Ellensburg

Last weekend, Ken and I visited our cousin Shaun in Ellensburg, (Eastern) Washington.  Our cousin had invited us to come visit as soon as he heard that we had moved to Seattle.  "That's Ellensburg;" he wrote. "Only 100 miles east of you. We'll need to hang soon."

We took a two hour drive into the heart of nothingness, or Eastern Washington, to a small town of 18,000 residents (10,000 of which are students at Central Washington University) that, according to its website, offers big city amenities and small town charm.

The big city amenities we drove by included a run-down Casino, Jack in the Box, and what Shaun tells us is the most frequented Subway in America.  The town is know for its June "Dachshund Parade", drawing Dachshunds from all over the Northwest, celebrated for its July "Jazz in the Valley" and famous for its Labor Day Weekend Rodeo.  I clearly have my weekends booked this summer!


We walked a block and a half over to the Farmer's Market and passed a Thai restaurant on the way home. 

"How is that?" Ken asked skeptically.

"When it opened, a co-worked told me about the new thigh place in town.  She said 'We ordered 'Pad Thigh.'  It's like sweet noodles.'"

We skipped trying the thigh food, and Shaun took us on a hike that he promised wouldn't be too difficult.  Ken would be fine in jeans.  Turns out, it was difficult.  Shaun is practically 8 feet tall (when we hugged him outside his apartment upon arrival, I was on the lower step and it made for a very awkward, unbalanced hug.  Then I looked down and saw that I was on the same step as him.  He's just that tall), hikes and exercises in the outdoors regularly, and has calves muscles the size of my mid thigh.  We were walking up what felt like a 70 degree incline and sweating away while Shaun dashed in front of us, occasionally pausing so we could catch up.  We will have to work our way up to his "easy" "hikes".

Afterwards, we got some inexpensive drinks from the wine bar below his apartment.  The waitress was new and very overwhelmed by her 4 tables, and Shaun had to help her identify the wine bottle that matched the glass I ordered.  When more customers came in, she completely lost it and she didn't check in on us again.

To conclude our evening, we walked to the local university that makes up over 55% of the population to see a stand up comedy show, and walked home after.  You can walk everywhere.  Very few establishments are open late (after 9 PM), so we retired to his apartment for a drink with his friends.

The outdoor stuff looks really fun, and Ken and I are planning on visiting again.