Anacortes

After dropping the girls off at my parents at around 3:30 on Friday, Nick and I headed down to the US border. We waited for just over an hour in line, even though the LED sign on the highway promised us a 30 minute wait (nick always picks the slow lines!) It was a warm, sunny day however, so we were able to watch people jogging past, playing frisbee or just letting their toddlers out to run on the very green grass to stretch their legs. And we chatted in a quiet car, which we hardly ever get the chance to do! (:

We drove down the I-5 for about 45 minutes and took the exit to Chuckanut Drive, just south of Bellingham. I had heard that this is one of the most beautiful stretches of road in North America, so it was a "must do"...and it was worth it! With the leaves just turning colour, the dense forest on either side of the road with the hundreds of ferns and moss-covered evergreens, and a view of the ocean and San Juan Islands just beyond the trees, it was a gorgeous drive. So lush and green and with the scent of pine needles mingled with ocean breezes...lovely!!

We found ourselves back on the I-5 and headed down south a bit more to Anacortes. We saw a sign to Deception Pass, and since I had never been there before (but Nick has seen twice, go figure!) we decided to go there the next day and check it out.
In Anacortes we explored the town, saw the ferry terminal and ferries going to Victoria, walked along the beach, drove along the Bay and through the streets with their heritage homes and also new developments, up and down winding hillside roads, and then watched the sun go down from the harbour. On the side of the road, in someone's front garden, we saw a deer munching away at some flowers!
We then found a restaurant in town and a hotel and settled in for a nice, relaxing evening.







In the morning, after a wonderful continental breakfast (we really recommend the Anaco Bay Inn!) we drove through town again, hoping to stop and explore the antique stores and other shops, but not much was open yet, and since we had time constraints, we didn't want to linger too long... so we went back to the marina and had a look at all the boats and went up to a lookout above the bay, which had a landscape that really reminded us of Albany in Australia! The rugged coastline, large boulders and wind-swept trees took us back...and since it was misty and gray, even more so like the time we visited Albany together. There are trees that grow only on Vancouver Island and along the coast called "Arbutus" which have large waxy leaves and a reddish peeling bark... which looked alot like the eucalyptus in Australia...so we were thinking of the Aussies while we were there...




Deception Pass was our next destination, and so we drove to the bridge between Figaldo and Whidbey Islands and stopped to look at the whirpools below and the famous spot where Captain Vancouver was "deceived" into thinking that what he saw was a peninsula, when it was actually an island, and what he thought was a river with a very strong current was actually a passage between two islands.
We drove through a few of the many campgrounds on Whidbey Island, and went to one of the beaches to watch the waves, the seagulls, and do a bit of beach-combing. We will definitely be taking the girls camping there one day...what a beautiful, awe-inspiring place!








After Deception Pass we headed back towards Bellingham and did some shopping at Bellis Fair. Nick found some good deals on dress pants and shirts, but I found the prices similar to Canada for what I was looking for (shoes!) and I get nervous about having too much to declare at the border, so I only bought a baby book/journal, a birthday gift for my Mom, and Nick bought some clothes.

We took the Aldergrove border crossing back into Canada, which only had a 2 car wait!!! I dropped Nick off at home, because he was scheduled to meet our brother in law with his trailer in order to pick up a new fridge for us, which we bought weeks ago but didn't have a chance to transport yet...

And I drove to my parents to pick up the girls, who were very happy to see me (what a great feeling to have those little arms wrapped so tightly around your neck!) They had a great time- thanks so much Mom, Dad and Michael!! I think my parents were very happy to see me, too....lol (: Well, at least they learned that when the baby comes, it will be best to separate the girls...my sister can have one, my parents the other. The girls are so well behaved when they are on their own...
So that was our little get-away. We were so blessed to have had the opportunity and it made us realize how easily we as couples can start to drift apart and get too involved in our separate roles at work and home! I don't think we'll go "away" too often, but at least make an effort to spend more time focused on each other. Well, no big promises for the "newborn stage" (more like a year! lol) but...we'll try. We have so much to be thankful for, including each other.

Tomorrow we're looking forward to time spent with family and a big 'ol fashioned turkey dinner! Yum!