Tuesday - Sunday, August 20 - 25, 2013 (Camano Island, WA)

Tuesday

We took a break from painting and working outside and decided to do some of our "stolen items" replacement shopping.  We used to take Gracie with us on these types of trips, but today we are leaving her home safe and sound in the 5er.  Of course, that means that we can't leave her crated all day, we usually only leave her crated for around 5 hours, so we will have to keep an eye on the time. 

So it was off to Mt. Vernon.  When we go shopping, we like to head north, there is always so much less traffic and people to deal with and I think the stores are pretty much the same ones we would frequent if we went south toward Seattle. 

We had a pretty good day shopping, we got a few clothing items replaced but our main goal was to go to Costco to get our camera replaced.  Bad news....they didn't have our model of camera anymore, so I guess that means we look on-line and we wait awhile longer for a camera.  At least we have our phones so we can take some pictures.  The other thing I couldn't find was my perfume.  I checked at Macy's and they had it earlier in the season, but weren't carrying it now and the clerk wasn't sure when they would bring it back....rats.  I'll have to check with the insurance agent and see if I have to replace the exact perfume or if I can make a substitution. 

Wednesday

We were having guests today, so it was another day off from painting and yard work.  Jessica and Garry were back from their honeymoon to Maui and were coming to visit around noon.  

We had a nice long visit getting caught up on their adventures in Maui.  The four of us also went down to the beach and hung out for awhile.  Jessica and Garry took her canoe out for awhile on the sound while Rich did some reading and I spent time picking up white rocks on the beach.  My plan is to take them back to Brandon/Kris and put around their little garden shed.

Jessica & Garry canoeing in the bay

After our beach trip, we came back and BBQ'd some hamburgers and had fresh corn on the cob.  We had a very nice visit and it was fun to hang out for awhile and get to know Garry better.

Thursday & Friday

These two days Rich spent painting on the shop, he got it pretty much all complete except under the eaves, which you can't see unless you are standing under them.  He'll leave the eaves for Brandon to finish up.  It looks really nice.  Rich is a very good painter and he does a very nice job, I think the kids will be pleased.

I spent these two days trimming up some of the old rhodies the kids have.  They were so overgrown with blackberries and brush for so many years that they were mishaped and had a lot of dead wood in them.  I wish I would have taken before and after pictures, but didn't.  As soon as we get our camera (which we ordered on line the other day) I'll take a picture of our finished projects.

Saturday

This was just a wrap up our projects kind of day.  We got our Banks Power Monitor computer and our camera came today.  We were waiting on these two items before we headed out.  Looks like if we can find a place to land over the holiday weekend that we'll be heading out on Wednesday.  Rich has called around a couple places and because of the Labor Day holiday they are booked.

I spent the morning using the weed eater and clearing out some of the blackberry vines and stinging nettles and other various weeds that have grown up in this area that the kids have had cleared around their yard area.  It looks much better. 

We were going to Jessica and Garry's for dinner so headed out around 4:00 p.m.  Luckily when we go to their house, we can go most of the way on Highway 9 and only have to jump on I-5 for a little bit.  We had no traffic issues today - yahoo.  It makes traveling so much nicer when you don't have to deal with that stop and go traffic on the freeway. 

We had a very nice BBQ dinner and another nice visit.  We got to see some of the pictures from their honeymoon trip - looks like they had a very nice hotel and spent a lot of time snorkeling on the beach right by their hotel. 

Sunday

We decided to attend Tidelands church service even though Brandon was still gone on vacation and wasn't preaching.  After church we headed once again up to Mt. Vernon, after our traditional stop at Starbucks for our latte's.  We had a couple items to return from our shopping trip the other day and of course we came back with some additional items on our "replacement list".  I'm disappointed that so far I've been unable to replace my REI skort (skirt with shorts underneath).  I've looked on-line and had the local stores check, but they are sold out for this season....double rats, I really liked that skort and was planning on wearing it alot when we went south this winter.  I think the two items that got stolen that I miss the most and am finding hard to replace would be my Bible (I had written lots of notes in it throughout the years and it was a gift from Westside church) and my black skort.  

