A Trip to the Mountains
Notice I did not say "A Day in the Mountains" which was the original plan. Hobart said, "Let's leave early tomorrow, have breakfast in this wonderful little restaurant in Sedro Woolley, and then follow Highway 20 up into the mountains." Although we meant to start earlier, we didn't feel too badly when we pulled out of the driveway at 10:00. The trip began to lose momentum when we pulled back into the driveway five minutes later to get the maps we had left in the garage. But then we were on our way and the day was gorgeous. Hobart was driving and I was sitting in my favorite passenger position, feet on dash.
On the outskirts of Burlington, Hobart mentioned that his new sunglasses didn't feel quite right, and if we had more time, he'd like to stop at the mall to exchange them for the bigger size. How long could that take? We were right there, so we decided to take the time to make the exchange. Done. Back in the car I mentioned that I had forgotten to get coffee at Costco the day before and since we were only a block away, I could run in and get it. Hobart circled the parking lot while I ran through Costco, found the coffee, paid, and jumped back into the car. Mountains, here we come!
We arrived in Sedro Woolley at noon, a little late for breakfast, but just in time for lunch. Hobart drove straight to his favorite restaurant. Oh, no. The building now housed a combination pet grooming/nail salon. Plan B. We headed downtown and happened to pass a house which was sure to win the prize for the most dramatic yard art. Turn around. Another delay to take pictures.
The downtown was quaint and inviting. We parked the car, crossed the street and walked into a diner which looked like it would be the locals' favorite hangout. It was. We sat in a booth opposite a table of grinny, chubby, tattooed men, wearing t-shirts and blue jeans. They were chatting and laughing and enjoying their meals and each other's company. Hobart and I had just as much fun watching them. One of them caught my eye.....well, his tattoos did....so I asked him about them--he said Snoopy had been his hero for a long time--and got his permission to take pictures. Larry the Cable Guy would have loved his Git-R-Done cap.
The meal was over, so we checked out the town. Evidently--Hobart googled it when we got home--there is a chain-saw carving competition in Sedro Woolley every year, and the winning sculptures are kept and displayed all around town. They were spectacular!
We were about to get back in the car to head for the mountains when Hobart called my attention to a store that looked interesting. Hobart has been looking for a shirt to replace the ragged (I'm being kind by calling it ragged--it's truly horrible.) tan, lined, corduroy shirt he wears ALL the time around the house. We have checked stores and catalogs and browsed on-line and found nothing that was satisfactory as a replacement. So we wandered into the store, started looking, and were approached by a wonderful clerk who said he had just what Hobart was looking for.....and it was the only one like it in the store....and it was his size...and it was on sale. And...it was orange. I was sure Hobart would instantly reject it, but, no! No! Hobart fell in love! With that shirt! Instantly in love and wanted, not only to buy it, but to wear it out of the store! Like a little kid with a new pair of shoes, Hobart had our new best friend cut off the tags so he wouldn't even have to take it off. Goodbye, raggedy shirt! Hello, Orange Shirt! Here is Hobart in his new shirt and my hero, the clerk.
By then it was mid-afternoon and we knew we weren't going to make it to the mountains, but we decided we weren't through exploring yet, so we got back onto Hwy. 20 and headed east again.
We ran into concrete.....I mean, Concrete. Yep! There is a town named Concrete and it once had a cement factory. They made cement in Concrete. They currently have a wonderful community garden that is outlined by a handsome fence and birdhouses. Also, notice the mountains--which someday we will get to--in the background.
This is a concrete building they are planning to restore and beside it, in concrete, a monument, listing all the years the cement factory had a perfect safety record. (When you are with Hobart, you stop to read EVERYTHING!)
The police station/fire department had this map of the region and we could trace the highways and roads we will take someday to go to the mountains.
Leaving Concrete, we crossed the river and drove home on the other side. It was a gorgeous drive with scenes like this one. Maybe there's just as much value in looking at the mountains as there is in being in them.
