Spaulding Scribbles: Octoberfest

Last weekend we were lucky to have my Aunt Carol and Uncle Dean from San Diego come visit. We hadn't seen them since our wedding so it was such a treat to have them up here. The first night we shared an awesome meal at one of our favorite restaurants in Wallingford called Bizarro. If you haven't been there, we highly recommend it. We used to go there all the time when we just lived down the street. We were happy to see that the "bizarre-ness" of the place hadn't changed.

On Saturday Dean and Carol got to join in on the annual Warner Fall Drive. It has become a major tradition and we were excited to show Dean and Carol all the stops along the way. I've been doing this with my parents since college and we quickly initiated James into the event the first year we were dating. We laugh about it every year though because the first year James came along, he didn't have the greatest experience. The night before he and I had gone out to celebrate my birthday. We had been up really late and had quite a bit to drink. Needless to say when my parents came around at 8am the next morning we weren't very stoked. James was a trooper though. He managed to keep his stomach under control through the windy country roads of Carnation. But he almost lost it when we stopped for breakfast and my mom asked him if he wanted some eggs. I won't go into the gory details. Miraculously after a brat and some beer at Octoberfest, he was feeling fine.

This year we were in much better shape and raring to go. Dad rented a mini van so we could all drive together. From our house we drove the country road of 203 through Carnation and Duvall up to Monroe and Sultan. In Sultan there is an incredible bakery that we always stop at to eat doughnuts or breakfast. Then it was on to Highway 2 up through Stevens Pass to enjoy the changing leaves and gorgeous Cascade views. This year we lucked out with perfect weather. We finally reached our destination of Leavenworth, a quaint German town which has Octoberfest every year for a couple weekends. With the beautiful weather, this year it was packed! But we didn't mind because it was so festive. We walked the town and had lunch where the boys could enjoy their beer and brats.

The next stop was one of my favorites--Smallwood farm. It's this great place just outside of Leavenworth on the way to the Blewitt Pass exit. In the fall they have a huge pumpkin patch and they make every kind of jarred jam, veggie, salsa, dip you can think of. They also have huge bins of apples. We love to get our pumpkins there every year and stock up on canned goods. It's such a great place for kids too--we can't wait to bring ours here someday.

We finished out the day driving through Blewitt Pass and then home via I-90. This trip provides a great memory every year and we were grateful to have my aunt and uncle along with us this time. We love you guys and it was so great seeing you!

Happy fall everyone!