Breakfast at Frank's Place

The cleaning lady, Viola, came to clean Hobart's house this morning.  We hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so Hobart suggested we go out for breakfast and get out of Viola's way.  We got into the car and backed out of the driveway.  Hobart gave me options, "You have two choices--one place is rather nice and the other is dreadful."  I chose "dreadful."  (I like living on the edge.)  So we drove north on highway 20 until we got to Frank's place. We parked.   I took one look at the sign, the roadside decor and the yard art and burst out laughing.  It was indeed dreadful.  It was a patriot, military, greasy spoon with a sign out in front that advertised Spam. it also had a statue of Elvis waiting to greet us at the door.  In addition to Spam breakfasts, the menu happily featured "Bacon Mania".  The waitress was friendly, the coffee hot, and Hobart's eggs Benedict featured, of course, BACON!  And for an hour, I sat in a Washington state, Whidbey island restaurant and felt like I was right back home.......in Texas!  

 I think Frank is very patriotic. 

 Elvis to greet us.

 Bacon, bacon and more bacon

A bumble bee and the Statue of Liberty--who could ask for more?

 Ultimate yard art

 Military men and women and camouflage  

Bacon eggs Benedict
(Hobart ate this and survived.)

Elvis, looking over Hobart's shoulder. 

A Trip to Artist Point

Hobart was excited last week when he checked the computer to see if the Artist Point parking lot had been cleared of snow and discovered that it was, so we planned a day trip to go to the mountains--yesterday was the day.  It was a beautiful, clear day for the three hour trip.  Hobart likes to avoid interstates whenever possible, so we took the winding roads through little towns, stopping occasionally to see something of interest.  One was a small-town general store which sold everything from fresh peaches to humorous mugs.  It looked like it should have been next door to the Whistle Stop Cafe in Fried Green Tomatoes.  We stopped at the small town of Glacier for a delicious lunch at an Italian restaurant and paused several times along the way to take pictures, absorb and appreciate this gorgeous part of the country.  The beauty of this area is incredible--huge evergreens,  ice blue mountain streams, waterfalls and wildflowers. And snow!  In August!  We finally arrived at the Artist Point parking lot and the wall of snow I had previously seen in pictures.  The view of Mt. Baker was spectacular, so we spent an hour in the sun and snow, taking more pictures and visiting with other viewers and climbers.  On the way home we saw the sun set over the San Juan islands--pink sky and blue water. By the time we got home, the almost-full, orange moon had risen out of the Cascades.  What a perfect day.  

Picture Lake

Picture Lake and Mt. Shuksan

Artist Point parking lot

Mt. Baker

Mt. Baker and Hobart

Heather Meadows Visitors' Center