1250 Miles, 2 Cats, and a Banjo

Now for something a bit different. During February, I chucked the cats in the car and drove up to northern Washington. The Skagit Valley is really beautiful.

If you're interested in pictures, you can check out the album:

1250 Miles, 2 Cats, and a Banjo

(Okay, so it was actually 1250 miles each way. So 2500 miles with cats in the car. Oof.)

After 2 days in the car, the cats were happy to be anywhere (although I'm sure they would have rather been at home). They settled in after a couple days, and it almost seemed like they enjoyed it.

The weather was a bit different each day. After I arrived, there was snow for a couple days covering everything with about 4 inches of really fluffy snow. Then the sun came out and brightened things up. Then it alternated among overcast, rain, and a little bit of snow, with some sunshine thrown in to make things interesting.

Fortunately, I got accustomed to the cold while I was in London (where the temperature was in the low 40s). In Washington, it varied from the 30s to the 50s, but I had the coat and scarf and hat to keep me nice and warm. Much different from Southern California where I'm in short sleeves most of the year.

Just across the road from where I stayed, there was a great trail that went down to the Skagit River. The river was really beautiful (and the water was incredibly cold). It was nice to see it in the snow and the sunshine and the rain.

We took several side trips, including the Seattle Aquarium, the Freemont Troll, the Woodland Park Zoo, a ferry ride to Port Townsend, Whatcom Falls, Darrington, Anacortes, and Bellingham.

I ended up picking up used books at several places. Somehow, I managed to collect 13 books, including a US Army edition of King Solomon's Mines. Most of the other books were pulp sci-fi (I have a weakness for Larry Niven stories). And I came across a 70s sci-fi book called The Methuselah Enzyme that looks really interesting (in a cult-classic sort of way).

It was really nice to be away from the world for a while. I had time to read and relax and tromp through the woods (and the snow made a wonderful crunching sound). There was also time to watch movies and put together jigsaw puzzles. It was really hard to leave; I even extended my stay a few more days.

Altogether, I was away for 25 days, including the 2 days in the car getting back to So Cal.

(BTW, her name is Kelly, and she was the reason for the journey.)