Family Travel Guide to Leavenworth, WA
It's my husband's birthday week! And for those that follow my blog and/or my Instagram page know why this year was a very special time to celebrate. If not, I'll fill you in... My husband and I both experienced loss of family members in 2013. I lost my mom January 24th and Vlad's oldest brother passed away a few weeks after. I was still inconsolable and completely broken, and he was confused, broken, and depressed, trying to figure out which family he needs to give his heart to as we were all suffering heart break. I also experienced the pain of a miscarriage that March. Like I said, I was a hot mess and Vlad had no clue how to handle the brokenness. During that time of the year, every year, he would choose to leave us and be at his parent's house. He would leave for months at a time between January-March. At first it was a few days, then weeks, and last year it was two and half months. So that's the long story short. After five years, and a lot of praying and healing, he's home! So I booked us a little getaway. I think I'm over-posting on social media a bit, but once I get excited about something, I tend to do that. And being together as a family for the first time during the beginning of the year, after five years, gets me excited!
A few years ago we decided not to gift each other anything for birthdays, but to do a family adventure instead. We usually went somewhere around Florida for my birthday in October, and camping for Vlad's. Florida weather made that easy. Here in the PNW it's a little harder to plan adventures in middle of winter (Vlad's Birthday is February 22). That's why I chose Leavenworth. It's the perfect winter town and Vlad has a bit of German blood (his mom's side),
As I began to research, I kept running into blogs and reviews on "couples getaways", so I wanted to write this post on a Leavenworth that's perfect for family getaways. To me, that's the best way to travel. Making memories with my boys. They grow up too fast and I want these precious adventures to be etched in their memories forever. To have the importance of family and seeking adventure together.
Where to stay:
The Enzian Inn exceeded our expectations. The owners designed it with family travel in mind. For the longest time they didn't have TV's and their focus was to bring family together. As soon as you walk into the foyer, you're invited to sit down by the fireplace and relax. Upstairs is another sitting/living room area and board games galore. The boys loved hanging out there and sipping hot chocolate as they played. The entire place is decked out with Bavarian décor, and the front desk staff are all dressed in typical Bavarian style. You guys, the customer service is probably the best I experienced.
Why we loved it
- Amazing service.
- Inside heated pool and hot tub
- Outside pool (not heated, but open) and hot tub.
- Breakfast included and it's pretty good -I gotta say, made to order omelet and a table full of muffins and coffee cakes, made me happy. Oh and the morning alp-horn serenade was memorable, to say the least.
- Cross country ski and equipment included to borrow for all guests. This was the highlight of our trip. If this wasn't provided by the hotel, we wouldn't have done it and missed out. We were on a budget so this hotel perk was quite impressive.
- Ping Pong room, tennis, and fitness room (I didn't have time for that, the cross country skiing was exercise for the month)
- Our suite! OK, I have so much to say about this room. We had this dreamy canopy bed and Jacuzzi tub that we all used after playing in 20 degree weather all day. The bedroom is separated by French doors to a living room with a fire place and a sofa bed where the boys slept. And the cutest little Bavarian style dinning room table. They also brought a crib for little Oren, so we were completely set.
- There's a piano concert nightly in the front lobby. This place just makes you feel good. Not just a guest, but part of the family, at least for the moment you stay there. I loved it.
- Walking distance to the little village with restaurants and shops.
- I want to come back in the Spring or Summer and do the hikes, golfing, tubing, zip lining, biking, so much more to explore!
TIP: When booking a hotel I always search the travel sites like Expedia, Travelocity and such for pricing and ratings on hotels. Then I check out Airbnb's in that area. I also call the hotel managers to ask about specials. There are always deals floating around if you call the hotels direct. Especially boutique hotels or Bed and Breakfasts. The Enzian Inn has deals for a night stay with ski rental packages, a deal for homeschooling families, a deal for a room upgrade and so on, depending on the month you travel. The front desk manager is Carrie and she is wonderful.
I talked to a few people at breakfast and around the hotel that have all been coming to this Inn for 10 plus years! We were the only first timers that I talked to, no joke.
Where to eat:
Munchen Haus Bavarian Grill and Beer Garden (Lunch or dinner) is a local favorite, with a chill outdoor seating vibe. Don't worry, they have coal fires in the middle of the tables to keep the littles toasty. My son said that was his favorite hot-dog he's ever had. I don't know if it was the hot-dog or the atmosphere, but I know they have pretty amazing soft pretzels. There is always a line, so come between meal hours, around 4pm.
SOUTH (Lunch and Dinner) is a Latin American joint that is super popular. We had to try it and we were impressed with the staff and service and the food was good.
Gustav's Leavenworth (not to be confused with the Gustav's here in town) this is a family owned restaurant that's kid friendly and has variety for everyone. (lunch and Dinner)
Rudloof's Pizza We ordered the first night of our stay because we wanted to just chill at the hotel game room in the upper lobby. ( lunch, dinner, they deliver) The Bavarian Pizza was pretty interesting in flavor. I liked it.
O'Grady's Pantry (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) This place is at the Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort were we went cross country skiing. So after a few hours of skiing with the kiddos, this was a nice place to take a break and grab a bite. Very cozy and kiddo friendly. They were really nice to my little guy when he was having a melt down. Got him cheered up in a drop of a hat with a little red balloon that came with us on our adventure the rest of the day.
I'm going to add two more that were recommended, but we didn't have time to try:
Visconti's Italian, was recommended by the staff at the Inn and a few locals.
Wok About Grill Also was recommended by fellow visitors.
On your way into town or on your way out of town, stop by this quirky store called Small Wood Harvest Store . It's a specialty food store. So you'll find things like soda flavors that you never imagine existed, like "bacon chocolate". I was not a fan of that flavor one bit. But this place is worth swinging by and checking out for little gifts for your boss or bff.
What to do in Leavenworth. SO MUCH!
Cross country skiing. Like I said, we got our equipment from our hotel, and rented a special sled to pull the littles in at Leavenworth Mountain Sports Equipment Rental. They have everything you need for every occasion and season.
Tubing, Snow shoeing, Skiing, snowboarding at Leavenworth Winter Sports Club. They have four locations and super close to the hotels. Just rent your gear at the rental place before going up to the hills.
Tip: come early to the tubing hill and beat the crowd so you don't have to stand in long lines.
I want to recommend the horse-drawn sleigh rides, but we really didn't like it. And I was pretty bummed about it because it was something I really wanted to do with the boys for Vlad's birthday. I felt it was a waste of money. Maybe it was the place we went; Icicle Outfitters and Guides. The brochure stated one price, but we were charged an extra $12, and it said; "there's hot chocolate and cider in front of a wood stove after the ride". But there was no such things available. I planned this trip pretty good, so I wanted this part to be special and it wasn't. I would go somewhere else if you plan on doing a sleigh ride, or do the horse-drawn carriage ride through town at night and see all the lights. We should have done that instead, looked fun.
We had an adventure and we'll always remember what we did as a family here. How we celebrated Vlad and poured our love on him. That's a gift that never stops giving and I will cherish that forever.
I'll write more about other things I mentioned above (loss and mending) and just the ongoing struggle to heal and gain trust again. It's been a roller-coaster of a ride this marriage life. But we're together and family is everything. Especially finding joy in the every day, it's a choice really. And I choose joy and to trust today.
Book a getaway with the family and just enjoy each other. Take long hikes, dream, and get lost in thanksgiving to the One that gave you the gift of family.
Winter Travel Essentials
Essentials for the car ride!
