Summer in Anacortes, Washington

Summer in Anacortes                                                            July and August, 2016

We have been parked at Fidalgo Bay RV Park in Anacortes, WA, since July 8.  This is our “home port” and we wanted to spend summer here, knowing that the weather would be fabulous.  And it has been!!  

I think we’ve had rain once, during the night, since we’ve been here.  My weather channel app can hardly deal with all this good weather, so one morning I got this severe weather warning!  "Very warm" temperatures were in the low 80's!

Since the first of August we’ve been in this RV site, which includes more parking and this little cabana.  Having a place to secure our bikes and a picnic table under a roof are big pluses.  Fidalgo Bay is behind those little “park models” across the street.

One of the advantages to being parked here is our close proximity to the Tommy Thompson Trail.  The rail-trail follows the inactive corridor of the short-lived Seattle and Northern Company line, which was built in 1890 when Anacortes boomed as a promised hub of a transcontinental railway.  (Which obviously never happened).  The route is named for Tommy Thompson, a local railroad hobbyist who hand-built the Anacortes railway. He operated the popular six-block narrow-gauge railway for some 25 years until his death in 1999. 

Just east of the RV Park, the blacktop trail crosses the lower end of Fidalgo Bay to connect to March Point.  The distance from Abe, around the little March Point Peninsula and back again is just short of 10 miles.  Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we ride with several friends from church and the conversations over coffee are worth the ride! We ride west into town and go all the way to the end of the street at Guemes Channel.  Then, it’s back to “Ger-A-Deli” for a coffee stop.  What a great way to start the day. 

One morning when we were walking the trail, we met the gentlemen sitting on a bench along the trail.  We stopped to talk with him and found out he walked to this point of the trail every morning, brining a bag of catfood with him.  His mission was to feed the three feral cats that live along the trail.  The cats have been neutered and spayed and were definitely feral, but they know what time he’s due and wait by this bench for him.

Like so many roadsides and hillsides, the Tommy Thompson Trail was covered with blackberry vines.  We have seen lots of folks out picking them, filling a ball cap or a bucket.  Yum!

On Wednesday and Friday evenings the city of Anacortes sponsored music at Seafarer’s Park.  We joined friends and sat on the grass and listened to the tunes.  In the background on the right you can see the refineries on March Point.  You can also see a dark-hulled sailboat anchored just off shore.  We met the sailors, a couple in their 70’s, who were spending the summer cruising on their boat.  They had dropped the anchor in the bay, dinghied in to Cap Sante Marina, and heard the music.  What a pleasant surprise for them.

Joy and her buddy Kenny came to Anacortes for “Shipwreck Day” in July.  Commercial Avenue, the main drag through town, was closed off for several blocks and became one big garage sale.  I think the original idea was for the fishermen to get rid of their excess tackle, etc., but it’s become so much more than that.  Jerry, Joy, Kenny and I had a great day wandering through all the booths and displays.  

I did find some treasures…a ukulele and some yarn.  I had a ukulele in high school and wanted to take it up again.  I was delighted to find this lovely “concert ukulele” (a size designation, not a quality description) in a pretty shade of green.

The very next weekend we were off to Portland, OR, to deliver Joy’s 2015 Christmas present.  We drove to Vancouver, WA, on Thursday night so we could get our tow hitch repaired Friday, before we drove in to Portland.  Since we had the day to kill while the work was done, we drove 50 miles north up I-5 to explore Mount St. Helens. 

We had not been here before and will need to go again, since the mountain was fogged in.  However, we did explore the museums and found the story fascinating.  The picture of the eruption is a “photo of a photo” from one of the museums.  A hiker on Mt. Adams was captured watching the eruption, which occurred on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m.  It was the deadlist and most economically destructive volcanic event

in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche triggered by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale caused an eruption that reduced the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 ft. to 8,363 ft., replacing it with a 1-mile wide horseshoe-shaped crater.  The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles in volume.

At one of the museums we had a great of the Toutle River, making its way to the ocean from the flanks of the volcano.  You can see how the riverbed was scoured by the massive mud/rock slide that roared through the valley.

