Tag Archives: Enzian Inn Leavenworth

Leavenworth Round II

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I swore we wouldn’t do it. After going on a cruise and visiting Disney World during the spring, I said there was no way my family would even think about leaving Spokane this summer. I was adamant that we would enjoy a relaxing time staying put in our local community.

Well, we made a slight addendum to that plan.

We ended up taking Beau and Sloan on a short trip to Leavenworth.

In June, Sid and I made the decision to take a very brief end-of-summer “getaway” to Leavenworth. Feeling like it might be nice to treat the kids to a few days outside Spokane borders, we decided to return to the place we visited for the first time a year ago.

This was our view from our hotel room balcony at the Enzian Inn. We spent a lot of time in that pool.

It just seemed right. When we vacationed to Leavenworth last August, we fell in love with the wholesome and quirky Bavarian-themed community. Luckily for us, considerations like the cost, the distance, and the offerings worked for the vacation-depleted budget we were working with.

Returning to Leavenworth was something we could swing.

To be honest, our second trip to Leavenworth was pretty much a rinse and repeat of our inaugural voyage last year…which was a good thing.

Although most of what we did in Leavenworth this time around was a rinse and repeat from last year, Sloan and Beau did try a new treat on our most recent trip. In this photo they are eating a Frostbite Freeze from Der Snow Cave. This treat is a slush drink infused with Dippin’ Dots.

Since our trip mirrored what we did last year, there isn’t a need to basically duplicate the post I wrote in 2024. If you remember, I pinpointed 10 themes from the vacation. Guess what? They were all pretty much prevalent again in 2025. Instead, I thought I would just highlight five of my favorite photos from last week…

Read on (and look on) for my five favorite photos from Leavenworth.

⛰️ This photo is my favorite from the trip because, it is, well…our family 😂?  We took the exact same photo last year, too. I don’t think we will go to Leavenworth for a third straight year in 2026 but if we do, you can imagine that we will pose once again on Main St. with the mountains behind us…

This photo of my family epitomizes Leavenworth. We took a photo of us all at the exact same place last year and if we return again we will make sure to take another one,

🐐 Look closely, do you see something besides Sloan and Beau? Ah yes, the goats! These cute guys have a habitat that hugs the putting golf course that is one of the amenities of our hotel, the Enzian Inn. They definitely add a spark of personality to the beautiful course…

Can you spot the two goats behind Beau and Sloan? They loved the goats so much that they each got a stuffed goat from the front desk at the Enzian Inn.

❄️ Brrrr it was freezing in Der Snow Cave, a unique cold treat spot on Main St. that combines shaved ice with Dippin Dots. You can see the treats that Sloan and Beau ordered earlier in this blog post but the photo that truly reminds me of this unique business is below. Sloan posed with the giant Yeti inside Der Snow Cave and I happen to really love it…

I love this photo of Sloan hanging with the Yeti inside Der Snow Cave.

🎶 I have a favorite photo of Beau, too! Every morning during breakfast at the Enzian Inn, they would play the alpine horn. Beau’s concentration on the musician, the colors, and the background make this an image that I will develop a hard copy of…

Everything about this photo of Beau watching the alpine horn performance makes me smile.

🍨 We got dessert every single night we were in Leavenworth (because why not?). But nothing beat the ice cream we got from Whistlepunk Ice Cream Co. the last night we were in town. Read my Google Review if you need more details but it was phenomenal. This photo shows Sid and the kids with their Whistlepunk treats and I just couldn’t leave it out…

Sid and the kids pose with their WhistlePunk ice cream the last night we were in Leavenworth.

Thanks to Sid and the kids for accompanying me on such a fun vacation. Like I mentioned above, I don’t think we will return for a third straight summer but as my wife always points out, I have a habit of making traditions out of things we do twice. Don’t Blink.

Thursday Rundown Returns

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21 Days. 3 weeks. 30,240 minutes. That’s how long it has been since I last wrote a Thursday Rundown. New job and vacation kind of interfered with my weekly topic dump. I hope you can forgive me…

Standing Out – Way back in 2021, I wrote a couple different blog posts that addressed how a family Mexican restaurant can stand out from competitors (here and here). The posts centered on chips and a complimentary dessert option. Thanks to a recent visit to a Spokane Valley Mexican restaurant, I can offer an additional differentiator: a colorful bathroom sink. The below image is from the men’s restroom at the Rancho Viejo in Spokane Valley. How creative and pretty is that? It made me want to wash my hands for five minutes.

