TULIP FESTIVAL

Okay, so the actual Skagit Tulip Festival begins next week, but most reports indicate the fields are filled with color now, so rather than fight the mass of people making their annual pilgrimage to the fields next week, we went early, and were rewarded with an awesome day, with less people. Instead of a few tulips gracing a flowerbed, there are miles--well, actually acres--of rectangular blocks of color, reds, pinks, stripped, and blues dazzling the eyes. The sun cooperated by lighting up the sky to impress the blooms to show off all their glory. Even though we were a week early tour buses and groups of people strolled through the rows of plants. One little girl was having a difficult time not to pick the bright red flower in front of her while her daddy was attempting to get the right image for a family memory of the outing.
One farm had a large garden of tulips with gravel paths winding among the flowerbeds. For those uninformed persons--like myself--the tulip is a member of the lily family, and has a stem about foot long with a juice glass shaped bulb on top. Only one flower sits on top of the stem, but the richness of color is worth all the effort.
The Skagit valley is north of the Seattle area and is a rich farming area. For those interested, a number of cheese producers are located in the valley and worth a visit to their farms.
If you get a chance sometime head out to the tulip festival and explore Skagit valley.

Seattle Fun Weekends

One advantage of a big city is the recreational opportunities available. When Lois moved to Seattle last year, she decided to do as many different thing as she could. In my few months we have had some very interesting weekends, and seen a lot of the country around the Pacific Northwest. This last weekend we took a ferry to Whidby Island to the little town of Langely collecting clues for a murder. They have been doing for about 25 years, and most of the town gets involved. Some of the suspects are wandering the streets and willing to tell their story--which may or may not be true--to anyone willing to listen. They were also getting ready to elect a mayor, and the campaigning was quite lively. The candiates very openly said "Vote Early and Vote Often". If you did not have a ballot they gladly gave you one with the name of a registered voter--who was not going to vote.
The weekend before we attended the Octopus Release held each year at the Seattle Acquarum. They release a female octopus who has been fertelized into Elliot Bay. A live video feed allows the public see the female make her way back into the wild.
One weekend we did a wine and chocolate tasting tour. A group of wineries had tastings of their wine that was paired well with chocolate.
And the list could go on. I'll keep you posted on what we are doing. This is making me wonder about returning to Petrified Forest for the summer, but of course, there will be next year.