We got back to the 5er mid afternoon and were just hanging out when the kids arrived home from their two week vacation.  It was sure good to see them and they were very pleased with the work that we had accomplished while they were gone - so much so, that they took us out to a very nice dinner that evening.  They would have been home earlier, but they had a bit of a mishap earlier in the day.  They had spent the last several days at Anderson Island and have to ride a ferry to get there.  Because they had their boat with them, they parked the boat trailer in a paid parking lot thinking it would be safe.  The boat they launched and Brandon drove to Anderson Island, while Kris and the boys took the truck on the ferry.  Well when they arrived Sunday to pick up the boat trailer so they could load up the boat - someone had moved the trailer and put it in another spot but in the process somehow the two back trailer lights had been broken and no longer worked.  So as we all know, you have to have working trailer lights or you can be ticketed, so the tail lights had to be fixed before they could head home.  Luckily they found an auto parts store and a very friendly and helpful staff member that in addition to selling them the replacement lights, also offered up some tools for the repair job.  

Over dinner, we got to hear about their many camping adventures and look at some of the pictures that went along with those adventures.  We ate at a very nice restaurant on the island, apparently there are only two, the other one being at the golf course.  The food was delicious and the company wonderful, a very pleasant way to end the evening.      

Saturday - Monday, August 17-19, 2013 (Camano Island, WA)

Saturday

We worked around Brandon & Kris' until early afternoon when we started getting ready to drive down to Jeff & Sabrina's to spend the night.  We had targeted leaving at 4:00 p.m. with an arrival time of 6:00 p.m.  We actually got on the road before 4:00 p.m. and it was a good thing.  We hit stop and go traffic before we even got to Marysville - yikes this wasn't planned for.  I got on WSDOT and checked out the traffic cameras and yep, they were showing stop and go traffic until we got to Everett.  Hmmm we may have to call Jeff & Sabrina and tell them we would be late to dinner.  As we got farther along, they had a variable message sign that said an accident had occured and to expect delays, well that explains it. 

We finally got past the accident site and the traffic picked up speed and we were on our way again.  It always amazes us how much traffic is on the freeways and where are all these people going?  We've gotten spoiled being on the island and when we do head out, we typically have been going north through the countryside and only have to get on I-5 briefly to get to Mt. Vernon.  Well we made it to Jeff and Sabrina's and by our 6:00 p.m. timeframe, good thing we left early.

We had a very nice BBQ salmon dinner that Jeff prepared, it was very yummy.  When we first got there Jessie asked Grandpa if we could go to DQ for blizzards, so after dinner it was off to DQ. 

I had taken some very nice pictures of Jeff & Sabrina's back yard to post since I had forgotten to get pictures last month when we were there.  How come they aren't posted?  Read on.....

Sunday

Because Jeff was giving the message at New Community church today, he had to be there by 7:00 a.m. and Sabrina and the girls were leaving by 8:00 a.m.  This Sunday, Jeff, Sabrina, Jessie and Elsie were going to be part of all three services.  Jessie and Elsie along with two other girls were reciting "God and our story" they had memorized at Bible camp.  It was quite impressive and had a very good message for kids as well as adults.  So after they did their presentation at the first service, they took us on a tour of the church's campus.  It used to be a working farm and the church is actually meeting in the renovated barn.  The house, which is called the "mansion" was amazing and is being used for offices and the little kids nursery area.  The mansion was built in the early 1900's and was built of concrete which was unusual for that time since wood was so plentiful.  It had some beautiful wood working and the prettiest fireplace screen I've ever seen. 

