We got to the Amtrak bus station in plenty of time to catch our 8.50am bus but it was running about half an hour late. We finally got going but there was heavy traffic getting out of Seattle. We headed out the same way we had gone to the Boeing factory and snow capped mountains were clearly visible. It wasn't long before we started going up and snow started appearing on the ground outside. The further we went up the more snow started to appear and eventually we started to see fir trees covered in snow and frozen ponds. The bus trip was just over 3hrs long. About 45 mins out of Leavenworth it started to snow. The temperature also dropped & the side of the bus got really cold.

The bus dropped us off at a service station on the outskirts of Leavenworth. There was one taxi waiting for an older couple but no others. There was a bus going to Leavenworth but the driver isn't know if he went near our hotel. He was very non-committal about where he went so we decided to follow the other people who had got off the bus and start walking. It was snowing & the footpaths were covered in snow so it was hard work with our bags. We hadn't been going long when the metal handle completely snapped off Robyn's suitcase. That made it extremely hard for her to drag it along. We eventually made it the 5 or 6 blocks into the main part of town and had to ask 3 people before someone could tell us where our street was.

We finally got to Pension Anna where we were greeted by a man in lederhosen who welcomed us & took us to our room.

We dropped our bags & headed out. The town is based on a Bavarian village so most of the buildings, including the hospital are built in that style. There are Christmas decorations everywhere and half a million lights. It looks very beautiful.

We knew it was going to be cold. We had checked the weather & knew the top temperature today was going to be -5. I had no idea what that would feel like - it feels really cold! We stopped for soup for lunch to warm up. In the restaurant we picked up a brochure of events for the Lighting Festival. After lunch we looked in some of the shops, including the Australian Store which sold very few Australian things - Vegemite, Tim Tams & Akubras - and then went over to the Visitors Centre to ask about sleigh rides. There is one company that will pick up from town otherwise we can book a taxi to take us up to the mountain resorts that do the sleigh rides. We also asked about snowmobile tours but have decided not to do it as it can be a little risky and is specifically excluded on our travel insurance.