We spent the weekend after Labor Day at Lake Chelan. Our friends let use their house in exchange for putting in a porch gate. Our family from Pullman met us and we enjoyed a relaxing time together. I know the cousins had a lot of fun hanging out too. We enjoyed lots of good meals together, spent time at the pool, lake and in the hot tub and enjoyed the beautiful views and each other’s company.
Porch pics
The kids enjoyed playing at the pool each day
We ate lots of good meals together
We rented jet skis one morning
There was lots of hot tubbing
We think Nicole should make these
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After two days at Sucia, we headed to my favorite bougie-quaint spot, Roche Harbor. We were there one night, just long enough to do all our favorite things.
Representing in his Team NZ hat
It’s always fun to walk to the Mausoleum
Dinner date
Heading home
Kieron did the driving while we waited at the Locks, keeping the boat in place and eventually docking us on the wall. They are preserving water right now, so since we were the only boat there, we had to wait an hour to see if anyone else showed up before they would let us through.
He did such a good job, Jonathan decided to let him drive us through the locks and on and off the wall! He did amazing and stayed calm and cool. We were so proud of him!
Meanwile, Layla and Silas watched Incredibles in the cabin
After the kids wrapped up sailing camp, we left from Bellingham and headed to Sucia to unplug for a couple of nights. It’s a beautiful island with several “fingers”, making for lots of fun shoreline and nooks and crannies to explore. There isn’t much there aside from a couple of docks, a lot of trails and some composting potties. It’s a busy place for boaters who want an environment that feels more remote and less developed.
The kids discovered a large family of playful otters.
We decided to tack on a trip to Munich for my birthday since we were already in Europe until the 26th. I’m so glad we did. It’s a birthday I’ll always remember! Here we are celebrating at Augustiner Beer Garden. The vibe there is SO Bavarian!
We bought Avery his first beer here
Don’t worry, that’s not a dark lager, Kieron opted for root beer
First meal in Munich at Zum Brunnstein
Our first meal in Germany had lots of sausage, sour kraut & German-style potato salad.
Here’s what happened the morning of my birthday. We originally planned to go to Neuschwanstein on my birthday and Dachau the following day because who wants to go to a concentration camp on their birthday? Well, we had some trouble with the trains and ended up in traffic in a taxi, and arrived at the tour company literally one minute late. By then our bus had left without us! Fortunately, the tour company worked with us and was able to switch our tours so we could do the camp on my birthday and the castle the next day. I’m so thankful we were still able to do both, but it made for a somber birthday. I was on the verge of tears half the day!
Solitary confinement
Neuschwanstein! I love the crazy story about this castle and it’s creator.
Uncle Scott, same place, 44 years earlier!
1981
Don’t ask me what he’s playing!
Taking a carriage to the castle in 1981
I always thought this picture of me was taken of me looking out the little window at the top of the castle – but I just learned it is not! It’s from some other castle in Europe.
At Kinder Paradise, 1984
Downtown Munich. I love that my birthday falls on Pride Weekend
We stopped in Pompeii on our way to Sorrento and had a small guided tour of the ruins. It was incredible and sad to imagine the final moments of its citizens. If I’m being honest, we were coming off three days of tours in Rome and we were all tired, hot, “ruined out” and ready to relax. I think we all trudged through the tour, anxious to get to our hotel. It was however, interesting to learn that 1/3 of Pompeii remains uncovered, and to see what a city from that time really looked like.
Carriage tracks
A cast of a teenage girl
We made it to our hotel in Sorrento, the Hotel Riviera! Time to relax!
We liked the Beach Club!
Getting White Lotus Season 2 vibes!
Had the BEST dinner of our trip here at this little seafood restaurant!
A cool model boat in our hotel
We took a private boat to Capri one day. On the way, we stopped for a little snorkeling. Once there, we ate lunch, rode the chairlift to Ana Capri, got gelato and did a little shopping.
Here’s a cave we passed on our way.
We took the chair lift up to Ana Capri
At the top
Headed back down
Someone learned to shave on our trip!
Our favorite thing we did in Sorrento was a private cooking class with a local chef, Guglielmo (William), on his family farm, which has been in his family for more than 500 years! He picked us up in his Ape Calessino.
The farm included a veggie garden, lemon grove and animals. They produce olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Chef Guglielmo (William) is passionate about using only the best and purest ingredients. We made bruschetta, gnocci, and chicken piccata.