I thought this bathroom sink in the Rancho Viejo men’s rest room was very colorful and inviting.

Annual Silverwood Trip – During the school year, Sloan and Beau participated in the Silverwood Theme Park Read 2 Ride program. Because they each logged 10 reading hours, they each received a free pass to the park. We let the kids enjoy the fruits of their labor during the time I had off between jobs. We enjoyed scoping out the water park’s significant improvements and watching Beau navigate his first Silverwood experience. Thanks to Silverwood for offering an educational program with a worthwhile reward.

We had a great family Silverwood trip at the end of July.

Shirley Temples – While in Leavenworth, we gave Sloan and Beau each $30 to spend as they saw fit. It was a good exercise in budgeting and planning. When we ate at restaurants, we stuck with water. However, at one particular spot, Sloan wanted something different. On the kid’s menu at Rhein Haus it listed Shirley Temples under the beverage section. Sloan asked for some of her money to purchase one (it was a restaurant where you went up front to put an order in yourself). Even though Beau had no idea what a Shirley Temple was, he wanted to follow the suit of his sister and order one too. They got more than they bargained for when the bartender mixed up a couple of Shirley Temples in the below big beer mugs. It was one of the better purchases they made with their spending money.

Beau and Sloan with their Shirley Temples from Rhein Haus. 

Alphorn Concert – One other Leavenworth tidbit I will share with you was the alphorn concert we were treated to each morning at breakfast. The Enzian Inn offers two alphorn sessions each morning and our kids were all about it. They would go out on the balcony when the musician would play and then visit with them (a couple different musicians rotated throughout our stay) afterwards. This photo shows Sloan and Beau hanging out with one of the alphorn players who also happens to be the owner of the Enzian inn.

Sloan and Beau pose with Enzian Inn alphorn player (and owner).

Happy Anniversary – I want to wish an early anniversary to my parents. Tomorrow my mom and dad will celebrate their 43rd anniversary. They were married at St. Francis Assisi Catholic Church on Aug. 16, 1981. I am so grateful for the incredible example they have set for what a fruitful marriage is all about.

My mom and dad celebrate their 43rd anniversary tomorrow. They were married at St. Francis of Assisi on Aug. 16, 1981.

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It sure feels good to be writing Thursday Rundowns again! Thanks for reading and I wish you an awesome weekend. Don’t Blink.

Our Leavenworth Summer Vacation

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Our family recently returned from vacation. I am guessing that your initial thought after that first sentence wasn’t Where did you go? but rather How did you go on vacation just a few days after starting a new job? Fair enough. My employer knew when I received the job offer that my family had a vacation planned for the first full week of August. Thanks to Eastern Washington University’s understanding and the fact that all my leave time from WSU transferred to EWU, I was able to make it work.

Okay, so where did we go? Thanks to recommendations, this summer we visited Leavenworth, Washington.

Sloan and Sidney hanging out in downtown Leavenworth.

Even though I grew up in Washington, I had never visited Leavenworth. The fact that it was only three and a half hours away (we didn’t want to travel far) and a totally new place for all four of us made it our preferred option. For those unfamiliar with Leavenworth, it is a town built to resemble a Bavarian village. Everything from the hotels to the shops to the McDonald’s embrace the German-themed identity.

Leavenworth is a Bavarian-themed town in central Washington.

To put it simply, based on our four-day stay, Leavenworth has a quaintness and charm that is utterly endearing. We had an incredible time and are so glad we chose this town nestled in the Cascades for our vacation. Here are 10 themes from our memorable time in central Washington.

We had an amazing time in Leavenworth. I wanted to share with you 10 themes from our vacation.

Wenatchee – Let me start pre-Leavenworth. On Tuesday, we stopped in Wenatchee to stretch our legs, grab some lunch, and kill some time before our 4 p.m. hotel check-in. We ended up at a cool spot called Walla Walla Point Park. We played on the playground and then looked for a geocache that took us to an island within the park. As you can probably tell from the photos, it was hot.

