Thinking of visiting Leavenworth with the kid early December probably round the 8th. How bad are the roads at this time of year? Will i need chains like Oregon? There seems to be a few breweries around, does anyone know if they are any good and teen friendly? Last of all better to lodge at Wenatchee or Leavenworth?
Icicle is kid friendly in Leavenworth, as is Badger Mountain in Wenatchee. We also really like the Pybus Market in Wenatchee. There's a newish brewery in Leavenworth called Dog Haus or something. Haven't been. Also unsure about Mt Index Brewing being kid friendly.
Are you sure of this? To my (admittedly hungover, and starting a new drunk day, sobriety be damned!) recollection they were 21+. Which seems odd in a touristy town. I highly recommend the the meat store just down the street as well. For clarity, Icicle kicks ass!!!!!! On a highly personal note, my friend Sandi runs a little store in Wenatchee, focusing on local veggies, fruits and such.http://www.rhubarbmarket.com/ She does stock some beer, but nothing us nerds would geek out over. Maybe go buy a thing, and tell her Terry says HI!? BTW, a highly thought of taco truck parks in her lot. Aint sayin',just sayin'.
This time of year, I would expect you'll need chains if you're going over the Snoqualmie pass on I-90. At least I would plan for it if you're going that way. I would also expect the same if you plan on taking hiway 97 into Leavenworth from I-90. That being said, you can probably avoid having to use chains at all if instead, you take I-84 over to I-82, and drive up that way to Wenatchee and Hiway 2. I'm no expert on this, but the wife and I drove out that way a couple of months ago, and we drove south after visiting Leavenworth on Hiway 97 to get to I-90. There were numerous signs for chain requirements along the way, and this time of year, I would expect there to be a fair amount of snow over the pass. In terms of lodging, I can't help you. I would expect Leavenworth to have the more expensive lodging this time of year, assuming you can even find a vacancy. If it were me, I'd give some consideration to spending the day in the area, and then spending the night down in Yakima. Lodging should be considerably cheaper and more readily available down there, and it's not all that far a drive to get down there from Leavenworth/Wenatchee. You'll also have a shorter drive the next day, assuming you're taking the I-82/I-84 route home to Salem. Good luck and have fun.
Going to go the I-84 to I-82 route but carry chains anyway ( god i hate putting those on), Since Bale Breaker is Yakima..thanks for that suggestion.
If you stop in Yakima, Cowiche Canyon Kitchen is worth a stop. Great food, solid taplist and they are the only place that carries Haas' (Hop consortium) experimental beers.
I assumed you meant in Yakima, not Leavenworth, so I changed that for you. I'm assuming there isn't one in Leavenworth as well. :-) And since you recommended it several months ago, the wife and I always stop there, whenever we're anywhere near Yakima. I would also add that the portions tend to be huge there as well.