Rich had invited his sister Connie who lives close to the area to attend church with us and she was able to make it.  It had been several years since we had seen each other and it was good to connect again.  We had a very nice visit before the second service which we were attending.  The church service was very touching and special for us.  It was the first time that we had gotten to experience Jeff speaking in person and it was even more special in the fact that Sabrina and the girls were part of the service.  Jeff had asked Sabrina to tell her "story" during part of his message. 

After church we visited with Connie a little bit more and then it was time for her to head home, we were staying until Jessie & Elsie were done with their part of the service and then we were taking them back home.  As we walked Connie to her car, we noticed that Gracie's leash was laying on the ground by the truck, hmmm that's odd.  I wanted to get a picture of Rich and Connie and so asked Rich to unlock the truck and walked over to get Gracie and the camera.  To make a long story short - I got Gracie but couldn't find the camera.  Now that's weird because we had it before church when we were walking around the grounds and took some pictures for the blog.  Well maybe it got put back into our overnight bag.  Where is our overnight bag?  What - it's gone, how can that be?  Rich and Connie walked over to the truck and Rich noticed that our Banks Power display monitor was gone also - yep it looks like our truck was broken into.  Thank you Lord that they didn't take Gracie, that would have been heart wrenching at least our clothes and other stuff can be replaced.  What an unfortunate way to end such a pleasant morning.  I did get a picture of Rich and his sister on my phone before she left.

Rich & Connie

After Connie left, we went back to the church to wait for the girls and then headed back to their house to wait for Jeff and Sabrina.  I got to check out some of the girls new school clothes and spent some time coloring with Jessie. 

Once Jeff and Sabrina got home, we took off for home.  We had to stop at Walmart to pick up some items like a hair brush, deodorant, mascara, etc. since ours had gotten stolen.  When we were waiting at the house, we made a list of everything that was in our bags while it was still fresh in our minds.  It's amazing what all you pack, even for a quick over night trip.  I guess we'll be calling the insurance company tomorrow to figure out what's covered and what's not.  It sure felt good to get home to the 5er. 

Monday

The early part of the morning Rich spent making phone calls to our insurance company and to Coachmasters in Bend who had installed our Banks Power System and Guaranty RV to get the rest of our warranty work scheduled.  It looks like after we meet our truck insurance comprehensive deductible, they will cover the rest of the cost for the Banks Power Monitor.  And our renters insurance will cover our personal items after that deductible is met.  Again, we are just so grateful that we have our little Yorkie Gracie and they didn't steal her.  We also got our warranty work scheduled for the middle of September, which is much better than October which was originally the date our service rep was quoting us. 

We also found out that the thief definitely did break into the truck and we didn't accidentally leave it unlocked.  Rich was outside and noticed the door lock on the drivers side looked crooked, he went to put his key in the lock and it fell down inside the door.  Well that solves that mystery.  We weren't sure if they got in through the windows we leave cracked open for ventilation for Gracie or if we had accidentally forgotten to lock the door this one time, we are usually obsessive about locking the door, especially when Gracie is inside in her crate.  Now we have one more thing to get fixed, but at least the truck still locks with the door clicker.

The rest of the day Rich spent painting and I spent working with the plants.  I got a couple nasty stinging nettle stings, boy they sure smart.  The shop is sure looking nice, Rich should have it finished up here in the next day or so, he sure does nice work, he's much more patient about painting than I am. 

We started watching a movie we had rented from the video store with Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn - Breaking Up, but had to turn it off as it was too disgusting for us to watch.  Who wants to watch a couple constanting fighting and yelling - it was in the comedy section and I thought it would be funny but I guess if we would have paid attention to the title we would have made a better choice. 

Monday - Friday, August 12-16, 2013 (Camano Island, WA)

Monday - Thursday

Monday morning Brandon & Kris and the boys packed up and headed off for very much deserved two week vacation. 

We spent the rest of the day painting.  I worked on gutters and trim and Rich worked on the shop.  There sure are an awful lot of cracks in the siding that have to be painted before you can roll the rest of the siding and it takes a long time. 

