AndyO Blog

We took our annual trip to Lake Chelan, where Brenda has a conference, and then drove to my parents' house in the Tri-Cities. Here's a recap of part 1: Lake Chelan:

Sunday, June 27

Drove to Lake Chelan. Only took 3-1/2 hours with two stops. It's worth noting that after only 30 minutes of driving, Drew asked the most popular question on a summer drive (or any drive for that matter): "Are we there yet?" 

After arriving at Campbell's, I unloaded 1000 pounds of luggage, toys, computers, and food with the help of Cameron. Brenda ran off to meetings, while Cameron, Drew, and I went swimming and then to dinner at the terrace in Campbell's. I noticed the food wasn't as good as it was in years past. (Two more visits to this restaurant confirmed it, so I stopped eating there after Monday.)

Monday, June 28

I volunteered to watch two kids, Kelsey and Devin, whose mothers were also working at the conference with Brenda. Fortunately, they were older than my kids, so they were able to help out. Once I picked them up, we:

• Ate breakfast at the restaurant in Campbell's (The food here was as good as I remembered it. I had the meat lover's omelet.)
• Went to Riverwalk Books
• Went to RadioShack (we sometimes buy remote controlled toys, but not this time)
• Went to the hardware store - picked up water toys, rafts, etc.
• Spent the rest of the day hanging around our hotel room (on the shore of Lake Chelan), and the swimming pool. I assumed Kelsey and Devin had put on sunscreen, but they hadn't. And even with sunscreen, Cameron got a burn. But I felt like a bad parent/babysitter.

Tuesday, June 29

We started off this day going to breakfast (except for Devin, who gets up earlier than 9:00 a.m.). I had Eggs Benedict.

Over breakfast, I told the kids I wanted to take them to Rocky Reach Dam, even though they really wanted to go to the water slide. I knew having them outside all day would burn them even worse, so I didn't think that was a good idea (and Kelsey's Mom, Cynthia, agreed).

We drove to Rocky Reach Dam, which is about 30 miles from Lake Chelan, and has a fish ladder, café, a tour of the turbine area (along with exhibits), and an interpretive center. The kids liked it more than they thought they would.

After lunch, we headed back to Safeway in Lake Chelan, where we bought all kinds of food, toys, books, and drinks (I always make a point on vacation to buy all kinds of weird junk food). The kids also decided to punch a chicken who was selling chicken (there was no person inside of it).

Tuesday night was the annual barbeque for Brenda's conference, but I was too tired to go. Brenda was a sweetheart and brought me back steak, BBQ ribs, beans, and Thomas Kemper Orange Cream Soda.

Wednesday, June 30

Once again, we ate at the restaurant for breakfast (just Cameron, Drew, and I). I had the meat lover's omelet again.

We went back to the room and watched "The Lightning Thief" with Cameron's friend Camille. Then, Brenda came back from her conference and collapsed.

Around 7:00 or so, we finally left the room and went to eat at Westside Pizza. Despite a clueless staff (they didn't even cut up the cheese sticks we ordered for Drew), the pizza was surprisingly good.

We ended the night watching baseball and a Seattle Sounders game.

Thursday, July 1

Cam and I ate breakfast (I had the Eggs Benedict again) at the Campbell's restaurant. Afterward, we got Brenda and Drew and drove off to Manson, which we'd never been to before (about 8 miles from Lake Chelan). We drove around all the extra large houses with spectacular views of the lake, and then went to the town and had shave ice (something we discovered in Hawaii).

After driving through Wapato Point, we went back to our room at Campbells. Unfortunately, the cleaning staff hadn't come yet -- and wouldn't until around 4:00. But we just sat around for the rest of the day, with a brief trip to the bowling alley to watch Camille, her grandpa Philly Steve, cousin Taylor, and their aunt, as well as to play video games.

I was going to go down to the bowling area, but the attendant said we couldn't because of our "street shoes." I would have considered bowling, but Cam and I forgot to wear socks (another requirement). After an hour of sitting around, Cam and I went to the Drive In for double bacon burgers and onion rings.

We finished the evening watching "Invictus," a riveting film about how Mandela used rugby as a way to unite South Africa.

Labels: Lake Chelan, Travels, Vacation