Leavenworth-Sound of Music

We drove to Leavenworth with our friends in our 1986 collector Cadillac car

Leavenworth is a very nice town, with a Bavarian theme.

In the 1800's the natives roamed Icicle Valley and at harvest time they would gather together and have activities including fishing, trading, stories and contests. Gold brought an influx of people in 1860 and the "Hummingbird mine" ran until 1975. The Great Northern Railway Company (GNRC) railroad came in 1892. This connected Leavenworth to the west and east. At one time there were 7 sets of tracks. In 1903 the lumber industry started and had the state's second largest sawmill.
In 1925 the GNRC railway moved to Wenatchee and the sawmill closed the next year, causing a mass exodus.
In 1960 Project LIFE (Leavenworth Improvement for Everyone) was formed. In 1964 Vesta Junior Women's Club won a $10,000 prize for improvements in Leavenworth. In 1965 LIFE decided to "go alpine" and officially commit to a Bavarian theme. This theme is what makes the town so unique and the town continues to add festivals to increase the tourist industry.

We stayed at the Leavenworth Village Inn, this is a fairly basic hotel, but was clean, comfortable and easy walking distance into town and the park.

Ches and Chuck, waiting for women while they shop

There are beautiful hanging baskets all over town

We enjoyed sitting and listening to the music at the bandstand

Ches, Chuck, Peggy, Sharon

Church at ski hill

In the evening we went to see "Sound of Music" at the ski hill, Maria actually comes down the mountain singing "The Hills are Alive" It was a great show and they have several others also.

Von Trapp family cast

A unique metal sculpture at the gas station on the way home.

Vera Kidd 85th birthday

Vera in 1943, she has not changed she still loves cats

Vera in 1989

great grandchildren

grandchildren

grandchildren and spouses

niece and family

daughters and daughter-in-law

Book made by Jody with Vera's pictures

Las Vegas 2011

March 24, 2011 for spring break my daughter (Jody) and Granddaughter (Kiana) and I (Sharon) flew from Bellingham to Las Vegas for a week's vacation. It was open seating on the plane which was different but we did okay and got a seat together in the second row.

Sharon, Kiana, Jody

We arrived at the hotel Mandalay Bay, the room was nice, but did not know there was going to be a $20 a day amenity fee. The room was close to the elevator and with a view of the strip, which was beautiful at night. You can not use the mini fridge so Jody kept one sink filled with ice to keep our drinks and snacks cool.

The pool area was beautiful with a river, wave pool, regular pool, and hot tub. We were surprised at the price to rent cabanas, they were $100 a day when we came and the weather was cool and went up every day to $300 a day.

We went to the pool after we checked in.

The room had a nice bathtub and a shower

It had 2 closets, they were big enough my granddaughter used one for a changing room.

Statue of Liberty made out of jelly beans

New York, casino

Rainforest Cafe

M & M Store

March 25 we went to the pool in the morning, the outlet mall in afternoon, and walked around strip in evening