Summer Vacation - Part 1

For a long time I've wanted to go visit my sister, Tina, in Washington. It was so wonderful for the few years she was living nearby, and was difficult to imagine why anyone would not want to live in Texas. We're eight years apart in age, so growing up we were not that close as sisters. Then as we got married and out on our own, we were miles apart - literally! So this year, mom and I decided to make the trek to Sedro-Wooley, Washington to surprise her (sort of) for her birthday in June. At this stage of my life, to be able to take a trip with my mom is a blessing. I have so many friends who would give anything just to be able to see their mothers, much less to be able to travel and do something fun. So we began planning our trip many months before.

There is actually a LOT to do in the area where Tina lives with her husband, Steve, and their two dogs Turbo and Glitz. They live in the Skagit River Valley, which is ripe with lush farmlands. We arrived just in time to have missed the Berry Dairy Days in Burlington - darn! But there were still plenty of ripe strawberries to be had at the local roadside stands! Visiting an agricultural area certainly makes it easy to eat healthy on vacation! It was fun to hit the local farmer's markets each day to pick up fresh veggies for dinner. So in exchange for room and board, I taught Tina a couple of my favorite WW recipes.

We didn't have a set itinerary, so we just planned each day by the weather forecast. Wherever it was going to rain, we went the other direction! And it worked out pretty well! We started our sightseeing by heading for Bloedel Reserve via Deception Pass. The bridge is spectacular and provides a great view of the Skagit Bay.





It turns out that Tina in afraid of heights, which I didn't know. So here she is trying to look cool, calm, and collected standing on the bridge!



It was a beautiful drive across Bainbridge Island, but it turned out that the Bloedel Reserve was closed on Monday! Darn! But we did get to take a couple of ferry rides, which was fun. Here's Mom enjoying the beautiful scenery.



While waiting for the ferry across to Seattle, we stumbled upon the most awesome ice cream shop! If you are ever on Bainbridge Island, don't miss Mora Ice Cream! I had the most unbelievable Marsala custard! Now if I could just figure out how to make it at home!

Here is Mom and Tina finishing their's off before we board the ferry.