Friday night we drove in to downtown Portland and stayed at a pet-friendly hotel about 3 blocks from Joy.  Ricky, her roommate was a maintenance man at this hotel, and made the arrangements for us.  It was lovely to meet Joy and then walk to dinner.  Smokey was perfectly content hanging out in her new digs and wasn’t four miles away at the La Quinta where we’ve stayed in the past.

Saturday we worked on Joy’s Christmas present…put up some shelves in her dining room.  Joy and I had great fun arranging all her treasures!  You might even recognize some of her pieces.  She is becoming the family historian and loves to have old pieces from my family and Jerry’s.  I think I’ve found a place to park all our old photos!  Yay!  Anyway, I think Jerry did a great job putting up the shelves and they look superb!!  Of course, since we had the pickup and Joy doesn’t have a vehicle, we were able to assist with other chores, too. 

It wasn’t all hard work in Portland.  We had an easy walk to sushi, Powell Books, and Scandals, Joy’s hangout.  She has an amazing group of friends and it was great getting to know them.

Sunday we were off to the grocery store.  Ordinarily when Joy gets groceries, she rides the bus back to her apartment.  Taking advantage of having the pickup she was able to get some of the big stuff.  As we walked in to the grocery store we saw this lovely orange bike display, known as “Biketown”.  Biketown is Portland's bike share program, launching in July 2016 with 1,000 bikes at 100 stations across downtown and several neighborhoods. The system was designed for quick trips with convenience in mind, and it’s a fun and affordable way to get around.  For $2.50 a day you can rent a bike for a jaunt.  Think it will catch on???

Jerry has been working on becoming an “Elk” this summer.  That might seem strange to you, but in our RV travels it has become apparent that Elks Lodges have RV parking at many of their locations.  In small to middle-sized towns we think this might be handy.  Certainly in Visalia, the Elks Lodge RV parking, while not lovely, would be very convenient for us.  It was rather ironic that our hotel in downtown Portland began its life in the early 1900’s as an “Elks Temple”.  Ricky gave us a tour of this elegant old building from the rooftop apiary (four bee hives) to the basement where there was once gym with a huge pool.  Jerry is standing near the front entrance…very fancy!

Church friends Maury and Helene Fink invited us to join them for a day of exploring in Sidney.  We walked onto the ferry and made one stop in Friday Harbor, as we made our way west through the islands.  You can see our ferry at the Sidney dock.  It was a glorious day to be on the water and to wander through Sidney.  We even found a small distillery near the marina and ferry dock in which to do a little tasting.  Interesting…I guess, but we didn’t find anything to purchase.  

The Sidney waterfront was beautiful and full of interesting artwork including these handsome, lifelike statues!

The Anacortes Arts Festival took place the first weekend in August.  Once again, the northern 12 blocks of Commercial Avenue were closed off.  Booths displaying all sorts of arts and crafts filled the street.  At the Port building there was an impressive juried art show, and at three locations along the street there were bandstands.  During the three days, a wide variety of live music was presented.  Dick Shirk knew many of the groups and directed us to which were the best.  Friday night we listened to this band from north Seattle, made up of music teachers, at the venue right in front of the dry dock on the channel. 

Saturday morning, the sweet little town of La Conner held their annual Vintage Car and Boat Show.  Fortunately Dick and his buddy Sterling came over, too, so Jerry and someone to discuss nuts and bolts with.  I wandered, looking for the quirky and funny and found this interesting old car.  The license plate bracket says, “Good-bye tension, hello pension!”  Yep!!

After church Sunday morning, the Senior Center Ukulele Group (to which I had belonged for about 3 weeks) gave a concert at the main stage of the Arts Festival.  Vicki, who got me involved in this, and I stood in the back so I don’t think anyone noticed I could only play four chords!  Fun, though.

I mentioned Tommy Thompson Trail earlier and realized I didn’t have very many good photos, so I took off on my bike yesterday to improve my collection!  The eastern leg of the trail runs between the RV Park and March Point, which has two refineries, Tesoro and Shell.  Early in Anacortes history this little peninsula had farms and a lovely bathing beach.  Now these two huge refineries dominate the landscape

The views of Padilla Bay, looking toward the east side of the bay are spectacular, even gazing across the mudflats.  At low tide, as it was in this photo, the mudflats and sand bars were quite apparent.  Mount Baker, looming in the background, was just appearing out of the clouds.  The boat was carefully following the buoys to stay in the dredged Swinomish Channel as it made its way toward La Conner.

