Our friends Paula and Bob have never visited this area so today we gave them the 50-cent tour of Anacortes that included among other places the Seafarer Memorial, Cap Sante and Washington Park.

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I know I've shown you before but humor me as I again share another incredible La Conner sunset with you.

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We met Barbara and Rudy Deck on our China trip two years ago. Since they live on Whidbey Island we get to see them once a year when we come up here. Because the Orcas for some reason were not around today, Rudy decided to give us a tour of the local sights. We began by going under Deception Pass Bridge, one of my favorite bridges.

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We went past this old fish cannery, one of the many that used to be in this area, as we headed for the refinery and Cap Sante marina before...

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...heading down the Swinomish Channel and the La Conner waterfront. The Swinomish tribe has a log operation and one can often see the tugs helping log rafts down the channel. I had often wondered why there was a road here called "Pull and Be Damned" and found out it was named after the tugs that do just that. Here we saw the tug called Pull and Be Damned guiding the log raft.

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There seems to be an abundance of blue herons in the area this year. It is incredible watching these majestic birds and getting close enough to photograph them.

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After our boat tour, Rudy took us on a tour of the Coupeville area. We went to Fort Casey and got to the light...

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...and this eagle perched on the top of a barn among other local attractions.

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This pirate and Tryna did some funnin' around aboard the ferry.

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Today found the four of us aboard the Ferry to San Juan Island. We usually don't take a car but Paula and Bob wanted to see the whole island.

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We drove to the far side of the island so we could have lunch at beautiful Roche Harbor. Originally Roche Harbor was a company town built around the Roche Harbor Lime Company in the 1890's.

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Lime Kiln Light overlooks the confluence of three major straits.

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On the ferry ride back to Anacortes we got to see Mt. Baker in all her beauty.

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Another ferry ride today took us to the quaint Victorian town of Port Townsend. Here we got to go to the Saturday market and then...

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...nose around in the quaint stores.

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Because there was a late spring here in Washington, we are getting to see the potato fields in flower instead of after they've been defoliated.

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La Conner is a huge tulip bulb growing area. We finally went to visit one of the major growers where we learned that they actually ship some of their bulbs to Holland! Someday I'd love to visit this area when the tulips are in bloom.

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Although the blackberries aren't quite ready here in the campground, all of the berry stands in the area are selling yummy ones.

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There is nothing like a good campfire and uke music!

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Driving around Anacortes looking for a park my friend told me about, we came upon a Carnegie Library. Amazing that we've been coming here for so many years and never found it before.

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Our friends the Doolittles came over from Port Townsend to go to the Island Fair with us. It's a small fair that is lots of fun. We enjoyed watching the kids show their animals but were disappointed to find out that the logging events were not being held today.

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One never knows what she will learn at the fair. I was being given a demonstration on a worm compost box. When some worms were pulled out, lo and behold she told me all about how they were having sex and the life cycle of the worm!!

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Nothing is quite as picturesque as Rainbow Bridge spanning the Swinomish Channel in La Conner.

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While enjoying an evening fire and sunset with friends we noticed these interesting clouds.

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