Ersatz

A couple of hours away from Seattle is the tourist trap of Leavenworth, Washington. A good-sized chunk of downtown Leavenworth is done up as if it were a Bavarian village, and if pretzels, bratwurst and dirndls are your thing, the locals are ready and waiting to hook you up. Still, for all of the kitsch and accordion music, it can be a diverting place to spend a weekend afternoon, and the drive out through the mountains can be remarkably scenic.

Being a good distance away from Seattle, however, means that it's squarely in Trump country, and the day we went out, there were people standing on street corners with MAGA 2020 signs, and a couple of the businesses posted that if you weren't wearing a facemask, they'd assume you have a valid medical reason. Never let it be said that politics ever takes a holiday, even when the tourists are in town.