Tuesday & Wednesday

Was pretty much spent painting.  The kids have 3 chickens, so our fun for the day was checking to see if the hens had laid any eggs.  They are still young hens, so sometimes they lay eggs that are soft shelled and no good, so we usually get two good eggs a day and sometimes three.  I think they miss the boys because they let them out of their pen in the morning to run around all day, plus they pick them up and carry them around - well that isn't happening with us, can you see me packing around a chicken? I bet the chickens will be very glad when the boys get back home.   

Thursday

During our morning jog routine, as we were starting out from the 5er we saw a BIG coyote cross the road in front of us.  I had forgotten how big they are and how stealthy they can move, it was kind of eerie.  It made me glad that we are keeping the chickens penned up. 

It turned out to be a dreary and gray day with sprinkles here and there so we decided to take a break from painting and go to Mt. Vernon and do some grocery/Costco shopping.  Our shopping trip was pretty uneventful, though the drive to Mt. Vernon through the farming country is sure pretty.  We picked up a couple $5 movies at Walmart, so after we got home and things put away, we watched one of the movies - Catch & Release with Jennifer Garner, it was an older one and was OK. 

Friday

We spent the morning painting, or rather Rich did.  I did some watering of some fruit trees and grapes and just general puttering around.  We quit around 1:00 to get ready to go to LaConner for dinner to celebrate our 12th anniversary.  Our actual anniversary isn't until Saturday, the 17th, but we are headed down to Jeff and Sabrina's to spend the night and attend church with them.  Jeff is also a pastor and we have never heard him speak in person, only via the internet. 

It turned out to be a lovely afternoon and the weather was just perfect.  It was a nice warm 79 degrees once we got to LaConner.  The drive through farm country was pretty.  They grow alot of potatoes and corn in this area.  We got to LaConner early enough to spend some time walking around the town - it was very quaint and touristy.  Here are a bunch of photo's of our afternoon/evening.

There is a historic district in La Conner with some pretty cool houses.  Since we've been painting lately, we noticed the paint jobs and some of them were pretty intricate and/or interesting.

The shingles in the peaks were amazing, talk about a time consuming paint job

This house was huge, we liked the widows walk on top, which is kind of hard to see in the picture

This was an interesting and vibrant color scheme, orange, green and purple (check out the shutters and also the front door)  I guess it would cheer you up on those rainy gray days

Street view of some of the tourist shops, they had a lot of art galleries

Antique store

View from marina



This waterfall feature was part of the dock - pretty fancy



More boats - it was a very picturesque town

Our view from our outdoor dinner table

We had a delicious meal, Rich had prime rib and pan fried oysters, the best he's eaten in a long while.  I had firecracker prawns which were very good, but not spicy like the name implies, but I would definitely order them again.  We got to sit there in the nice warm sunshine and watch different boats go up and down the water while we enjoyed our dinner.  Ahhh life is good, especially when seated next to your love. 

Friday - Sunday, August 9-11, 2013 (Camano Island, WA)

Friday

Because today was the start of the wedding festivities, we took the day off from painting.  The morning was just spent doing some miscellaneous chores around the 5er. 

The rehearsal and dinner was going to be held in Marysville at Mountain View church.  We headed toward Marysville in the early afternoon because we were picking up the small cutting cake for Jessica and Gary's wedding. 

We got the cake picked up and then headed to the church.  Jessica had asked us to be there early so she and her dad could practice their dance steps for the father/daughter dance.  Here they are practicing - looking good don't you think?

Jessica & Rich practicing a dance step

The traffic was absolutely horrible on Friday and three out of the four groomsmen were stuck in traffic and not going to make the 5:00 rehearsal time.  It was decided to go ahead with the rehearsal and catch the other guys up later.  One cool thing was that Jessica's brothers, Brandon & Jeff were going to co-officiate the marriage ceremony.  Here is a shot of Rich & Jessica walking down the aisle.

