Skip to main content

From Cloud 9 to room 101


I awoke to find I had not been dreaming and I truly was a guest of two fine Americans . On there advice I first went to the small picturesque town of La Conner . It has a compact selection of excellent mainly tourist shops with small blocks of charming houses adjacent . It is growing but still has building land close by . A definite possibility and a good opportunity to get an ideal house built in a good yet affordable location . There is an excellent wooded park at the end of the down town area .
There is a red iron bridge there known as the " rainbow bridge" which crosses over onto the Indian reservation .
I crossed this bridge and looked at the retirement community living on land leased from the local Swinomish people . They were out in force raising funds for their upcoming canoe racing regatta by washing passing cars in exchange for donations . I still had desert dust on my rental jeep so I made a contribution .
Anacortes somehow doesn't seem to have a single less than perfect residence among its tree lined blocks . A bit pricey I was told but I can see why . Someone is even still lovingly putting the finishing touches on their very own castle- I kid you not - pictures here .Success leads to success and there are lots of new houses just built as you head south along highway 20 to Oak Harbor .

A real scenic drive the ultimate high point is the bridge at Deception Pass which was constructed in 1936 as part of President Roosevelt's plan to build America out of the depression . It must be good as I met a local still taking photographs there after 12 years . ( check mine out you wont be disappointed )

I'm still amazed by the fact that on my travels I keep meeting people from all states races and backgrounds who will initiate wide ranging conversations with , to them , strangers and always appear to be genuinely interested in each others stories and opinions .
Today I spoke with for the first time :-

An ex SCUBA diver who broke his ear drum water skiing . He was extending a tea shop in La Conner and had it down to raw science with with at exactly 4 degrees Fahrenheit below boiling and a stopwatch to time the steeping . He even stocked my favorite blend of Yorkshire tea and its rarer gold blend variety .

Some Swinomish in high spirits who offered to take my picture with the "rainbow bridge" which they had run across the girders of when they were children .

A Whidbey Islander still photographing his ( now not so secret ) bridge .

A computing student from Colorado who had already visited 32 states .

And many more .

As I drove on south the Navy were out and I got treated to my own private air show .

I checked in to the dutch motel complete with windmill and got put into room 101 which in England is slang for where the rubbish is put . It is Probably the best room in the Motel , very comfortable .

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The S.T.EN. Gun

“ We will never surrender !” France fell to the German Blitzkrieg in May 1940 . The retreating British Army ended up being rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk by a flotilla of little ships leaving behind much of their equipment . A German invasion was expected ! Winston Churchill the British prime minister made his famous “ we will fight them on the beaches – we will never surrender ! “ speech and the Battle of Britain was on ! The UK desperately needed submachineguns . The Government ordered well made expensive Thompsons from the still neutral United States but there was never enough available . In order to rapidly equip a sufficient fighting force to counter the threat of invasion , the Royal Small Arms Factory , Enfield ( North London ) was commissioned to produce an alternative quickly and in large numbers . Whats in a name S.T.En. There Major R. V. Shepherd OBE and Mr. Harold John Turpin came up with the Design which became
14 comments
Read more

Bonny and Clyde and the Browning Automatic Rifle

Bonnie and Clyde and the BAR ! Clyde Barrow, holding a Browning automatic rifle. BAR's could fire a twenty-shot magazine loaded with armor-piercing ammunition in under three seconds. During the depression of the 1930's in the USA criminals were looked at in a different way by many of the people who had been victimized and impoverished by the rich bankers and the emerging powerful corporations. Many people saw them as people driven to the edge that were only taking back what was stolen from them and striking back at a society and Government that let the Depression cause so much harm to so many . Two of the most famous criminals of that time were Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow . They were known to be quite skilled with their weapons, and unlike most criminals, they practiced with them and maintained them . Sadly they are considered to be responsible for the deaths of at least Nine law enforcement officers and five civilians during
5 comments
Read more

501 NE 4th street - Plumbing

  Drainage     The first thing I have found strange is the constant requirement for testing at every stage but here with the building being largely wooden it does make sort of sense . A  minor fault in the plumbing could lie undetected otherwise within the walls and only surface once damp damage had become extensive and be very costly to repair . Thus it is required that once the drains have been run throughout the building frame they are filled completely with water to ensure their soundness . I took the wise precaution of making up a screw in fitting with a pressure gauge and an inflation valve to test the pipes with air first as once the system was full of water it would be time consuming and difficult to get the water out and to dry where necessary to effect repairs .     First things first - all the drainage flows within the house in a trunk and branch layout . The main 4 inch drain had already been tested and laid  under the basement floor . There are tables to show how
16 comments
Read more