February 9, 2007
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The Mt Vernon Week
During the week we were in Washington on Friday afternoon before rush hour began, we headed north on IH 5 to our destination. We later learned that the traffic in Seattle is really bad so we were glad for that decision. Evening falls around 5:00 or 5:30, and many places close early (by our Texas standards).
Celina’s new boss had arranged for us to stay in an adorable little town on Swinomish Channel. La Conner has a population of 750. No new building are allowed so it won’t be growing. It is full of old picturesque homes and shops. We rented the “boat house” overlooking the channel. We arrived just as the sun was going down
The story goes that, in the late ’60s, some hippies lived in this place. At that time it was a one-room garage. Late one night after a few puffs, they began to speculate how to remodel their living space. From that came the idea of a two story cottage with a boat bow front. Within a few month the boat house emerged docked on the hill above town. It had a hot tub sunken in the lower deck and on Friday evenings clothes were left at the door for hot tub nights. The old tub has been replaced and the upstairs balcony has a plexiglass front for a better view. Inside the french doors in the upstairs bedroom is a ship’s steering wheel too.
Notice the walkway down the hill beside the house. This picture is a side view from that path. Later in the week, we walked down it and went to breakfast in a cafe on Main Street.
Our lives fell into a routine of basking by the gas fireplace in the evenings after a homecooked meal, waking up early and searching for a place for Celina. I often sat in the backseat while she navigated Nick to the next location. We also searched car lots and classified ads for an efficient, reliable and, of course, beautiful little car.Our trip into town included a drive through beautiful farm land where houses are guarded by a citadel of poplars against a backdrop of mountains.
Comments (6)
This looks like a beautiful area! catzndogz9
What a lovely place you’re visiting! Hope you have good luck finding Celina a place, and can relax together and enjoy yourselves. Safe journey!!
Ah, I love western Washington.
Beautiful. Glad she gets to enjoy a change in climate.
She can always visit for hot and humid…
I absolutely love the Pacific Northwest. I remember after my first visit I thought “Gee, I’d love to move here but it’s just too far from home.” That was before I moved to Germany…I guess Washington state’s not so far after all.
) Hope she finds something really charming~
I like the colors in the last photo — reds, oranges, gold, blue, green, purple…