We've had quite a winter so far - early snow, and then 100 mile-an-hour winds a couple of weeks ago.  We lost power (along with 1 million other people here) for a few days, and of course I had gotten rid of all my emergency lighting and so on when I left Florida. Hey, they don't have hurricanes in Seattle! I guess they do now that I'm here.

But we got power in time to head out to the airport to fly down to Florida just before Christmas Eve. You've never really travelled until you've been through the Atlanta airport during the holidays! We had a great flight even so, and my mother met us at the airport in Tampa. Our first stop, at my wife's request, was at Popeye's for some fried chicken and red beans and rice. The next day we did our traditional beach outing (81 sunny degrees) on Christmas Eve, and then went to our old church for services.

After church and a quick lunch, we rented a car and drove up to Georgia to see my wife's family. We had a great time, and went over to Savannah for a walk down River Street. We took off a couple of days later back down to Tampa and spent another day with my mom, and then off to the airport to come back home. We had an eventful flight (not the one we were supposed to take!) but it was great to get home, even if it was a few hours late. Now we just need a few days off to recover from vacation!

Early this Saturday we drove out to Seattle and boarded the snow train to a little town in the Cascade Mountains called Leavenworth. The train winds north along the coast of Washington, giving stunning views of Puget Sound and across the water to the snow covered Olympic mountain range.

 

Once we reached Everett, the train turned east towards Steven’s pass. Along the way we passed small towns freshly covered from our recent snowfall. The towns and houses grew fewer as we got closer to the mountains, and the flat landscapes gave way to valleys and hills so filled with alpine firs that it looked like a forest packed with Christmas trees, massive and ready for decoration. Northwestern firs always stand with their boughs bowed, but with their heavy burdens of snow they drooped their pine braches almost to the ground. These forests soon gave way to massive cliffs of granite, huge boulders at their feet blocking swift moving rivers and streams.

 

A few hours later we arrived at the small station near the town and stepped from the train into exquisite cold, so bracing it felt like walking into thin, brittle panes of glass.

 

Leavenworth is a small community modeled on a Bavarian town in the alps. Several thousand people descend on the town for the Christmas tree lighting, sledding and town party. We wandered through the shops selling chocolates, gingerbread and every German trinket imaginable. After dining on bratwurst and sauerkraut, we headed back to the train station.

on the trip home we were entertained by magic shows, carols sung by barbershop quartets, trios of ladies dressed in Christmas finery, a Bavarian marching band (complete with a tuba), and pirates (you figure that one out), all on a train.

 

Five hours later, we pulled back into Seattle, thoroughly worn out. It is now officially the Christmas season at our house.