After living here for almost 10 years and always hearing about Lake Chelan, it was about time we made our way up there to check it out for ourselves. And if it wasn't for my parents for banking their timeshare in Tahoe to use up at Chelan who knows if we would have gone up there otherwise.
We were a little worried about the time of the year that we were going, May 30-June 3, but luckily this has been an unseasonably warmer year and the weather was great while in Chelan!!! We got some sun, decently warm weather
(not too hot), some evening thunderstorms and a little rain.
The best part about the drive up to Chelan is that you can go right through Leavenworth
(one of our favorite little tourist towns to visit). It's the perfect pitstop for lunch and a stretch break for all of us
(but mostly the kids after a 2 hour car ride).
Leavenworth pitstop with gelato of course!
We stayed at a place called
Wapato Point. We weren't sure what to expect, but had heard good things about the place. And sure enough we were pleasantly surprised by what it had to offer for all ages!!
We spent the first evening on May 30th just checking the place out by walking around and exploring the beaches and all that it had to offer. This place had it all...good kid friendly beaches with great sand for playing in, little play areas galore, a mini golf area, boat rentals, bike rentals, indoor and outdoor pools, etc. Seemed like a place we could really spend a week (my parents stayed a whole week, but Jason had to get home to get back to work).
Walking the boat docks with Grams and Gramps after our arrival
For our first full day on May 31st we were having a tough time deciding what to do. Looking at the weather for the time we were there, this looked like the best day to do a water activity. So we decided to rent a "party boat" so we could see more of the lake. 4 hours might have been a bit long for the kids, but we had a fun time cruising around. All but Hailey and myself were brave and even did a quick swim in the COLD lake. Cammy didn't last more than 20 seconds accompanied by a lot of screaming and drama, but she was braver than me for at least trying it!!
Our boat for the afternoon
I think my parents are back in their happy place on a boat!
Cammy helping daddy drive the boat for a bit
This was Cammy after her 20 seconds in the COLD water
The smart one holding down the fort while the others swim
The crazy lake swimmers
The girls checking out the huge fish surrounding our boat!
Family photo opt on the boat
Trying to get the girls to fall asleep for a short boat nap
Mommy and Cammy soaking up the sun on the front of the boat
June 1st we went to breakfast at a highly recommended restaurant called
Blueberry Hills. It was such a beautiful place to be able to just sit on the deck and eat and look off into acres and acres of blueberries and other fruits. The food was delish and the owners were wonderful...definitely a place we will be coming back to!! After breakfast we drove around to check out some of the wineries that people talk so highly about. Sadly, nothing was really open on a Monday, let alone as early as we were driving around. So we noted the ones that looked great and plan to come back on our next visits.
After breakfast at Blueberry Hills
We spent the afternoon playing a round of mini golf on the fun little course along the beach, accompanied by a few occasional sprinkles and bursts of sunshine. Hailey lost interest pretty quick (mostly enjoyed just rolling the ball under things or dropping it into each hole), Cammy lasted a bit longer but ended up just going at her fast pace, and the boys played a complete game together. I wouldn't expect anything more from a one year old...why in the world would someone want to take time to try and hit the ball into the hole when you can just walk it up there and drop it right in?!
Ready for some mini golf
Hailey's version of how you should play...drop the ball in the hole
Cammy getting better at her form
Hailey loved to just roll the ball under this building the watch it come out
An attempt at a family photo
Crazy static hair!!
On June 2nd we spent some time at the pool (as most days were spent when there was nothing else going on). In the afternoon while the kids napped, Jason and I decided to have a little fun and went to talk with a real estate agent about getting in on our own timeshare at this place. After just a few days at Wapato Point we both realized that with young kids, flying for vacations is not really going to be too easy. We needed a place to go to that was an easy drive and fun for everyone. I grew up going to my families Lake Tahoe timeshare every single summer and I have the BEST memories from that place. I wanted to create something like that for my kids and Lake Chelan seemed like the perfect place to do that. And so by the end of the day and after a couple hours of touring different places on the property we decided to take a leap of faith and put in an offer on a place. And low and behold, we got the place that we wanted, which we found out about a week later!
The pool that goes with our unit
(what we think is the best view out of all the pools)
The very end unit is ours!!!
The view from our unit
(and so close to the beach that the girls like playing at)
The grandparents played "mommy and daddy" with the girls while we were busy talking timeshares and they had a fun time down at the beach playing in the sand and braving the cold water. By the time we got down there with them the clouds had really rolled in and we were able to watch the not too far away thunder and lightning storms moving in. That got us moving off the beach pretty quickly, but the kids were quite sad to end the fun, so we had to promise an after dinner swim in the indoor pool :)
Hailey working away on the beach
Cammy collecting water to help make a sand castle
Gramps and daddy working fast to build Cammy a sand castle before the storm rolled in
Watching the lightning and listening to the thunder
Wednesday, June 3rd was our pack up day. It was sad to leave my parents knowing they got to stay for the rest of the week, but it was a good little visit to let us see what Chelan was all about. We cannot wait until we get to come back to our own unit in mid September again!!! Let the family memories begin...4 times a year I might add!!!!
