Summer is going to be gone in a blink of an eye at this pace. I have three major events to reminisce on and have had no time to do so. So, here’s the first: Chelan 2025.
This year we were back on our annual Chelan trip in June. Not only in June but the day after school got out we packed up the car and headed towards Chelan early in the morning to spend a full day at Slidewaters Water Park. This is a Reese favorite and has been four years in a row. We are putting the last bags in the car for our four-night trip to Chelan when Reese throws up on our front porch. Bryan and I look at each other like “Oh no! What do we do?” Reese is immediately like, “We must go.” So we do, but now with our throw up big bowl in tow. We didn’t really know what was going to happen with whatever sickness Reese had but she was adamant going and we were all ready to go. The unfortunate thing is that we knew that Reese’s bestie, Georgie, and her family had recently been through the ringer with a terrible bug so we weren’t very optimistic that this would be a short thing but one can hope. We are getting on the freeway when another throw up occurs in the big bowl we brought. Reese then says she feels better and proceeds to sleep for the next three hours drive to Chelan. We pull into Slidewaters at 10:30 am and Reese is ready to go.
Reese willed her way through the day. I could tell that she was clearly not feeling her best, she didn’t have the normal pep in her step and almost every single time down the slide she wanted to go to the hot tub to warm up. It was a beautiful day though and like always Slidewaters was very enjoyable. We got lunch, Reese didn’t eat a thing, and proceeded to stay until after 5 pm! Our friends both joined us there throughout the day and one by one left to check into our Airbnb at the Lookout again this year. New house, same community. We had a spacious four bedroom with a hot tub, outdoor fire pit, large deck overlooking the grassy community lawn and a nice kitchen. There was a nice kids bunk room and some toys and puzzles provided. Anne and Phillip were on dinner duty the first night and made the group spiced chicken thighs and salad. We enjoyed the fire pit while the kids enjoyed a movie in the bunk room.
Friday came and Reese hadn’t eaten anything since Wednesday night and she was lethargic and slept in until super late and proceeded to sleep most of the day. Anne and Phillip had breakfast duty and made the group sweet and savory crepes and bacon. I went for a walk with Brooke down to the lake and around the complex as it was still slowly warming up and was fairly windy. This day was cooler but the group managed to still have a bunch of fun. Bryan and Brooke joined the group for pickleball and the playground while I hung with sleepy Reese on the porch for her to get fresh air. They came back and changed for the pool but Reese and I kept hanging out at the house. Once back we broke out a big puzzle to do as a group and David and Tina made the group a delicious spaghetti dinner, which was good fuel for Bryan and my ride the next morning. Reese was awake enough to watch movies but still passed on dinner…meaning day 2 of not eating a thing.
Saturday morning Bryan and I had signed up for the Lake Chelan metric century bike ride which just so happened to be scheduled the weekend we were there so we thought it would be great prep and fun to do ahead of our Seattle to Portland bike ride. Our friends were gracious enough to hang out with our kids for the morning so we could do it. We woke up around 6:30, got some breakfast and got changed and then drove the high school with our bikes. The metric century was the longest of the three rides offered and our group’s start time was at 7:30 am. There weren’t so many people doing the metric century but we all started out as a pack together but when you are presented with a 1,000-foot hill right in the first few miles the pack things out pretty quickly. We tackled, the first 1,000 feet, then had an excellent long downhill before another 500-foot climb. These are big climbs and the ride had a total of 4,500 feet which is more than I have ever done, all in just 62 miles. At just about 35 miles in on the ride we got to the lake and were able to fuel up on some snacks, refill waters, use the restroom and then we boarded pontoon boats that were to take us across the lake. This was very cool and we really lucked out with the weather. It wasn’t as windy as the day before, which they said they wouldn’t have been able to shuttle us by boat, but it was also cool and cloudy in the morning which helped us with cycling. Once on the other side of the lake we had about 10 miles heading west along the lake before there was another rest stop and then about 18 miles back the other way, cycling along the lake and back to the high school for the finish line. Bryan and I really pushed ourselves on this last stretch and made great time. We finished the ride at 15 mph, which considering how highly this ride was, we were really proud of. The sunshine broke out right as we crossed the line and we savored our success, some snacks, our free glass of Tsillan Cellars wine, and then got some Greek food from the food truck before we figured we needed to head back to help our friends with our kids.