Before arriving in Leavenworth we stopped at Wenatchee and went to Walla Walla Point Park.

The Enzian Inn – Most of what we did started and ended with our hotel. This particular property had everything a family needed to be busy for four days. The “charm” of Leavenworth that I spoke about is very much embodied by the Enzian Inn. If I could describe this hotel in one word it would be wholesome. This place is simply perfect for families and we would stay there again in a heartbeat.

We had it made at the Enzian Inn. Perfect for families!

Swimming – It isn’t vacation without a pool, right? We got our money’s worth with the outdoor and indoor pools on the Enzian property. Large, long, and comfortable, we spent hours at the pools throughout our stay. We met new friends, read our books, and splashed the time away. The numerous hot tubs on site also added to the enjoyment. Perhaps the most memories were made during our night swims—it just doesn’t get more magical than swimming in a well-lit pool when it is pitch dark on vacation.

We spent a lot of time at the Enzian Inn pools.

Golf – Our hotel offered a miniature golf course that guests could play for free. Well, calling it a “miniature golf course” probably isn’t the right phrase. I think the Enzian calls it a “putting course.” The 18-hole oasis is immaculate with perfect greens, flowing water, and roaming wildlife. We played the course three times with Sloan and me starting the day off on the course bright and early for two of them.

A unique feature at the Enzian Inn is a putting golf course that is gorgeous and fun.

Movie Night – Each night our hotel would offer movies at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the family room. Popcorn was popped from an old school machine and you were welcome to take as much as you pleased. The irresistible popcorn aroma would reach our noses and practically pull us into the family room. Sloan watched “Charlotte’s Web” in its entirety while Beau and I watched “Rudy” together. After long days spent in the sun, it was relaxing to sit in the very well air conditioned room and watch a movie while munching on popcorn.

Each night the Enzian Inn offered movies and popcorn in the family room.

Alpine Coaster – Leavenworth has a roller coaster built into one of its signature mountains that is impossible to miss for anyone visiting the town. On Thursday we visited Leavenwoth Adventure Park that is home to the Tumwater Twisted Alpine Coaster. Because it is an alpine coaster, that means the rider controls how fast (or how slow) their respective car/sled goes. Sidney and Sloan rode together and had an absolute blast although there are discrepancies on who wanted to go faster and who was more prone to pump the break.

Sidney and Sloan had a blast on the Tumwater Twisted Alpine Coaster.

The Shops – Downtown Leavenworth is beautiful and eclectic. The variety of shops appealed to both my kids and Sidney. We had fun strolling through toy stores, souvenir shops, the Christmas/nutcracker boutiques, candy stores, and much more. Sloan and Beau each had a set amount of money they could spend as it was entertaining to watch them budget and make decisions on what they wanted to buy.

Downtown Leavenworth has something for everyone.

Food – We went with the Bavarian vibe and dined at a couple different German restaurants. We ate multiple pretzels, tried some sausages, and sampled German potatoes. To be honest, some of the restaurants were hit and miss but we were never dissatisfied with the copious amounts of ice cream we scarfed down throughout our trip.

We ate our share of pretzels and ice cream while in Leavenworth.

Games – The family room of our hotel offered ping pong, shuffleboard, pool, and skee-ball. We played all four. Sidney and I had some competitive and spirited ping pong matches while Beau impressed me with his serve. We also had fun with the jumbo Jenga set and wide selection of board games.

We took advantage of the many games available in the family room of the Enzian Inn.

Family Time In Room – For all the fun and excitement that the Enzian and Leavenworth offered, my favorite part of vacation was probably just hanging with my family at the end of the day in our hotel room. After dinner, swimming, movies, and games finished up, we would head back to our room and watch the Olympics, eat a dessert, and enjoy endless laughs. It simply didn’t get any better and was the highlight of my trip. As we hung out talking and joking with each other as it grew late, I kept thinking to myself, this is what vacation is all about.

I really treasured the fun nights we spent together in our Enzian Inn hotel room after long, fun days.

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Mark my words, one of these days we will return to Leavenworth. It is a special place with plenty to do for families. Speaking of families, I feel so fortunate that I got several days with just Sidney, Sloan, and Beau. I will latch onto the memories made and look forward to next time. Thanks be to God. Don’t Blink.