We spent an afternoon wine tasting in Woodinville with Dick Shirk and his friend Sterling from California.  Both of these guys are knowledgeable about wine and were great guides.  Woodinville has “strip malls” of tasting rooms and so we could walk from site to site. 

Of course, one of our favorite activities while we are in Anacortes is attending Anacortes Lutheran Church.  This summer every Wednesday evening we gathered at one of the Anacortes city parks for a picnic.  The last Wednesday included a corn boil and a worship service at Washington Park, which faces Guemes Channel and the San Juans.  A lovely setting.  

We cooked 60 ears of corn, fresh from the field, and had maybe half a dozen left over.  We will miss the wonderful fellowship and this great church. 

This photo is another shot from the RV Park.  You can just see the moon rising over March Point.  We’ve had some very pretty evenings here.  It’s so pleasant to sit outside without being attached by mosquitos.

I have to include a recent photo of Lauren.  I crocheted her this “market bag” which she took with her when she and Jill went to Target.  She also took “Little Baby” so she needed to take her bag for food!  So cute!

We lost Smokey on August 10.  This photo is one of the last I took of her, doing what she loved best… getting a good tummy rub.  We will sure miss her and the bus just doesn’t seem the same.  We won’t get another cat, though.

We leave Anacortes on Sunday, August 28, bound for Fairview Illinois.  We won’t return to the beautiful Northwest until next May, but will have many adventures in many new places.  Stay tuned!

           

Friends and Family in California, June 2016

We had such a good time during our visit in Visalia!  We parked Abe at Guy and Jeanne Evans’ home on the northwest side of Visalia during the week we were there.  Guy is a “gearhead” and he and Jerry had lots to discuss!  Jeanne, a retired grade school teacher, had found a second career mentoring student teachers through Fresno Pacific University.  We had lots of great conversations!  Unfortunately, they had planned a trip to see their granddaughter the weekend we were there so we didn’t have a lot of time together.  In the photo, Guy and Jerry are working on Abe’s generator bay door.

Jill, Bob and Lauren came down for the weekend to join the reunion party so we had the whole weekend with them.  They enjoyed Doug and Judee Berg’s pool both afternoons.  

Jill and Lauren went to breakfast with us downtown after church and we had to wait about half an hour.  The restaurant we chose was right across from the old Fox Theater.  So while we waited, Lauren and I had quite a conversation about who might live in the clock tower.  We came to the conclusion that Rapunzel must be up there and all those pigeons we saw sitting on the window ledge were her only friends.  What an imagination!

Our Christ Lutheran Church friends’ reunion was a huge success and, of course, began with a Sunday morning service at CLC.  We attended this church for over 30 years, and one of my favorite memories was singing in the church choir.  I love these people!!!  This summer choir was a small sample of the worship choir that sang at the 8 o’clock service during fall, winter, and spring.  Lim Forgey, the CLC music minister, a particularly talented man and so much fun to sing with!

Sunday afternoon 16 of us gathered at Doug and Judee Berg’s home in Visalia to reminisce and catch up.  I was too busy visiting to do my diligent photography but I did catch Pastor Brian Malison (our pastor for many years!) and Jerry having a conversation.  Nothing like getting together with old friends!

In addition to our reunion, Sunday, June 19 was also Father’s Day.  It was lovely for Jerry to have his sweet little granddaughter there to give him a gift…of “Nutter Butter’s cookies” and a card, which she needed to explain.  She “signed” all the cards with a little scribble that, if you squint, might say “Lauren”.

Jill, Bob and Lauren stayed around on Monday, which gave them the opportunity to visit with Berk and Carolyn Johnson, Jill’s godparents and our good friends of many years.  In fact, they are the ones who introduced us to Christ Lutheran Church in the fall of 1978.

Carolyn, a wonderful singer, pianist, and composer had pianos for Laruen to “play”. The little piano, which Carolyn found at an antique store, was just the right size!  Carolyn has used that piano in a children’s sermon that I remember well.  Looked to me that the Klucks need to factor a piano into their budget!

