Taste features an astonishing assortment of mustards, including dill and garlic varieties, plus apple butter and huckleberry honey. One of the virtues of a road trip versus flying anywhere is that you've got the trunk of your car to heap packages in...no worrying about luggage weight limits.

Then we drove to Peshastin, a tiny town famous for terrific wineries, including Cascadia, where I sampled and purchased some award-winning apple wine and a lively Rousanne, and Icicle Ridge with the Log Cabin Tasting Room. Learn more about these boutique wineries here  http://www.cascadiawinery.com/ and here
 http://www.icicleridgewinery.com/

We spent the second evening in Wenatchee and enjoyed some great views of the Columbia River during Happy Hour at the Coast Wenatchee Center Hotel, along with tasty tapas and economical well drinks.

Home, I feel refreshed. Mini-vacations can energize your spirit, scratch your itchy feet, and awaken dreams of seeing even more of the world, whether near or far.

Local sights in Leavenworth, courtesy of traveling companion and talented photographer Jane Conn.