We left town for a three-day weekend (I’m using “weekend” out of deference to my husband who still goes to work, not for me, for whom every day could be Saturday), the first traveling we’ve done since we went to China in 2007. We’ve had a good excuse for staying home: it took one year to plan a new house, one to build it, the third year — and only 29 to go — to pay for it, while also cleaning out and selling a house after my father-in-law died. Although our destination, Lake Chelan, didn’t offer quite the variety of experiences that China did, it was pleasant to leave town for a few days, especially to witness the changes in season.
We traveled there via Snoqualmie and Blewitt passes. Blewitt is by far the most scenic, since it has a two-lane highway that forces the roadway to butt right up to the canyon walls. It rained off and on from Seattle to the first pass, but from that point on we saw only sunshine and a clear sky that was a ringer for Dodger blue.
We arrived at Campbell’s Resort Hotel about 4:30, having had to take a detour to Leavenworth to stock up on gingerbread men and women from the Ginger Bread Factory for the weekend. When I told several friends we were staying here they gave me a disappointed look; when I asked why they said, “Oh nothing. It’s just old.” It seemed to have been spiffed up since the days when “old” was the only thing people could say about it, and we did love having free wifi and being able to step onto our balcony for an unobstructed view of the lake. We would also be happy to give testimony on behalf of the blueberry-pomegranate sorbet served in the hotel’s bistro. It is the best anywhere. Our only complaint might be the bathroom, whose size and fixtures were built with Lilliputians in mind.
Before the sun went down, I noticed that the dozens of planter boxes on every floor of the hotel were filled with bright red, as in not-yet-scraggly-and-dying geraniums and other blooms, evidence of a different climate over here. And pots of coleus decorated the business district. 
I took pictures of one of the funniest blooms I’ve ever seen. Let’s guess the message the hotel was sending its customers in planting these.
Still Life 
I think there’s a gifted gardener in Chelan, who knows how to work wonders with amaranth.
Ann: I’m sure the message is “We’re number one.”
And I can hardly wait to tell Art Campbell the next time we are in Chelan about the great floral photos you have on your blog site! Kalispera from Greece – you have a reader here now.
Our sons worked at Campbells for several college summers (waiters), and one (Jack) also tutored Art Campbell’s son. Campbells is great, and apparently quite successful. It is like the town’s sentinel; it has been wonderfully maintained and expanded. Unlike many business that fold after the tourists go home, Campbells has endured.
We spend a lot of time at our home on Lake Chelan, and our kids and their friends all think of it as THE GATHERING PLACE. So I’m sure Sharon had it right about the amaranth giving the message that Chelan is Number One.
It’s fun to read your impressions, Ann.