Carolyn and Berk were from Oneida, Illinois, the same little town in which my mom grew up and where both of my folks graduated from high school.  Carolyn, Mom and Dad all had the same first grade (I think!) teacher!  When we were contemplating a transfer to the Visalia Butler Mfg. plant in September 1978, Jill was due the next February.  I cannot imagine how hard it was for all of our parents to consider our moving so far away, but when my folks learned we were joining the Johnson’s in Visalia, it all was okay!

We took a driving tour East of Visalia to see Lake Kaweah while we there.  We had heard that the reservoir was fuller than it had been in years.  Indeed!  In fact, we could see snow on the higher peaks of the Sierras…wonderful!

Wednesday, June 22, we made our way to Coyote Valley RV Resort in Morgan Hill, CA.  This RV park was about 20 minutes from Jill and Bob’s house in San Jose.  Although we hoped to spend our summer in Anacortes, WA, we could not get into our RV park there until July 8, so we chose to “cool our heels” in Morgan Hill and enjoy some more time with the kids.

Jill had one request of our time and that was to replant their front flower bed.  Yahoo!  Off to Home Deport for purchases.   We had planned Friday, June 24, as a Grandma and Grandpa day with Lauren.  Surely she needed to help plant flowers.  Lauren was in charge of shaking fertilizer into the holes in which the flowers would be planted…seeds, she called them.  What a hoot!  Grandpa finished the project long after Lauren and I decided it was time to go inside for lunch.  Such a good guy!

If that wasn’t enough for one day, we walked about 4 blocks to the park where Lauren demonstrated her jumping skills.  She was fearless…tough on a Grandma’s heart!  And yes, she was wearing snow boots!

Saturday, June 25, we took Lauren to see her first movie “Finding Dory” while Jill and Bob went to a brew fest in Santa Cruz.  Of course, Nemo had to come with us!  Lauren was enthralled with the movie and thought that her living room needed that really big TV!  She sat through the whole thing and didn’t get restless until the end…just about the same time I started to think it was time to move!  She even ate a whole bag of popcorn!  

You can see from the photo, she was much more interested in the previews on the screen than getting another picture taken.

We walked home from the movie…about a mile.  Lauren made it almost all the way under her own power, stopping periodically to run up and down available apartment stairs!  (When was the last time you ran up and down some stairs for fun?).  A quick lunch and then I convinced her she ought to take a nap.  Although she wasn’t sure she needed one she was willing to try…and slept 3 hours!  Grandpa and I had a little shuteye, too!

We weren’t sure when Jill and Bob would be home so we planned to cook dinner on their grill and included sweet corn on the menu.  Lauren approved!

During our reunion in Visalia, we learned from former Pastor Paul Thomton that there was a terrific pastor and Lutheran Church in Morgan Hill.  So, on Sunday, June 26, we made our way to Advent Lutheran Church…another great one!  We didn’t meet their pastor, Anita Warner, who was on sabbatical until September, but the interim pastor Karen Perkins was terrific.  Advent’s congregation was another warm and welcoming crowd and we shared stories over coffee and promised to return the next Sunday.

Tuesday, June 27, we drove to Redwood City for a little exploring.  We had had some rather warm days (>100 F) in Morgan Hill and were amazed at how quickly the temperature dropped as we approached the bay.  We were curious about the sign that led us into the old downtown area…”climate best by government test”.  A little research and we learned that this slogan was based on a climate survey conducted by the US and Germany before World War I.  Redwood City’s climate tied for the world’s best with the Canary Islands and North Africa's Mediterranean Coast!  Wonder why that study was done and how they decided the winners!

Time for some lunch in Redwood City so we “yelped” lunch places, looking for something new to experience and came up with this Fiji place!  These sisters from Fiji had immigrated to the US and set up this little take-out place across from the Amtrak station.  I asked the lady in the ball cap why they had come here and she said, “Of course we came… everyone wants to live in America!”  Think about that!  I’m sure my Swedish grandparents and great-grandparents had the very same thought.  

I cannot tell you exactly what I ate but it was a delicious and spicy curry.  The green stuff at the bottom right was spinach and eggplant…to die for!  The little pile of red stuff in the bottom center was hotter (spicy) than anything I’ve ever experienced!  Yum!!!

