Road Trip Time!

Destination:  La Conner, WA

Day 1 

So after the big 51, I decided to get outta dodge.

But where to go? The possibilities were endless but, alas, the funds were not. So it had to be quick and cheap.  There was a trip to Palm Springs for $700 for 5 days but I didn’t really fancy frying in the desert by myself for 5 days.

In the end, it was an overnighter to La Conner, WA.  Why?  I’d never been there and it seemed like a nice quiet place to chill out.

Checking out Joe’s

So I hit the road early and made a side trip to the infamous Trader Joe’s.  The buzz around the office was that it was the greatest place to shop and it had the greatest stuff and…..etc.

I guess the build-up was such that I was going to be disappointed.  I wandered up and down the aisles looking for the “good stuff” to jump out at me.  There certainly was a lot of snack food.  The only thing I could find was a container of hummus and some crackers.  Grand total:  $5.97 U.S.

Shopping

Since it was raining, I decided to forgo the drive on the Chuckanut and take the I5 to the outlet malls.  The first mall I hit was almost deserted.  Had good luck in the Maidenform store but bombed at Jones New York.  So I made one more half-hearted attempt to shop at another outlet mall but in the end gave up.  There simply wasn’t anything that I needed that badly.  So – off to La Conner.

La Conner

I arrived a wee bit early for check in so I decided to check out the throbbing metropolis of La Conner.  It is a cute little one street type of town.  One hour and 30 minutes later, I’d pretty much explored all the major routes and shops, including a stop for lunch.

What struck me most was how open and friendly people were.  It was lovely to be able to strike up a conversation with the young lady serving me and chat as if we were already friends.

Having explored the town, I checked into my Inn.  What to do now?  I took one more walk around the town to see what my dining options were.  It was now 3:30 p.m.  Time to check out another mall.

I cruised into Fred Meyer, and then made an attempt to patronize the outlet mall in Burlington but there was little or nothing to be had that couldn’t be purchase on the damp coast for the same price.  Sigh.  It was now 4:30 p.m.

Back to La Conner

It seemed the sidewalks roll up at 5:00 p.m.  I was pretty much the only person on the street.  But, to be fair, it was a Tuesday night in June.  Clearly not the high season.  Guess it was time to dine.

Dining Dilemma

The restaurants, correction, mostly pubs, certainly knew the price of a meal.  It just didn’t feel right spending $30 on a meal in a pub!  Heck I’d spent the same amount of money on a meal at Vij’s and these places, with all due respect, were certainly not in the same league.

The other issue was:  How fresh was the food.  There were not a lot of people about and so I was a little hesitant to be ordering seafood.  It was likely deep frozen and I could certainly do that at home.

In the end, I decided on Marion’s Bistro, a quiet little unassuming place which was the only place in town that had a “fresh” item displayed.  I was the first to arrive, (Agent B would be aghast!  I was eating at 6:00 pm, granny hour).  But I started with a martini and went from there.

The Food

To begin…..

Scanning the menu, I looked for the most interesting item to jump out at me.  It was a grilled romaine wedge with blue cheese, puréed red pepper sauce, bacon bits, and parmesan.  Lovely.  My nephew had dissuaded me from trying grilled romaine, stating it wasn’t anything special.  Clearly he hadn’t tried it this way.  The romaine was barely grilled, just enough to give it a smoky flavor.  The combination of the smoke and the other ingredients made it a delightful taste sensation.  Very satisfying.

The Main Event

For dinner, I chose the “fresh” item:  Seafood linguine Puttanesca.  Very nice.  It had some small cherry bomb peppers which added just enough tangy heat to up the ante on the seafood.  The prawns and whitefish were fresh.  The clincher was the sorbet that I was offered in between the salad and the entrée.  A cleansing sorbet!  I haven’t had that since husband’s cousin’s wedding in Italy!

From the wine list I decided to try a pinot gris from Oregon.  Kings Estate.  Very nice.  Stood up well to the mildly spiced but flavourful pasta.  Another one for the list.

The Service

My server was a lovely young lady who engaged me in just enough conversation to be charming but not the Keg style “I’m your best buddy” nonsense.  She had tried all the dishes I asked about, even the wines, and was able to offered informed opinions without pressing.  Kudos to her.  My bad manners however, made me forget to ask her name.  Shame on me.

