LOCATION: Near Bellingham, Washington, near British Columbia border.
WEATHER: Rain most of the day. Highs around 50
We decided to take the ferry, rather than navigate the busy interstate through Tacoma and Seattle. The ferry was about an hour from my cousin's house. As soon as we arrived, we boarded. No line. They slammed the gate shut, and off we sailed! What luck with timing! The crossing was only about 30 minutes. We landed in Edmonds, just north of Seattle's busy traffic. What a good decision!
We immediately drove to Bothell, Washington, home of McMenamins newest properties. They bought a middle school and converted it to a destination. We walked around its 3 restaurants and 5 bars, including a tiki bar next to theschool's old swimming pool, now a spa. The hotel rooms are converted classrooms. All done very tastefully. We had lunch in the school's former wood shop.
The only problem is that it is very popular, due to its newness. Consequently, the parking lot was packed. We found a quasi-parking space in the back, then realized we were trapped. Our Kane had become a one-way parking area, with no exit. After lunch, we went back to the airstream and tried to figure something out. George talked with some construction guys and they offered to move their gate, then he precariously backed up into the construction zone from which we were able to exit. It was dicey! About 5 construction guys stopped working to watch the show.
Our destination was the Bellingham area, featured in my book "1000 Places To Go Before You Die". We found a deserted state park campground. After setting up, in the mud, we took a hike to the beach. We watched a beautiful sunset over the water. Then, it almost immediately turned dark. We hadn't brought our flashlights. George thought he knew a shortcut through the woods. It turned out to be a dead-end with the trail ending at a steep cliff down to the rocks below. Meanwhile, darker and darker. It was getting hard to see the exposed tree roots and rocks in the trail. I sat down several times to slide down inclines rather than risking a fall. Finally, we made it back to civilization. Yay!
George made a great fire and we got nice and toasty. I cooked dinner in a skillet over the fire. Then, we went into the camper to eat. The lights began to dim; the battery started to die. We ate by candlelight. Then, it died altogether meaning the fan that runs the propane heater stopped. It got very cold. We jumped into bed, cuddling to keep warm, and listened to a good Canadian public radio show. A real adventure!
DINNER: Sautéed potato slices with green onion, zucchini and pork slices.
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