Must Visit Shops in Leavenworth

First off, I’m a guy. Yes, I enjoy shopping, but my shopping is way different than my wife’s shopping. My wife can spend 2 hours in a children’s clothing store, touching every garment on every rack, putting together matching ensembles. She may, or may not buy anything. I walk through the store, look for something cute/funny/unique/exotic/interesting. If I happen to find a garment that says something cool about how much the child loves their Papa, I might buy it, but then I’m done. In and out in 2 minutes, and on to the next shop.

The last time I went to Leavenworth, we spent about 3 hours shopping on two different days. We walked and browsed through a lot of unique shops. I wait for my wife, while she tries to keep up with me.

I enjoy the kind of shopping (browsing) that we do in Leavenworth. Much of what I enjoy the most involves food. When we have the time, we’ll walk from shop to shop and explore each one. When time is limited, I seek out my favorites. Here are mine, in no particular order.

The Hat Shop is a regular stop, especially when we have the grandkids with us. Find the funniest hat…and…picture time!

Schocolat, Fine Handmade Chocolates is basically just one small counter in the back of Ganz Klasse, which is a home furnishings boutique. If you visit Schocolat, you will be offered samples of their artistry. You will find that their chocolates are absolutely heavenly.

Munchen Haus is an outdoor restaurant with several options of the best brats. They have dozens of different mustards and sauces to douse your brat with, along with their warm apple cider sauerkraut. For years, we have selected Munchen Haus as our first choice for dining in Leavenworth.

Fresh Burger Cafe is a new favorite on my list. We discovered it on our last trip to the city. It may be one of the best burger/sandwich/soup/salad cafes anywhere. They have a small inside dining area, but more seating outside on their patio.

The Kris Kringle Shop has more Christmas decorations that you ever imagined could be available. I’m not a decorator, so I’d probably never buy anything there. My wife is the decorator in our house. She buys stuff.

The Cheesemonger’s Shop offers samples of a number of interesting cheeses.

A Matter of Taste has samples of hot sauces, flavored honey spreads, mustards, dips, etc. I especially like the flavored honeys.

The Metal Waterfall Gallery is a shop that I’ve walked through many times, but I always go back. I just find the sculptures to be fascinating enough for another look. They catch my interest as I walk through the store.

When we stay at our Worldmark condos (and there is one in Leavenworth, which we utilize on occasion), we go through a lot of coffee. They used to provide us with all the coffee we needed for our stay, but they changed their policy, and now we have to purchase our own coffee. When in Leavenworth, we make Alpine Coffee Company one of our first stops so we can get a pound of coffee to get us started for our stay in the condo.

My wife and I spent a couple weeks in Russia, a few years ago. We bought a few souvenirs to bring home with us. Gifts From Russia is reminiscent of our souvenir shopping in Moscow.

Here’s a comprehensive list of the shops you’ll find in Leavenworth.

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2014 Pacific Northwest Waterfall Tour Kickoff – FAIL

Entiat River March 2014

In March of this year, we took a trip to Chelan, Washington.  It was, sort of, a last minute plan to just get away for a few days.  We happened to find an opening for a room at one of our Worldmark resorts, there, so we jumped at the chance to stay there.  That resort has traditionally been full and difficult to book without advance planning.

Entiat River Waterfalls

Because we wanted to kick off our Pacific Northwest Waterfall Tour, I did a little research to find some waterfalls close by.  I learned that the Entiat River was a haven for a number of beautiful falls.  We weren’t certain of the condition of the roads that high in the mountains, and had some doubts, but we were going to be there anyway, so I didn’t call ahead to the ranger station, or get an additional information about the conditions.

As everything turned out, we could only travel about 20 miles up the river before finding the road to be blocked by snow to further travel.  Unfortunately, the waterfalls we were planning to see are all between the 20 mile mark and the 38 mile mark.  Any further travel would have required snowshoes, cross-country skis, or snowmobiles and a sno-park pass.  We had none of the above.

After a short visit with a local resident who was out for a walk with her children, we turned around and drove back toward Chelan….but not without taking a few photos along the way.

Entiat River
Entiat River
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Along the way back, we stopped at a little grocery store/restaurant  near a little town called Ardenvoir to get a bite to eat.  I had read from someone that it was a good little local place to eat, and thought I should check it out.

Just like everything else on this trip, it was bad timing.  The restaurant was closed, though the door was open.  We went inside and found the owner visiting with a friend while doing some maintenance work.  They barely seemed to notice we were there.

When I caught their attention and asked if they were going to be open for lunch, he said, “Not really.  I wasn’t planning to turn the grill on today, but if you really want to eat here, I guess I can.  It will take awhile for it to heat up.”

I said, “Thank you very much, but you don’t need to do that.  We’ll just move on.”

…and move on, we did.  But we will definitely be back this summer.