Feeling pleasantly suffonsified, I headed back to the Inn where I bathed and watched Captain America.  I fell asleep with visions of Chris Evans in my head.

Road Trip – Day 2 –  Edison

Breakfast

It pleased me to no end that the Inn offered continental breakfast at a decent hour.  It was served from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.  None of this cut off at 9 a.m. nonsense.  That’s one of the reasons I don’t stay at bed and breakfasts.  They always want you up at the crack of dawn.  If I wanted to get up at the same time as when I’m going to work, I’d stay home.

After a repast of fruit, brown toast with peanut butter and weak coffee, I went back to my room to shower, again.  It turned out that the leave in conditioner I had slathered on my hair the night before was in fact oil.  I woke to discover my hair was as slick as John Travolta’s in Grease.  Luckily check out wasn’t until noon.

One last Look

Packed and ready to go, I decided to take one more jaunt down the main drag.  I stopped for a stiff coffee and walked along the boardwalk.  It was going to be a lovely sunny day.  I spotted a sculpture dedicated to Kirsten Bjerregaard.  That ain’t a Scandinavian name at all, eh?

I sat on the boardwalk, drinking my coffee while the breeze off the water caressing my face.  Life was good.

Edison

So in my preparation for my little adventure, I came across the Chuckanut Drive Business Association’s map of things to do on the Chuckanut.  It mentioned that Edison was a picturesque little town with a great bakery and a cheese maker nearby.  Being a bit of a foodie, I had to check it out.  Besides, I had to drive through Edison to get to the Chuckanut.

Bread

Edison is a small spit of town with a road that twists and turns around the buildings.  I pulled up in front of the Breadfarm bakery.  Obviously I wasn’t the only one who’d read about good bread.  There was a steady stream of customers – steady for a relatively out of the way place.  Next to the bakery was a wine and cheese café.  On the other “side” of the street was the Longhorn Tavern.  What a great town – wine, cheese, good bread and beer all in one convenient location.

Cheese

After spending far too much on bread, I headed down the road to Sawish Cheese Farms.  The tasting room was very small but the lady who greeted me was charming.  I sampled a number of the cheeses and, of course, bought a couple of chunks.  There simply is no life without cheese!  I told the lady that my husband always laughs when I come home from a trip.   My souvenirs are never t-shirts and hats, I come home with food.  “You’re my kinda person,” she laughed.

 The Chuckanut

After loading up on delectable cheese, I headed up the Chuckanut for what was going to be a leisurely drive.

I hadn’t been driving for more than 10 minutes when some speedy Gonzales in a beamer was on my tail.  REALLY!!??! A Wednesday afternoon, no one else on the road and he has to race up behind me and tail gate.

I took the first pull out and watched him steam past, all indignant and ruffled feathers.  I then proceeded to enjoy a leisurely drive into Bellingham.

Fairhaven & Bellingham

I stopped for lunch in the funky old town of Fairhaven.  Just like walking around Gastown, only cleaner.

I stopped into Fred Meyer just for old times’ sake.  This was the place we’d come to all the time with my parents.  We used to come to Bellingham all the time.  For a special treat, sis and I were allowed to choose a sugary breakfast cereal since we were on holiday.  My favourites:  Frankenberry or Captain Crunch with Peanut Butter Crunch berries.  Ah, the good ol’ days.

Bellingham may be just 2 hours away from home but it feels like a world away.  Everything seems so different.  I wandered up and down the aisles of Fred Meyer’s, looking at all the foreign products.  There’s just so much to choose from and so many different labels that I’ve never seen before.

Naturally I wander over to the liquor section.  It’s so novel to be able to pick up your wine and dinner all at the same store.  As luck would have it, I found one of my favourite extremely pale roses on sale!  So, 2 bottles later, I’m back in the car and heading north.

Back to the Great White North

Once I made it through border control, having been “allowed” to return to the Great White North, I head for home.  As I drove north, the old tension started creeping back in.  The Damp Coast is known for having notoriously bad drivers.  Makes the rest of us extremely tense having to watch out for their shenanigans.

Down South

It’s not as if Washington is so different from the damp coast but somehow it seems to be a whole different world.  Even the greenery on the side of the highway somehow looks different.  Something about crossing that border just seems to alter things.

The main difference though is that the Americans I met were some of the friendliest, open people I’ve had the pleasure to meet.  Unlike in Van, these people made me feel right at home.  And for that, I’d cross the border again.   Thanks.