Lucky by Accident

Our stay in Burlington was really great. A stop that wasn’t originally planned on this trip turned out to be an excellent stop over. We got a beautiful big pull through site with a patio. The area was lined with trees and a pasture with cow grazing. We did some maintenance things (dumping tanks) and miscellaneous things and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. In the morning there were still hazy skies but very comfortable temperatures. We obviously didn’t have any plans since we didn’t know we were going to be there so laundry and golf were the obvious choice. The golf course just down the road apparently is high level enough that they have hosted 3 PGA qualifier events. I was more than happy to hang out, do laundry and try to recoup from the last minute change in plans. All of you control freaks know how it is to have to change things last minute. I’ve gotten pretty good at going with the flow but that doesn’t mean I don’t need a nap afterwards. After Scott got back from playing golf we headed off to re-provision and check out the area. We found an Outlet Mall that scored me a new pair of trail shoes, Scot a couple of nice shirts and added a single burner butane stove to our outdoor cooking arsenal. Back at the trailer we were hanging out having a cocktail when a man with walked by with his dogs. They were a small yappy breed that usually advertises Taco Bell but I can’t spell it so I’ll leave it to your imagination. Anyway, we struck up a conversation and found out that they were there for a long weekend with 2 other couples that they travel with frequently. All live an hour away and just look for opportunities to get out of the rat race for a few days. We really hit it off and were introduced to the group. Once again we were adopted and spent the next 3 days mostly hanging out with them. They all live an hour away and come here frequently so know the area really well. We hung out and chatted most of the evening and were invited to go to happy hour at a nice spot in Annacortes with them next evening.
On Friday we went looking for seafood. We were obviously in the seafood Mecca of the Northwest and knew that there had to be some in the area. I did my google maps trick and found Taylor Seafood Farms on the map. What I didn’t look at was the satellite view….I’m almost glad I didn’t. The drive was truly breathtaking. A narrow road along a rock cliff with the ocean on the other side. In many respects it reminded us of California Highway 1. Our destination turned out to be down a narrow single lane road to a small store selling the freshest of shellfish with a view of their “farm” and a picnic area lined with oyster shells. We bought Mussels, Clams and Oysters harvested that day. 3 pounds of Mediterranean Mussels, 2 pounds of clams and 2 pounds of oysters (previously shucked) all packed in ice to-go. The prospect of seafood made us hungry so we headed out in search of food….like we would starve if we didn’t eat in the next 5 minutes.

We decided to continue up the road because the view was so amazing. The road ended in Fairhaven. All of you…my most special family and friends know my connection to “The Haven.” We could live in Fairhaven. It was beautiful, eclectic, hilly, blooming, bustling and comforting all at the same time. We happened on a brewery with an awesome patio that had Cedar trees all around and very cool features. The beer was pretty good too. We weren’t completely happy with the bathrooms that were designated at “Whatever” gender but I was good nevertheless. Since we still hadn’t had food we went off in search of sustenance. It presented itself in the form of a 1940’s bus turned food truck. Fish and chips along with a seafood sampler left us totally satisfied. Shortly after we got back we headed off with our new friends to explore Annacortes and enjoy Happy Hours on the water. Let’s just say that we spent several hours with great beer, food and company. There was still a lot of smoke on the horizon so there weren’t a lot of photographic opportunities but I couldn’t resist the crane on a crane…truthfully it may have been a heron or egret on a crane but you know… The other thing is that smoke in the air causes red suns and moons. We had plenty of them over the past few days but it was cool to photograph.

As it turns out our new friends are also golfers. They had a tee time to play at the same course that Scott played 2 days ago and needed a 4th….go figure. While the guys played golf the girls went shopping. Well it really was more browsing than shopping. I did pick up a sourdough baguette to go with our steamed mussels and clams. Speaking of which….they were heavenly even if I do say so myself. Nothing beats really fresh seafood. We spent the evening eating and chatting with our new friends.
On Sunday we took our time getting ready to leave. Because of the change in plans we were only 30 minutes from our next stop. Our easiest drive yet. When we arrived we checked into the Pioneer Trails RV park and Scott worked his magic once again getting them to move us to a beautiful pull through site in a great location in this very large park. We set up in record time, had some lunch and headed out to explore. We had been to down town Annacortes for happy hour with our friends so we avoided going back through there because it gets really busy on the weekends. I had seen a park on the map that had a scenic loop driving route with several hiking trails to the beach along the way so we headed there. We weren’t quite prepared for the tight winding one way road with a vehicle length limit.
Let’s just say we were close in the truck. We didn’t have to back up on any of the curves but it was close a couple of times. We also spent much of the drive with our mirrors folded in to avoid the brush and trees close to the road. That being said it was gorgeous. The sun angle shining off of the water as perfect and the low fog on the San Juan Islands across the way gave everything a sense of peace and serenity dotted with lone fishing vessels and sailboats.

Dinner consisted of pan fried oysters that were really delicious. We had wanted medium ones when we bought them at the seafood farm but they were out so we got small. Their idea of small is beautiful plump oysters 3-4 inches long. Not very small in my book. Heaven on a plate.
Today we decided to further explore the Islands and head from Fidalgo, where Annacortes is to Whidbey Island home of Deception Pass and its famous bridges, Forts Eby and Casey both WWI fortifications and the Whidbey Island Naval Air Base. Due to the low clouds and fog most of the day we heard a lot of low flying jets but never saw one. In addition to doing some hiking etc. we wanted to check with the ferry terminal in Coupville. Our plan is to take the ferry from there to Port Townsend. It will be an adventure with the 5th Wheel but we have spoken to a number of people who have done it. We reserved a spot….very necessary when you are 50’ long and 13’ tall, but weren’t sure of the procedure.

As it turned out we were able to walk there while hiking around Fort Casey so we killed 2 birds as it were. The nice thing with the Washington ferries is that they are very affordable as compared to the ones in British Columbia. We had looked into the possibility of taking the one from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island and it would have cost us about $1500.00. Yes that is the right number of zeros!!! The trip from Coupeville to Port Townsend will set us back a whopping $75. Considering the fuel it would cost us to take the 5 hour drive around I think we will come out ahead on this one. The Fort was really interesting and we enjoyed our hike along the driftwood strewn beach immensely. It remained foggy but we expected that. We stopped in Oak Harbor for some lunch and locally brewed bear and made our way back toward Deception Pass.

We had stopped on our way out so that I could photograph the bridge but is was really foggy so we thought we’d give it another try on the way back….so did half the population of Washington State. The parking fairy has been good to us and today was no exception. It was beautiful, interesting and more than a little creepy walking along the shorter of the 2 bridges to get in a position to see the larger one. There are pedestrian walkways with posts and a cable separating you from traffic but it still seems very close and the whole thing would shake when a big truck came by. Just a little uncomfortable to say the least.

When we got to the other end we found stairs that went down under the bridge and up the other side. The view from there was magnificent and the color of the water unsurpassed. We were very glad we braved it.
Not sure what were going to do tomorrow. We have a lot of maps and brochures that we will go through. No doubt we will find another adventure. I can’t believe that there is less than 3 weeks to go. Time has gone by quickly and we are enjoying every minute. Until next time…..