Wisconsin To Washington: Mom and Grandma's Visit

With a clear sky and plenty of sunshine, I'm not sure why I'm inside blogging, but here goes...

It's taken me this long to post a blog since Mom and Grandma visited because I've needed this long to recuperate. Man, we really packed in the activities. And to think, Mom and Grandma spent three days in Seattle before they even got to us. They must've been zombies by the time we were all through with them.

They took the train up from Seattle on a Saturday, and, after greeting them at the depot, we took a sunny stroll down the boardwalk. It's one of our favorite places in B'ham, and you can trust you'll see it too if you visit.

After taking in the bay, we took a walking tour of Fairhaven, Bellingham's historic district. There's a cute cafe called The Colophon that has dairy cow decor. We figured it would be an appropriate place to take two Wisconsin gals for lunch. 'Twas. And, their African peanut soup- delightful!

Seeing as it was a Saturday, it only made sense to hit up the local farmers' market, which is one gem Mike and I have been really impressed with since moving out here. For a city that is relatively the same size in population as Eau Claire, its farmers' market kicks EC's ass. Hands down. Seriously, B'ham has put some heart and soul into this market. It's really a celebration. Mom picked up a souvenir for herself there and bought me a dozen tulips, my favorite. :)

We left the market to escort Mom and Grandma to none other than the Continski B & B. We visited for a while and put our feet up before heading back downtown for dinner. We ate Mexican food that night, as though we needed any more spice with G'ma Bernie in town; yeah right! We finished the night off with a family game night and then all hit the hay, as they say back in Wisco.

Come Sunday, there was no time to be wasted. It was Mom and Grandma's second and last day in Bellingham ('til their next trip), and we had so much more to show them. It was with good reason, then, that we started the day off with some signature Continski B&B French toast to fuel us for what was ahead.

Our first stop: Larrabee Beach. Mike and I spent our first week in Bellingham living at Larrabee State Park. It's a beautiful place, with a really fun beach. There are lots of rocks to explore, tide pending that is. And, who can resist a refreshing sea breeze on the Washington coastline?

If you're going to see water on the coast, you may as well follow it up with a waterfall inland a bit, which is exactly what we did. Next stop: Whatcom Falls. Mom and Grandma both really enjoyed this. We even discovered, unbeknownst to us before, that there is a fish hatchery a hundred yards or so from the falls. Pretty cool.

Somehow, in the latter half of the day, we managed to fit in: a visit to a touch tank/quaint marine center; ice cream at a local creamery; lots of new facts and sights at the county museum, which currently includes a boats and ships exhibit (awesome!); artichokes for dinner, which Mom hated, but ate because she loves me; and, ???, ... I think that's everything. We all slept well that night.

On Monday, Mike stayed home to take care of the girls while Mom, Grandma, and I hopped a ferry over to Victoria on Vancouver Island in "Beautiful British Columbia" (that's the slogan on B.C. license plates). The ferry ride was exciting. A seal poked its head out of the water long enough for us to catch a glimpse or two. Then, we saw a tugboat pulling a LOT of timber. THEN, the ferry had to slow down because there was a family of porpoises in front of the ferry. Everyone ran out to see them, and, dang, it was suh-weet. Unfortunately, with a crowd of passengers to battle through, I didn't bother to even get my camera. By the time I would have struggled to get a photo, I would have missed the live experience. Sorry, y'all.

In Victoria, we went to the world-renowned Butchart Gardens. A wealthy family once owned the fifty-five acre estate and started the gardens that still exist today. Obviously, the gardens have been renovated and expanded and the like, as have the buildings, but the beauty remains. Mom, Grandma, and I all agreed it would be lovely to see the gardens every season. They have a rose garden that wasn't in bloom yet, but looks like it will be pretty extravagant in another couple of months. People keep saying it's been a cold winter here, which is hard for our Midwestern bones to agree with, but, point being, the gardens were still impressive at their beginning blooms.

After the gardens, we went to Craiggdarroch castle. Victoria is an old city, with some absolutely gorgeous architecture, this castle being some of its best. The square footage of the castle adds up to 25,000 sq. feet. Yeah... I know. We wondered how the castle became property of the local historic society. Apparently, though the original owners had seven children, through a long sequence of family feuds and legal battles, the castle was sold. Through the years, it has been used as a city gov't building, a school district office, and a music academy, among a handful of other things.

We explored downtown a bit too, and the architecture continued to impress us. Right by the harbor lies the parliament building, which is really a beauty. Wherever we walked, it seemed like we could see a historic building in every direction.

We spent the night and woke up with enough time to take a morning stroll in Beacon Hill Park before leaving to catch the ferry back to the states. When we returned to WA, we drove to Seattle to meet up with Brad and Jessica. We all had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant and went to bed early so that Mom and Grandma would be well rested for their flight home the next morning.