Walking down the aisle at rehearsal



After the rehearsal, we had a very nice catered dinner from a local Italian restaurant, we had chicken fettucini and spaghetti and meatballs and wonderful breadsticks  - yummy.  Then it was back to the 5er.  We had an amazing sunset that evening, here are a couple of pictures taken from the truck.

sunset as we are driving onto Camano Island

This is the bridge from the mainland to Camano Island - you can see the Puget Sound in the distance. 

Saturday

Today is the big day.  I got up early to give Jessie and Elsie a manicure. 

Giving Jessie her manicure (notice our lovely surroundings outside the window)





Giving Elsie her manicure

After the morning manicure, Kris & I headed off to get our hair done for the wedding.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the end result.  When I got back, we got dressed for the wedding and headed out to the Wild Rose where the wedding was being held.  Did I mention it was an outdoor wedding?  We had a little rain overnight but the weather was clearing up and it was turning out to be a nice warm day. 

To sum the day up - it was an amazingly beautiful wedding.  Jessica was breathtakingly gorgeous and the wedding ceremony was lovely.  Brandon & Jeff did an amazing job with the ceremony, keeping it light hearted but at the same time getting the message across of the importance of the marriage vows.  The reception food was amazing, the grounds lovely, all in all a wonderful wedding.  The weather held with no rain until the bride and groom were driving away to their honeymoon.  Instead of trying to describe the day, I'll let some pictures do the talking.

Wild Rose grounds

Jessica & Garry having a private moment and the beautiful grounds

A sleepy ring bearer

A light hearted moment with the wedding party during picture taking



Groom with his groomsmen and Calvin (ring bearer) and Cameron (Unity Sand Helper)



Jessica with Elsie (flower girl) and Jessie (Unity Sand Helper)

Jessica with Calvin & Cameron

Bridesmaids (left to right) Amy, Brea, Sabrina & Kristina



Family photo - Brandon, Kelly, Rich, Jessica, Aleita (Jessica's mom) & Jeff



Jessica & Rich

Father/Daughter dance

More father/daughter dance moves

Jessica & Gary's first dance

Cutting the wedding cake and desserts for wedding guests

Sunday

We got up and attended Tidelands.  Brandon had most of his family there, except Jessica and her new husband Garry.  As always, it was a very good message.  I always come away with some new knowledge about the Bible that I didn't know before, Brandon is a good teacher.

After church we went back to the 5er and got the truck loaded up with wedding decorations that we were taking to Jessica & Garry's.  Jessica & Garry had invited family over in the early afternoon to watch them open their wedding presents.  They will be leaving for Hawaii on Monday morning to enjoy the rest of their honeymoon. 

We had a nice little family gathering and it was fun to watch Jessica & Garry open their presents.  They got some very nice gifts.  After the gift opening, we all left so they could get packed and be on their way to their hotel. 

Jessica, Garry & Karen (Garry's mom)

That wraps up the wedding festivities.  We got back to the 5er and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.   The coming week we will be staying on at Brandon & Kris' and working on finishing up on the painting. 



Sunday - Thursday, August 4-8, 2013 (Camano Island, WA)

Sunday

We got to attend Tidelands worship service again today.  They meet in the Standwood Senior Center and above the senior center are apartments, so a few of the residents attend the service also.  They are very happy that they are able to attend this worship service as many of them are no longer able to drive.  This week a swap meet was being held at the senior center and originally Tideland's were told they would not be able to meet because of lack of room, but the residents raised such a fuss that the senior center told them to go ahead and meet anyway.  

After church we stopped at a local farmers market and picked up some marion berries and boysen berries and several ears of fresh corn.  Boysen berries are one of my favorites, it stems from fond childhood memories of Kraemer family reunions and my grandma's yummy berry pies.  The Boysen berries we just ate over ice cream and the marion berries I made into a berry crisp, very yummy.  

