We shoved off Friday morning and headed east. The wildfires and air quality were a little concerning, but thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.
Our first stop was Cle Elum for lunch and groceries. Lunch at The Cottage has become part of the routine, so naturally, that’s where we went. Kathy and I split a club sandwich, which was delicious, but honestly, I couldn’t stop thinking about the enormous cinnamon roll I had spotted the second we walked through the door.
So, obviously, I bought one.
It was intended to be shared with Kathy over the course of the weekend. And it was. Eventually. I regret nothing.
After lunch, we made a quick stop at the Safeway for groceries. Apparently, this is THE busiest Safeway in the entire state of Washington. I believe it. For someone who gets annoyed by people on a good day, I was dangerously close to losing my patience in that store. We got what we needed and got the heck out.
Next stop: the bakery.
Going through Cle Elum has always meant a stop at Owen’s Meats for our family. It was tradition to get jerky and pepperoni rope, then walk across the street to the bakery for a maple bar. Unfortunately, Owen’s jerky hasn’t been great the last couple of years, so we skipped that part of the tradition.
The bakery, however, was non-negotiable. Their maple bars are to die for, and some traditions are worth protecting.
Eventually, we made it to the “cabin.” I call it a cabin even though it’s technically just a house. But it’s surrounded by woods, so cabin it is. And I absolutely love this place. The view is gorgeous, and I can completely understand why people love getting away to the woods. There’s something about being surrounded by trees that makes you breathe a little deeper.
We got settled and spent some time just hanging out. Before dinner, we had appetizers on the deck—good dips, good company, and that beautiful view. Honestly, I could have stayed there all night.
Dinner was a frozen pizza because sometimes a girls’ weekend calls for culinary excellence, and sometimes it calls for putting a pizza in the oven. Dessert was ice cream. Dah. Followed by watching Gone Girl and completely vegged out. It was fantastic.
Saturday morning was gloriously lazy. Eventually, we got ourselves moving and headed to Ellensburg to wander around the farmers market. We were meeting my friend Kara for lunch, so we got there a little early to poke around.
It’s a small market with all the usual farmers market suspects—fresh fruits and vegetables, honey, homemade goodies, meats, and various things that make you feel like you should probably be living a more wholesome life.
It was just the right size.
I was specifically on the lookout for nectarines and kielbasa. I found both. Although I was a little confused by the kielbasa because it wasn’t smoked or cooked. Apparently, that’s a thing. Who knew?
The nectarines, however, were amazing.
I kept referring to them as apricots. Over and over. Sherrie finally looked at me like I had completely lost my mind and explained that, no, the things I had purchased were definitely nectarines and not apricots.
This will be funny for years.
We met Kara for lunch at a little Mexican restaurant called La Santa, which is located in an old church. I ordered the cheese enchiladas and...
Oh.
My.
Gawd.
Those may have been the best enchiladas I’ve ever had. The red sauce was so flavorful that I actually had to stop for a minute and appreciate what was happening in my mouth. Sometimes food deserves a moment of silence.
After lunch, we took the scenic route back to the cabin. Because we were in no hurry. That’s kind of the whole point of this weekend.
We took a little nappy-nap when we got back, because apparently we were 80-year-old women who had been through a very demanding day of farmers market shopping and enchilada eating.
And honestly? It was wonderful.
There is something so nice about being somewhere with absolutely nowhere you need to be.
Dinner that night was Kathy’s famous salmon. We’ve had it a couple of times now, and it never disappoints. Cilantro-lime salmon with roasted potatoes and broccoli. Delicious.
That evening we watched Remarkably Bright Creatures. Somehow, I managed not to cry, which I consider a personal victory. It’s my next book club selection, and after seeing the movie, I’m even more excited to read the book.
Sunday morning came far too quickly. The others took their time getting up. I, naturally, was awake early because apparently my internal clock has decided sleeping in is no longer an option.
Each morning, I made a cup of coffee, grabbed a blanket, and went out to sit on the back deck. Those quiet mornings were probably my favorite part of the whole weekend. Just me, my coffee, the trees, and my thoughts. No schedule. No errands. No rushing around. Just quiet.
It’s always such a good weekend when we head out to the cabin. There aren’t many opportunities these days to simply slow down and do absolutely nothing without feeling like you should be doing something else.
The cabin gives us permission to do that.
We can be busy if we want to be. We can go explore, go to the farmers market, find great food, take the long way home, or watch movies. Or we can sit on the deck with a cup of coffee and stare at the trees.
This year, we did a little of both.
And before we even left, we put next year’s weekend on the calendar. Because apparently the Crabs have finally figured out that if we don’t schedule the fun, life will happily schedule everything else for us.
Next year, there will hopefully be one more Crab.
And there will definitely be cinnamon rolls.
