Tip toe through the Tulips

There is a huge region to the north called the Skagit Valley (pronounced Skajit) of here dedicated to the growing of daffodils and tulips. The dutch names on the buildings give a hint to the ancestry of the inhabitants...


There's an annual Tulip Festival with all sorts of tulip-related festivities. Kim and I took a trip up there two weeks too early, so while it was a great ride and a nice day out, we didn't get to see it in its full glory!


As is customary on any girly day out, we needed a good stop for lunch. We drove to La Conner and The Calico Cupboard Cafe took us both to some great meal time memories. It was old-Englishy enough to get me going and old-American enough to set Kim off. And the cinnamon rolls.... We then explored the glorious little craft shops, thrift stores and artsy places for a good 2 hours in the rain. We went into the Hutch Studio and were thoroughly inspired for the rest of the day! This is my new favorite place to hang out. Shame it's so far away.


Below is a cross section of a tree that grew in the area. The man to the left was about 6ft tall. Kim said the whole area was full of trees this big when she was a kid. Now their remains are monuments to fallen giants.

Driving through the hill-surrounded fertile valleys on some of the few windy roads in the region, I was amazed at how much like Somerset it felt. Where ever you go in the world, a farm will always have a machinery junk yard near by.
What a great day out. Topped off with a trip to the outlet center on the return drive, it couldn't have been better.