In the afternoon we went to an open house for "Growing Gardens for Life.  A local couple here on the island have started this outreach that comes alongside orphanages and group homes around the world and teaches the children how to raise food, them helps them put in and learn to care for sustainable, organic gardens and orchards.  We watched a slide show and walked around their gardens and met Elaine, one half of the couple.  Her husband John was busy running the slide show.  It sounds like something that Rich and I would be interested in helping out with at some point during our journey, we'll have to wait and see.

Other than that, it was just a relaxing day/evening around the 5er.

Monday - Tuesday

The focus on these two days was painting, so that's pretty much what we did all day long.  It was nice to see some major progress on the kids house. 

Tuesday morning we spent the morning with Tideland's volunteers and the local elementary school PTA members painting the stripes on the kid's playground as well as working on putting down a huge stencil of the USA and then painting in the states.  It got so hot on the asphalt and we also ran out of paint that we had to quit by early afternoon, it was unfortunate that we didn't get to finish the whole project, but the PTA will get some more volunteers to finish up the project. 

Volunteers working on USA stencil

Another view - Rich & Cameron (our grandson) painted in Texas, good job don't you think?

Tuesday afternoon, we painted some more on the kids house and then spent a relaxing evening just kicking back in the 5er. 

Front view of freshly painted house - Brandon & Kris had this done already

Back side of house

Brown color we are painting over - this is all that is left to paint on the body of the house, then there is the gable ends, gutters and trim that still need paint

Wednesday

We spent the morning painting, we have the body of the house finished, now what's left is just the trim work and the gable ends of the house which will be a different color. 

After we got cleaned up, we headed into Jessica & Gary's new home in Lake Stevens to help Jessica finish up some wedding things.  I got to tie paper hearts with the kids name and wedding date on the wedding favors.  Rich helped Jessica with a picture project. 

Then we met Gary in Everett at a local Mexican restaurant for dinner.  It was very good, they greeted you with a fresh tortilla with butter and salsa, that was a first for me.  The food was good and the portions were large, we brought leftovers home. 

We then went and helped Gary move a few items from his apartment to their new home.  Rich and Jessica practiced their dance steps for the father/daughter dance at the wedding and then it was time to head home.  It was a long day for all of us.

Thursday

Today we slept in a bit and then did our normal morning routine and then, you guessed it, headed out to do some more painting. 

Rich started in on the shop and I started in on the trim work.  I got the window/door trim done on the house but there is still lots to go.  Rich got one wall of the shop all cut in - painting the grooves in the boards which takes forever it seems.  

Tomorrow starts the wedding festivities so Friday/Saturday will be pretty much taken up with those fun activities.  I'll post some pictures, so stay tuned...... 

Wednesday - Saturday, July 31- August 3, 2013 (Camano Island, WA)

Wednesday

Today was another project day.  The project today was to start work painting on the kids house.  They have the front of the house all completed, with trim work etc. and it looks very nice from the street.  Now for the rest of the house.  We started on one of the sides, but had to do some prep work first.  I had gotten all the overgrown bushes trimmed back but there was an old antenna and wiring that Rich had to remove before we could start painting. 

We came up with a good system.  While Rich was working on removing the wiring, I had started in painting the grooves in the siding.  Rich then came along behind me with the paint roller and painted the rest of the siding.  We got one side of the house done.  It sure takes some time when painting a house by brush.  We had painted our house in Bend by brush and it takes time, but we feel it gives a much better coverage.

After our work day, we just had a nice relaxing evening in the 5er.

Thursday

Today we were headed back to Mt. Vernon/Burlington area which is about 31 miles north of Camano Island.  Whenever we can head north to do our business, we do, there is so much less traffic.  Anyway the plan today was to get Gracie groomed and a hair trim for me.

We get to take a back road from Stanwood to Mt. Vernon which takes you through farming country.  I had no idea that this area was such a big potato producing area.  The fields are blooming right now and are actually quite pretty.

