Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

This weekend, Angharad and I took an overnight trip across the border to see the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, leaving Ben behind to study in peace. (Note: "Skagit" rhymes with "gadget".) This was the third year in a row that I had wanted to see the tulips, so I was very excited to finally get there!

We set off at 9am on Saturday morning, and by noon we were driving around the fields of tulips and daffodils outside Mt Vernon in Washington state. Tulips are my favourite flower and daffodils are Angharad's, so we were in our element! We decided not to go into the two main tulip farms that charge admission and were brimming over with tourists, so we just took photos from the roadside and didn't need our gumboots after all.

Here's a field of daffodils...



And LOTS of fields of tulips...














This is what the roads around the farms looked like...


Some cyclists getting into the spirit of things...


And some close-ups from the gardens in front of the Washington Bulb Company...







For lunch, we ordered take-out (that's take-away for you Aussies!) from the charming but overcrowded Calico Cupboard Cafe and Bakery in Mt Vernon, and ate it in the car beside the Skagit River. Quesadilla for Angharad, and turkey pot pie for me...



Then we met up with Donna (previously featured in this blog, particularly in the context of US Thanksgiving!) to explore the Mt Vernon Street Fair. Here are some of the sights...

That evening we had a relaxing and entertaining time at Donna and Terry's, stayed the night with them, and left for the border after Sunday lunch.





We stopped in Bellingham to go to a craft store and do the obligatory grocery shop at Trader Joe's, and were home by 5pm. A very enjoyable weekend!

PS. Click here if you would like to see lots more tulip photos!