Highlights of our Lake Chelan Vacation
Our Lake Chelan vacation was fantastic, and we wanted to share the highlights of our time around the lake between Manson and Chelan.
Family Vacations as Adults
We work hard to balance our time across relaxation, enjoying local sights and sounds, and spending time with each other. When you have seven adults vacationing together for five days, it is important to have the ability for everyone to make use of their vacation in the balance they desire. We are grateful our family feels the ability to still vacation together as adults but own the time as their own.
Our son Zak decided to not come up with us Wednesday, but rather join us on Friday. Our son-in-law Kaleb enjoys time on his own relaxing in solitude for much of the day and would often choose to join everyone for the midday meal and evenings in the hot tub or around the fire. My (Denice) parents love to go out and do things together, but primarily in the morning or early afternoon hours and are ready to call it a day much earlier. Zeek, I, and our daughter Lexi love to be going from mid-morning until the evening and are often up and about for much of the day!
Without that freedom given to each family member to vacation how they want, there is no way we could enjoyably and peacefully continue to vacation as a family! We are grateful that everyone has the opportunity and feels able to enjoy their time the way they want.
The House
To facilitate a great vacation for everyone, the most important piece is the house… This year we stayed at a spectacularly beautiful house just a couple miles from downtown Manson called “Wine Country” hosted by Ron and Diane. Large enough for everyone to have their own space, with comfortable seating areas, a fantastic outdoor area on the decks, and beds that were easy to sleep in, it was a perfect space for us!
In addition, the property location was fantastic, with gorgeous views! It was the perfect place to recharge and relax!
Chelan Farmer’s Market
We love to support local businesses (but you probably already know that if you have read a few of our other posts). We found out the weekly Chelan farmer’s market was held Thursday afternoons from 2-6pm downtown, and we had to stop in.
Not only did we get to dance to fantastic live music, but we also got to chat with Summer Miller, owner of Unbroken Jewelry. She repurposes old items to make jewelry. This concept of no waste is something I (Denice) absolutely love! And the jewelry is gorgeous. I left with a stunning necklace!
Fishing in the Lake
A favorite part of these family vacations for me (Zeek) is fishing with my father-in-law Tom and my daughter. We raised our kids on a lake where I spent most of my summers as a kid, and fishing is reminiscent of those times we would spend together when they were younger. While we didn’t catch anything, we enjoyed having a line in the water for a few hours.
However, my daughter is the first and only person I’ve ever known to, while simply reeling in a line, have the reel of a fishing pole fall apart in her hands. This happened off the dock once when she was younger, and again this trip. This time though she caught everything but the bolt holding in the reel… That hilarious encounter alone made the fishing trip worth it!
Fun at the House: Soaking in the Hot Tub and Puzzling Together
Simultaneously the best way to start and end the day is in a steaming hot tub. We ended up with a little cooler weather, primarily in the high 60s, and the warmth of the hot tub in the cold breeze of the morning or evening was perfect! Those who didn’t want to get in the hot tub would gather nearby in lawn chairs to chat and continue enjoying time together!
One of our other favorite things to have while on vacation is an active puzzle. We normally pick one out a few weeks prior and set it up on the kitchen table when we arrive. I (Denice) and my mom Ramona get to work building the frame and work on it for the first day or two. After we have started to make a little progress, Kaleb finds himself interested and always makes sure we get it finished before we leave! It is a fun little side project while waiting on folks to get ready or while eating breakfast and throughout the day!
Enjoying the Great Outdoors
The great part about being a few miles away from the main downtown area is the wildlife that comes out! We enjoyed deer from the hot tub, pheasants from the porch, and snakes and lizards in the driveway!
One of the craziest moments was late at night on our last night of vacation. My (Zeek) in laws and Denice had gone off to bed, and the kids were puttering around packing up a few things and getting ready to turn in for the night. Around 11:00pm, I went to take the garbage out to the dumpster at the end of the driveway. As I stepped off the porch enjoying the cool evening air and started to walk down the gravel driveway, I heard a loud huff that stopped me in my tracks, followed by loud stomping and more huffing just beyond the edge of the driveway into the thick trees. I turned tail and bolted back through the front door to the surprise of Lexi and Kaleb who were nearby inside. “I think I just heard a bull elk challenging me” I told them! We gathered near the front windows and shined flashlights out the window and honked the horn on the cars to see if we could get it to show itself at all.
After a minute or two of no success, we decided to just give the driveway some space… Until we figured out Zak was hanging out in his car about 20 yards or so away from the house (in the direction of the huffing). After a quick call to him to tell him to stay put, we proceeded to shine more lights and honk more horns on the cars to see if anything came about… I eventually walked out to his car to get him inside. After the 20 minute or so affair, we decided that it must have moved along. So, at that point, I took the garbage out much to the chagrin of my daughter. But all that excitement eventually led to nothing else.
Shopping in Downtown Chelan
While we may have been enjoying nature, we were still barely 15 minutes from downtown Chelan. And only 15 minutes away from the great shopping and restaurants! My (Denice) mom Ramona loves a good chance to shop, and we all loved a chance to explore the local businesses. We walked away with some treats for ourselves, from clothes to fudge, and some fun gifts for others. And on the way back, we stopped for a root beer float for my dad, Tom!
Family Vacation
Our week was across the board fantastic in case that wasn’t obvious. We’ve dedicated other posts to the wine tasting and a post on our dancing will be coming soon. But in the meantime, we wanted to share highlights of all the fun things we did together throughout our week in Manson, WA.