Potato field in bloom

We dropped Gracie off at Petsmart for her grooming appointment.  It is always so sad to leave her behind at the groomers, but she always looks so pretty when she is finished.  We did a little shopping, I was half heartedly looking for a dress to wear to Jessica's wedding.  I brought one with me that will work, but you never know, I might find one better. 

We decided to try lunch at Five Guys Burgers & Fries, we've seen several in the last several weeks and had never eaten at one.  Well our experience was a good one.  The burgers were very good and the fries were excellent.  They use local products and even had listed on a chalkboard which farm the potato's were from.  They claim to not even have a freezer in their stores because all they use are fresh products.  I wonder if/when one will come to the Bend area. 

After lunch it was time to head to my hair appt.  I have had the same hairdresser in Bend for the last 11 years, so hadn't look for one for a lot of years.  How did I pick one you ask?  Well after I made Gracie's grooming appt. I just Googled for a salon near Petsmart - pretty scientific eh?  I pretty much just wanted my bangs trimmed and maybe a few layers added to my hair since it is getting longer.  I had an OK experience - I sure missed Sonia, my hairdresser.  Sonia had showed me how to trim my bangs, and I had been doing it myself, but just thought I was due for a "professional" job.  Well the hairdresser was pleasant enough, but I wasn't overly impressed by her job.  Even when I came out to the car afterwards, Rich asked me if I was happy with my bangs, that should give you a clue that her job wasn't the best.  Oh well.

Then it was off to pick up Gracie at the groomers and more shopping.  And no, I didn't find another dress, so it looks like it will be the one I brought with me and I'm fine with that.  That was pretty much our day.

Friday

We woke to rain....well I guess we won't be doing any painting today.  Rich spent the morning researching some RV parks for when we leave here.  I spent the morning fighting a Sudoko puzzle, I had one that was giving me fits. 

In the afternoon, it had stopped raining enough that we decided to check out the local farmers market in Stanwood.  When we arrived, another rain cloud arrived, so it was a fast trip through the market.  We came home with some fresh beans, beets, kohlrabi, peaches and a small bouquet of flowers.  We stopped at a local store and picked up some baked chicken to go with some of our fresh veggies and some ice cream to go with the peaches...yummy.

Saturday

Today we were headed to Bellingham to get the oil changed in our dually.  When we bought the truck in Bend we were told that we had free oil changes for as long as we owned the truck as long as it was at a Lithia dealer.  Our appt was at 9:00 a.m. and Bellingham is about an hour north, so with our stop at Starbucks for coffee, it meant leaving here around 7:30 a.m. 

We got our coffee and headed north.  This was the farthest north we've been on our travels together.  We found the Lithia dealer and got the truck checked in and the bad news was that for some reason our paperwork says that we can only get the free oil changes in Bend.  We called the Bend store and they didn't know why it would say that either, but since it is Saturday, they can't do anything until Monday.  So our options were to cancel or to go ahead with the oil change and pay for it ourselves.  We chose to go ahead and hopefully we'll get something figured out on Monday. 

After the oil change, we went exploring in Bellingham.  We drove down to the ferry terminals and saw this big ferry that was headed to Alaska this evening. It was pretty big.

Alaska ferry going to Whitier, Alaska

another view of boats in the bay

There was a nice park down by the ferry terminal with some more nice views of the bay.

Marine Park

We walked around the Fairhaven historic district of Bellingham but didn't really spend much time checking out the shops.  We did come across this amazing house, the paint detail was the most detailed I've ever seen on a house.

On the way home we decided to take the scenic Route 11 instead of the freeway.  It was very pretty, but oh my, it was so very narrow and the road was so curvy.  It said that RV's were not recommended, I'd say that dually pickups are probably not recommended either. 

View along Route 11

We had a very nice day sightseeing.  The kids invited us to go to the local fair tonight, but since we'd been gone all day, we decided to pass.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.