Mt Vernon weekend, Post 1: Tulip Festival

Last weekend, Angharad, Ben and I headed to Mt Vernon, WA to catch up with Donna and Terry. It was our first road trip in our new car.

On Friday night we crossed the border into the US, a process that took 1.5 hours and involved Angharad almost being arrested for telling a border guard that she was ripping our car apart because she was "looking for a needle" (in fact a darning needle that she had dropped down the side of the seat)! Then we stopped for a scrumptious dinner at our favourite restaurant in Bellingham: La Fiamma Wood Fire Pizza.

We reached Donna and Terry's home around 10:30pm and spent a while chatting with them and Kelly, Janae and Etta, who were also spending the weekend.

On Saturday morning, Angharad, Ben and I set off to see the tulip fields: we had timed our visit to coincide with the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (which Angharad and I also went to last year). We didn't go into any of the tulip farms, and ran out of time to go to the street fair like we had originally intended, but we did have fun admiring the vivid fields of tulips as we pootled around the area. As you can see, a LOT of other people were doing likewise!

Tulip traffic

Daffodils

Someone's yard

A barn

Another barn

And yet another barn

The roadside

Lonely?

Llamas

Kites

Barn and kites

Did I mention that I love American barns?

Cyclists checking their "bloom map" at a roundabout

Mt Baker towering over the scene

Love this - looks like she's inspecting a mural!

Crates

So much for the above sign...

Donkey

Helicopter tour over the tulip fields

Click here to see more tulip photos in our Picasa album.

After lunch at the Chuck Wagon Drive-In in Mt Vernon, it was time to head back to Donna and Terry's place to get ready for Etta's 2nd birthday party, which was combined with her cousin Jacqueline's 9th birthday party!

To be continued...