Published in the La Vernia News on January 2, 2014
Spontaneous Inspiration Leads To Adventure
What would you think if we said, “Drop everything and get on an airplane to anywhere.” You would obviously think that we were crazy. Well, sometimes you have to think crazy to get yourself moving, doing something different, something that will get you to a better place, a better way of living.
That is exactly what we did one day, back in the day when we were anchored down to the humdrum routine of everyday life. Why not? Our kids were grown and on their own; our parents were healthy and not in need of our presence. We had a credit for a couple of airline tickets. Let’s live a little!
Throw a dart
But where to go? We decided to throw a dart at the U.S. map hanging in
our office. The dart landed in the state of Washington. That’s where we
would go. A day later, without any planning whatsoever, we boarded a
flight to Seattle.
Everyday Journeys
Harry and Linda Kaye Perez
Mt. Rainier viewed from the air as Harry and Linda arrived in Seattle
While in the air, headed to the unknown, we could hear a familiar little voice in our heads, getting louder by the second. As Dr. Phil would say in his Texas drawl, “What were you thinkin’?”
Northwest Adventure
Upon arriving in Seattle, walking hand-in-hand with smiles on our faces,
the first thing we had to do was to find a rental car. That
accomplished, we headed south toward Mount Rainier. We had a stunning
view of the mountain on our flight into Seattle and with our camera
always at the ready, managed to get a great photo. We knew we had to see
it up closer. The scenery was so beautiful; the landscape was dotted
with small quaint towns.
We hardly noticed that it was getting dark and we needed to find a place
to spend the night. We approached a small “mom and pop” motel. As we
entered, we noticed a sign that said, “No Vacancy.” As we turned around
to leave, the sweet lady behind the counter asked how many nights we
needed. “Just one,” we replied. She said that all her rooms were rented,
but that she had a room way in the back that was for her grandchildren
when they visited. “We’ll take it,” we said. It was a wonderful,
comfortable, cozy room and we hated to leave the next morning.
Back on the road, we just drove -- let’s see what is down this road. We
came to a crossroads; left was our choice. This took us to the small
town of Elbe. Off in the distance, we could hear a train whistle, and as
we got closer, we saw a train station from the past with an old steam
train ready to go, steam pouring out of the engine.
Hurriedly we parked our rental car, purchased tickets on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad, and within a few minutes were chugging along on a two-hour excursion to -- wait, you guessed it -- nowhere.
Whales at play
The following day, our adventure continued when we took a ferry out of
the coastal town of Anacortes, just 88 miles north of Seattle on
Interstate 5, to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island. The best way to see
this historic village is on foot; quaint shops, B&Bs, and great
seafood eateries are within walking distance of the ferry landing. Whale
watching is a favorite pastime. Orcas migrate to these waters beginning
in late May, a must-see.
A sweet finish
We had heard that there was great hiking at Mt. Baker, so we decided to
drive toward that area after leaving Friday Harbor, confident of finding
a place to stay for the night. Why not? We had been very lucky so far;
we wanted to be in the area for an early-morning hike. Driving 45 miles
east of Anacortes, we passed only one motel; there were no vacancies. It
was getting late, but we had no choice but to continue; we didn’t want
to go back to the coast.
The paved highway ended at the town of Concrete, Wash. It was just
before dark. There was only one hotel there, which didn’t look very
inviting, but our only other option was to sleep in our small rental
car. A bar occupied the ground floor and there were 10 rooms hugging a
single hallway on the second floor and one bathroom at the end of that
hallway. In our room, there were no curtains on the window; a single
light bulb dangled from the ceiling and the mattress was the
old-fashioned squeaky coil-spring. Morning could not come fast enough!
However, staying in Concrete turned out to be a good decision; Mt. Baker
was absolutely magnificent in the early-morning sunshine. As we walked
along one of the trails, we saw a group of people picking blueberries.
We joined them and filled our water jug with the plump blue beauties,
which we enjoyed on our drive back to Seattle for our return trip home.
Take off!
Travel is an important part of our lives. How else can we get to know
the people and places in our world? Not all travel has to be to faraway
places; it can be just around the corner.
A brand new year is waiting in anticipation -- begging for a great
start. What are you going to do about it? Planning a trip for a day or
perhaps longer might actually be a great idea.
We are planning our new journeys for 2014 and would like for you, our
readers, to suggest places that you would like to read about or travel
to, both near and far.
Harry and Linda Kaye Perez are freelance writers from just down the road
from Floresville. Together they share a passion for traveling and
writing, and discovering the very best in all corners of the world.
Email them at Harry-Linda411@att.net.
