“…toe thru the…”

We met at L’s house in the early morning hours dressed in carefully layered clothing we hoped to shed as the day wore on, brandishing hot mugs of coffee, carrying boots/mudshoes/garden shoes, snacks and cameras. Yep, a Pacific Northwest outdoor trek. There was one introduction and then hugs all around as we exclaimed to each other how wonderful we looked and how great it was to be together.

We were in high spirits as we pointed the SUV toward Port Townsend and the ferry terminal. We settled in for the ride and the conversation flowed freely. There were updates on wedding arrangements for J’s daughter who will marry in August and lots of advice from those of us who have been there – done that.

S just returned from Palm Springs and points south so we were informed of new restaurants, good golf spots and a sighting of Debbie Reynolds looking ‘just like one of us’ walking her two dogs down the street on a warm Palm Springs morning.

L’s son just got his license, was accepted at the University of his choice and is one hundred percent engaged in alienating his parents in most anyway he can think of. I wisely give counsel that this will pass and he will become human again one day – not adding that it could take some years.

“There’s a chance you may make this ferry.” said the man in the red baseball hat as he took our money.

“We have to make this ferry – we’re off to the Tulip Festival and we’ve timed our entire day based on riding this ferry.”

“Don’t know what to tell you mam’m – just keep your fingers crossed.”

We pulled into our assigned lane and scanned the other cars with bribery in mind. We rolled our eyes and said how we should have left earlier…who’d have thought there would be so many cars this early…we should have known…it’s two hours until the next ferry and nothing around here opens before then.

“Well, I have to go to the bathroom”, L announced as she cut the engine and slid out the door. “I’ll leave the keys in the ignition and you go ahead and pull the car on if they board…and if we make it”, and off she went mumbling something about too much coffee and yes, we should have left earlier.

Soon after L returned, the engines started up and we jealously watched all the cars in the lanes before us move forward – sure of their passage. Soon our lane got the ‘start engines’ look from the attendant and he waved the cars on…one at a time, suspense building. As he waved us on, we rolled down the window and gave him a very loud cheer and four high 5’s as we sped by. The tailgate almost didn’t clear the back of the ferry. Whew!

Back in our party moods we made our way to the upper deck for the trip. We ate yogurt, sipped coffee and found a hundred more things to talk about as we watched Whidbey Island approach. It was a beautiful day with sunshine almost promising to stay around and a hearty nip in the air to remind you where you were.

S was our navigator as she’s “…totally familiar with Whidbey Island because our daughter lives here and we visit her all the time.” We promptly got lost, but luckily L has a nose for direction which was completely lacking the the rest of us and she got us back on track. S was referred to as ‘our navigator’ the rest of the day.

The fields were beautiful – strips of color running to the horizon, each more brilliant than the one before. We filled the two large buckets L had stashed in the back of the Suv with over a dozen bouquets of tulips, five of which were mine. I thought how wonderful it would be to be able to freeze some of them and enjoy them just a little at a time, extending the pleasure of their beauty.

Off to LaConner for lunch at a too expensive restaurant for some wonderfully delicious food and fine wine and then we hit the shops. LaConner is a mecca for antique enthusists having a marvelous selection even if a bit spendy. Time got away from us and we scanned the ferry schedule making the decision that we’d better head back to Whidbey now if we were to be home before midnight!

The reverse trip was every bit as enjoyable as the earlier one and yes, we made another wrong turn on Whidbey, but navigator wisely said nothing. During the return ferry-ride we made the decision to eat at this little restaurant in a small crossroads of a town we would be passing through. It was unbelievable to them that I had never eaten there – they were known far and wide for their good home cooking and pies that looked more like mountains.

I order a Shrimp Louie and I would guess it weighed five pounds. I ate for forty-five minutes and still had enough for a meal left on the plate. We passed on pie and settled for four cherry tootsie pops which we contentedly sucked on while patting ourselves on the back for the calories we didn’t eat as we hunkered in for the last leg of the drive.

George was waiting for me when I arrived around 10:00 or so…tired, full, loaded down with tulips, ready for a glass of wine and extremely happy to be home.