After the treehouse trip, I was obsessed with surprising The Dude with more unique places to stay. And then I remembered a certain place I had heard about years ago, out in Zillah, Washington. Where? Basically just a little past Yakima, fruit stand capitol of the world!
So I ran a couple dates by The Dude, made a call, secured a reservation, and marked our calendar for Father's Day weekend. Since we were going to be gone all weekend, we decided to bring Hen along and introduce him to the other side of the state.
The Dude had no idea where we were going. All he knew was that we were headed to Yakima, I mean, the Palms Springs of Washington.
Of course it was grey and drizzly when we left Seattle and it continued to be that way until we got over the pass, but once we did? Sweet, sweet vitamin d. Our first stop was the Yakima Valley Museum. The place was definately worth a stop (considering what else Yakima has to offer) but we breezed through there in less than hour.
And then we headed off the the actual surprise location, Cherry Wood Bed and Breakfast, to sleep in teepees! With beds! Fully furnished! Like houses! And personal firepits outside! And all the ingredients for s'mores in a mini fridge just inside the teepee flap!
The only things is. Teepees? In 90 degree temperatures? Sitting in the blazing sun? They be hot. Especially when there's only one tiny little flap in which to let any of the hot air out. So we cranked the portable a/c, opened the flap and then decided go wander around the property awhile.
The next morning Hen decided 5AM was a good time to get up. 6 month olds are strange like that. Normally I wouldn't have minded so much but I didn't want to wake up all our other teepee neighbors, so I put him into the carrier and went for a walk. Cherry Wood also happens to be a working ranch with horses and chickens and, of course, rows of cherry trees. But they're also surrounded by acres of vineyards and wineries.
Later, at a more reasonable hour The Dude woke up and I surprised him with some Father's Day gifts. And while he spent some quality time with his 1st born, I took a shower outdoors (calm down, there were walls) while I gazed up at nothing but blue sky above me. That happened.
On our way back home, we stopped at a fruit stand and bought far too much fruit including these strawberry cherries. They sounded exotic, and don't get me wrong, they were good, but they were no dark cherry. I'll take a bing or lapine anyday.
Back home we settled in for the night and spent the rest of the evening snuggling and laying low. First Father's Day for The Dude. Best Father's Day yet.
