22 Hours in Wenatchee
From Friday night at 9pm until Saturday night at 7pm, Jamie and I spent those 20 hours in Wenatchee. The reason that we went was to go and see the Apple Blossom Parade on Saturday afternoon. This is just one part of the Apple Blossom Festival that is held in Wenatchee. Heading over to central Washington was something that I had only done once before, but the last time I did that was four years ago going from Spokane to Seattle. So, I don’t have the greatest vision of what it’s like on the other side of the Cascades. However, I had a really good time, despite the limited time that I was able to spend there.
Friday night was spent rushing to pack what I thought I needed for the trip. The observation that Jamie and Anthony made when they looked in my trunk was, “why so much?” Well, when I have to rush to pack, I don’t make it look neat at all and I just grab stuff and throw it in the car. So, that’s pretty much what happened there. They also noted the collection of CDs that I had put in the back of my car. I figured I needed some music to listen to for the three and a half hour drive. But, as it worked out, on the way over we only listened to the Dave Matthews Band Live in Central Park CDs. It took the entire trip to listen to all of it.
Once we arrived in Wenatchee we noticed the massive police presence. Wait, forget that, there were cops everywhere on the trip down there. They have the best spots for speed traps, it simply amazes me. But, Anthony and I went unticketed on the way down and the way back.
After we stopped gawking at all of the police we stopped at Anthony’s place and met his parents, who are very nice by the way, and had a little snack/dinner before we headed out to Shari’s for some coffee/hot chocolate/shakes/food/water gathering with Garrett and Dan. It was nice to just relax after driving for a better part of the evening. But, after that it was off to sleep.
The next morning, after a warning the night before, Anthony was up super early. Jamie and I kept sleeping for a while, or so I thought, until 8:15. Then it was off to get ready for the day. It was a quick breakfast then out the door to go and get Garrett and head to the parade. It took a while to go and get him and then head to the parade, but we got a good spot near the end of the route. You can see some pictures of the parade, we only watched about half of it or less, in this photoset on flickr. Or, you can check out Anthony’s Dad’s pictures in his own photoset.
The parade was cool, the last one I went to was the Seafair parade with Jamie. But, parades are always fun. I can’t really say why, but they are. One thing that stood out to me in the Apple Blossom Parade, was how huge of a response the service men and women got when they were coming down the street. People were saying thanks as the service men and women were handing flags out to the spectators. To me, that was a really great part of the parade.
Next, after the parade, was going to get some food and just check out the other stuff that was around. We did this for about an hour then we headed to Walla Walla Park to toss around a frisbee. It was pretty good times. I got a little burnt, but it’s better today. I’m just glad that the weather was so nice. It made the afternoon much more enjoyable.
Then it was off to Red Robin to get some much needed refreshments. But, Anthony and Garrett were not satisfied with getting one type of drink, so they got four! They taste tested all of the new summer drinks that were on the menu and managed to knock off a basket or two of fries while they were doing it. Again, nice to be inside and just hanging out away from it all. Then, after much refreshing we headed to Garrett’s house to play pool, cards, and relax until dinner later that night. One thing I noticed was that I couldn’t beat Jamie at cards. We played war twice and we “tied” both times. Well, really it was more of a stalemate since I lost on a tie with her card. But, it was nice to chill.
Then, off to get some Mexican food for dinner. But, the challenge was waiting until our ordered food arrived. Anthony, Jamie, and I kept eating the chips in front of us. So, to solve this we moved the basket away. Well, this worked great until they brought us a fresh set of chips that were warm. Agh! The end was near and we hadn’t even ordered yet! But, once the food came, it was like Claim Jumper’s but for Mexican food. Simply amazing. Seriously.
Sadly, Jamie and I headed out at 7pm to head back to Seattle/Port Orchard. The drive back was nice and the cops were out in full force again. But, I should point out that if you are looking for a rest stop on the way back, to either find one in Wenatchee or Cle Elum, because we couldn’t find one until we gave up at North Bend and found a McDonald’s. Yeah, we did find one in Cle Elum, but we had to get on I-90, so we missed it! After dropping Jamie off at her parent’s place in Port Orchard I made my way to the ferry and headed back home. As the clock struck midnight I was home and ready to pass out.
Anyways, the trip away from Seattle was nice. It was nice to get away from work and everything else at home and just relax. I’ve lived in a large city setting my entire life, but I can seriously appreciate leaving the city to just relax and enjoy the weekend. I’m glad that I had the chance to head over to Wenatchee, because even for the 22 hours that I was there, I can say that I had a lot of fun.