We got back to the house to learn that our friends had somehow magically gotten all of the kids out for a short little hike. I was amazed but also learned that both Reese and Brooke were pretty lethargic on the hike and sat for most of it. LOL. But Reese was awake and with the group when we got back home. We showered and cleaned up and then both girls fell asleep on us; Brooke on me and Reese on Bryan. After some time, our friends were walking to the nearby Vin Du Lac Winery. After Brooke was out for some time, I managed to rouse her enough to get her shoes on her and carried her to the winery to meet up with them. However, Brooke never fully woke. She continued to sleep on me for about 90 minutes while I was at the winery but at least I had a drink in hand and great views of the lake. Bryan managed to drive with Reese down to meet us a little while later. After a few hours here, me literally just parked in the chair with a sleeping Brooke, we ordered some pizza from Local Myth Pizza and our family went to go pick it up with the car before heading back home. After some really delicious pizza and more wine all four of us hit the hot tub. Small win right there for Reese. I slept well that night after the bike ride, wine and hot tub.
Sunday morning started with us waking up to make the house breakfast. We did waffles and bacon and fruit and Reese was actually eating at the table eating some waffles! This was set out to be a beautiful day so after breakfast our group got beach ready and took the shuttle to the four-wheeler down to the beach. We got prime seats and played in the sand, splashed some in the water, Bryan and I got out on the paddleboard and took turns jumping off the dock. We had a lovely time. Reese was starting to feel the FOMO set in after the past few days and getting a little sad about it. After a few hours at the beach our family headed up to the pool since Reese hadn’t really gotten to swim in the pool yet. She dove for some reasons and used the hot tub but it was so hot at this point. After about an hour we headed back to the house to shower and pack some snacks and headed out to Succession Wines which had a live band playing and somewhere we had been before with fond memories of good wine, stunning views and lush grass for the kids to play. The place was packed but guests were accommodating and we managed to get enough chairs for the adults and put down a picnic blanket with toys and snacks for the kids. We shared a few great bottles here and enjoyed and danced to the music. Around 6 pm we headed back to the house all in good spirits and Bryan and I got the grill going to make our meal of burgers, hot dogs, sweet corn, watermelon and grilled veggies. We enjoyed this last meal together outside and one more soak in the hot tub.
Our last morning was all about getting packed up, getting some breakfast and enjoying our last bit at the house. We enjoyed a last trolley around just for fun and packed up and in the car. I was setting off to Spokane for a one-night work trip so we drove to Wenatchee where the family dropped me off at the Amtrak station for a 3-hour bus ride to Spokane. I made it to the Northern Quest Casino and Resort around 4:20 pm and Bryan and the girls stopped for lunch and the candy store in Leavenworth before they got home around the same time. I had a work dinner with all of the branch managers and sales managers for the Mountain region that night at the resort before prepping a bit for my presentation the next morning. The next day I had presentations from 8 am until 4:30 pm. I presented right after lunch and was nervous about the response and interest but was pleasantly surprised and happy to have it over. I went to the airport straight from the meeting and landed in Seattle around 7:30 pm. As I was light railing and bussing home I started to have nausea. I got home and was happy to see the family and so happy to see Reese feeling herself but I felt so sick. I slept terribly that night and the next day managed to get the girls to camp and school before sleeping pretty much the entire day through.
I had a few days of recovery but has happy to get my strength and energy back, especially with our next trip to Michigan only a week away and the Seattle to Portland bike ride fast approaching. Between our Chelan trip and Michigan trip, Reese had seven days of camp at Galileo, an overnight with Lottie at our house, and her last days of Pre-Team for gymnastics. Brooke had her gymnastics and a play date to swim at her buddy Madison’s kiddie pool. Bryan got in a 70-mile bike ride and me a 65-mile bike ride. We also had a long overdue dinner with Sarah and Lottie at our house for a belated birthday for Sarah and an early thank you for her staying with our kids for the STP.
Next summary…Michigan!
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Chelsea
