Duvall Visit

September 2010

After returning from Alaska and departing the Statendam we drove to Duvall to see Andrew, Kristie and Tessa. Tessa has grown considerably and is now doing a lot more things since our spring visit. This time we visited Leavenworth, a beautiful Bavarian styled village on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains. The drive through the Cascades was picturesque and enjoyable. This town is best known for its shopping, food and year-round schedule of celebrations, festivals and events. From Kinderfest (just for kids), International Accordion Celebration, Oktoberfest and Christmas Lighting, to Washington State's oldest festival - the famous Autumn Leaf Festival. It has lots of very unique (and expensive) Bavarian style gift shops.

We also revisited a number of our old favorites - North Bend, Redmond and Snowqualmie. On the return trip to Vancouver we detoured via Baker Mountain. The road was very narrow with numerous switchbacks and no guardrails. The weather was perfect for the drive to the top of this mountain and the scenery brought back fond memories of our ski trips to Val Gardena. Flying home was uneventful and we arrived requiring a few days of rest to recuperate from our adventures. We really enjoyed our short stay with Andrew, Kristie, Tessa, the dogs and the cat.

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