Wednesday, June 29, while Jill, Bob and Lauren had a busy week, we drove to Turlock to see our dear friend Beth (she and her deceased husband Dan were good friends and travelling buddies for years in Visalia).  Beth was clever enough to buy a house close to downtown and Dust Bowl Brewing.  We walked to the microbrewery and checked out their wares, while catching up with Beth.  She had been to Australia and New Zealand in the spring with Road Scholars, has been a volunteer at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, and has made another half dozen quilts since we last saw her.  Lots to talk about.  

On our walk back to Beth’s house we got our courage up and stopped at Staley’s Club, a local “dive bar”.  It turned out to be delightful inside!

You might wonder why I have included a photo of Jill and Lauren standing in our shower.  They came to the bus one evening for dinner and while Jerry and Jill were sitting outside talking Lauren and I were inside playing.  She was the Mom going to work and I was the little girl being dropped off at daycare!  Our shower was the car!  Jill came inside to see what we were doing and got a tour of the game…very creative!  

Lauren enjoyed visiting with Smokey, too.  Smokey was cautiously friendly…thank goodness!

Sunday, June 3 we were back at Advent Lutheran Church in Morgan Hill.  This active congregation was focused on the Morgan Hill Fourth of July parade the next morning.  Jill, Bob, and Lauren came for hamburgers that afternoon and we made plans to go.  

We had found Lauren a “Dory” at Wal-Mart that morning after church and this little stuffed toy was a big success.

July 4, Monday, we were ready for the Morgan Hill parade.  I was quite impressed that no candy throwing occurred!  This was a perfect Fourth of July parade.  

We saw bands, horses, old cars, and lots of floats.  This young man had the important job of picking up after the horses came down the street.  Funny that the guy on the other side of the road felt it necessary to salute.It lasted about 2 hours and was almost longer than some of us could handle!

We stopped for lunch on our way out of town and said our good-byes.  Had to include this cute shot of Lauren watching a video on Jill's phone.  Sure was hard to leave Jill, Bob and Lauren, but we knew we would be seeing them in Illinois in September at the family reunion.

Tuesday, July 5, it was jacks up and time to head north to Anacortes.  We took I-680 to I-80 and crossed the East Bay on the Martinez Bridge, with a toll of $20!  I think that’s the largest toll we’ve ever paid anywhere!  It was impressive passing the yard full of newly off-loaded cars waiting transportation, with a view of the Navy’s mothball fleet in the background.

That night we stopped at the delightful JGW RV park just south of Redding, CA, right on the Sacramento River.  We had not explored Redding in any of the times we had stopped previously, so we decided to correct that omission.  

Our first stop was the Sundial bridge, spanning the Sacramento River in downtown Redding.  This pedestrian bridge has helped to bring tourist dollars to the town and was part of a riverfront development.  The upright…the shadow-casting object…only told the time during the afternoon of the summer solstice.  Interesting, nonetheless!

Our second stop, a microbrewery, of course, was called “Woody’s Brewing Company”.  With that name we had to check it out!  The owners were Polish from Michigan, but nicknamed Woody.  Fortunately, they served great beer, too.  I thought this was a great picture; knowing “Woody” was Jerry’s nickname in high school.

We left Redding the next morning, Wednesday July 6, and were eager to cross the Lake Shasta Reservoir.  When we were through here in February, the Lake was a mere puddle.  It was amazing to see it looking so full!  We noticed, too, how the landscape still looks green…amazing in July.  After four years of serious drought, one wet winter didn’t replenish the water table, but it was looking hopeful. 

It would not be a trip north on I-5 through Oregon without a picture of Mt. Shasta.  We were pleased to see how much snow remained.

Our Wednesday evening stop was at Seven Feathers Casino and RV Resort in Canyonville, WA.  This was a first class RV park with a beautiful site, lots of room and interesting neighbors.  We didn’t go to the casino but BBQed and visited…a lovely afternoon. 

Thursday, July 7, brought us to Washington and rain!  Just about the time we crossed the border from Oregon, it started to mist and we soon were travelling in a serious rain.  Welcome home!  Our stop that night just south of Olympia was not one of my better choices.  To reach our site, we had to follow a guy on a bike as he guided us through the trees on a narrow road.  He even stopped at one point to correct Jerry and his driving techniques down this narrow path.  Amazing. 

We arrived at Fidalgo Bay RV Resort in Anacortes about 1:15 and it felt good to back.  We are looking forward to being here until the end of August, catching up with friends.  More adventures to come!