The water is everywhere in Seattle, so we haven’t exactly been in the desert lately. It’s just that today was more so.
But first, a word about yesterday. It was spent doing some fun things, including a trip to Boeing for its factory tour. (So yesterday was about the sky.) This was very cool, except for the fact that every single electronic device had to go into a locker, so no industrial sabotage or pictures of them building their beautiful new planes, including the 787 Dreamliner. Amazing and huge – in fact, the first factory we were in was the world’s largest building in terms of cubic feet. (Yes, there were lots of football field metrics, but I forgot them.)
We did note that these planes all sound fabulous until “the customer,” aka your favorite airline, determines exactly how many seats they would like to squeeze into that new space. Oh well, at least the windows are getting larger.
Now for the water part. We left the lovely town of Kirkland this morning and headed north. We started by reaching the ferry which took us to the island of Whidbey. This was a quick ride on a huge ferry which must be packed in the summer. Our first stop was the town of Langley, whose 19th century roots are still on display.
We explored a bit more in the lovely town of Coupeville, which has the Island County Historical Society Museum. It boasts the first car on the island, as well as part of a 120,000-year-old Bronze Age tree, as well as many other local artifacts, including an old stockade and several Indian canoes.
Right outside the town are oyster beds from which come the lovely Penn Cove specimens that Don rates highly. A lovely area…
It was then on to Deception Pass, a treacherous body of water with a striking bridge built by CCC in the 30’s. The drop and the wildly churning water underneath were both dramatic.
Next, the very gentrified and highly curated town of La Conner, famous for tulips (lots of Dutch settled here after the war), wild turkeys, a writers’ colony, and cinnamon buns. We were lucky not to see the buns, but we did have a lovely lunch (fried oyster sandwich and mac/cheese (from the Tillamook Dairy we toured), saw a local character with color, and a took a walk through the Museum of Northwestern Art.
Our last stop on the way north was at the Taylor Shellfish Farms on Samish Bay. This will just give you an idea of the prices you probably don’t get where you live, and maybe provide a whiff of the sea.
Now we are in historic Bellingham, having reached here via lovely Chuckanut Drive. (Doesn’t that sound like a great name for a candy bar?) We are having dinner with our favorite collegian, Amelia, daughter of our great friends and very recent hosts, Deb and Pete. She’s here at Western Washington University, and is going to show us the area of Fairhaven.
It has been a very nice week, and it’s only Wednesday…