Happy Friday! We’re not into fancy trips. Or long ones. Last weekend, we went on one of our typical low-budget micro-vacations in Central Washington, and it fully reinforced how much we enjoy these.
We stayed in a town called Roslyn made famous via Northern Exposure, a cult TV classic from the 90s. Whenever we go to Roslyn, we avoid the Suncadia resort and stay at the Huckleberry House. We actually thought that the Huckleberry House had closed its doors to business, but I recently got an email announcing a spring special so I delightedly booked two nights.
We had so much fun! The restaurants are excellent, and we filled our bellies with homey deliciousness at the Red Bird Cafe and Roslyn Cafe; M and I also thoroughly savored the great coffee at Basecamp Books and Bites. I really love that combination of coffee shop + book shop, and if I ever retire early (M would argue that I have, in fact, already done that) it’s something I’d consider doing. M and K went biking while I took a walk and familiarized myself with their literary inventory — it’s small, but a well-curated one with an emphasis on outdoor activities and nature topics.
Though 30 long miles away, it was worth the drive to hit up the Ellensburg community pool recreational swim time. We laughed so hard trying to play water basketball, I snorted up an unhealthy amount of water. M forgot his “Dapper Dan” as he calls his hair grooming product, so we somehow ended up at a dollar store on a hilarious quest for some sort of Dapper Dan. He found some sketchy-looking hair gel and K scored some hairbands (exhibit A in photo above). There were 10 headbands in a pack, so each one effectively cost a dime. It made me wonder what you can buy with a dime these days. I feel like I wrote that exact same sentence before. Early Alzheimers… At any rate, after dinner, we cozied up in the well-appointed room filled with worn antiques/vintage furniture and watched Boss Baby on M’s laptop. Yep, un-fancy.
We settled ourselves into the comfortable old sofas in a lounge area and played board games and read a lot during down time. About a year ago, I got this digital book subscription for K that she LOVES. It’s called Epic, and for 5 bucks a month, K can read as many books as she wants from the thousands upon thousands available in digital format. This includes award-winning books and comics and even audio books. Similar to Amazon, the app will list books that she might like based on previous selections, and she adores this feature. I like that I get a weekly report on how much she’s reading as well as what she’s reading, and her numbers are impressive. She clocks in about 500 to 700 minutes a week. And this is just for Epic. She’s a true bookworm and loves good ole analog books too. All this to say, in the photo above K is using the Epic app on my iPad Mini. These are the times when I think technology is awesome.
We were back in Seattle by early afternoon on Sunday, totally refreshed. Ahhhhh. Yet another successful micro-vacation! There will be more in the future!
Have you been on a trip recently? Or do you have plans for an upcoming out-of-town adventure?
Time for me to go back to illustrating. Have a fantastic weekend, my friends! And Happy Mother’s Day to all you mamas out there!
The micro-vacays
have become my specialties
I love to plan them
We love the Huckleberry House, too! It’s a very special place for our family. I love the idea of short getaways like this but we never plan ahead and then life gets in the way it seems. Happy Friday!
Ah, I know, it can get hairy sometimes with the planning. I’m so glad you like the Huckleberry House too! Don, the owner is so nice! Hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day, Jill!
Our vacations are not too great. I love the way you get acquainted with the whole area. It does look cozy. I also hate to pack. So complicated!
As I plan for our upcoming trip to Japan, I’m feeling pretty daunted by the idea of packing, so I absolutely get it. For these quick trips though, I don’t worry too much about what I include since with my newly minimalized wardrobe, I hardly have anything to take with me as it is! Hope you were celebrated with panache for Mother’s Day, Greta!
Mini vacations are fantastic! If packing and going is at all stressful, it seems do-able to just go for two nights.
Technology is indeed wonderful! Can you believe, when my second sewing machine stopped working, instead of waiting months for parts, as I did the last time it was serviced and fixed, I jumped straight online, ordered the parts from the US, and today got an email to say they are being dispatched. The internet is amazing!
Glad you had such a lovely, restful and restorative weekend!
That’s so excellent that you were able to get replacement parts so easily, Jenny! I had a similar experience with our vintage bathroom basin – the interwebs can be so helpful. 🙂 Hope all is well!