Ned Luce

It was a weekend still being influenced by CDC and state guidelines on travel. 

So, why not take a little trip? 

BJ kept track of whether I had a mask on or not and I drove! The Porsche had an oil change scheduled in Bellingham so we joined many others hitting the road on Good Friday. 

Since we were in the area we scheduled a night at the Inn at Lynden just north of Bellingham. BJ again took advantage of being in the area by making stops at Twin Sisters Creamery and Bellewood Farm in Ferndale. She picked up cheese for us, our kids and the Brunstads. Harold Brunstad would just as soon Sheila had not placed her order for the blue cheese as he naturally prefers the WSU Cougar Gold since he is an alumnus.

Before dinner at Syro’s in Lynden we wandered the streets like the tourists we are while enjoying the small-town feel with a glass of wine at Overflow Taps in the same building as the hotel. We spent some time with Jesse, one of the co-owners who was justifiably proud of lasting five years in the business and even prouder of the support he, his staff and his customers have given to clean water projects in Africa.

Then it was off to Syro’s for some Italian or Greek dinner. I got the “best lasagna in town,” ate half of it and then ate the other half upon our return home. I cannot proclaim it to be the best I have ever had but it was the biggest. 

Then it was back to the hotel to watch the second half of the NCAA Women’s Final Four game between Arizona and the University of Connecticut. 

Arizona won the game with outstanding play by senior Aari McDonald and great coaching by Adia Barnes, both of whom have notable history at the University of Washington. It was a great game to watch and was punctuated by an “R rated” post game gesture and exclamation by Barnes intended for those who doubted the team’s ability to get to the final game. (You real fans know that Stanford beat Arizona’s ladies by one point on Sunday!)

Saturday morning we had breakfast in Lynden and headed home via the Chuckanut Drive out of Bellingham, a scenic driving experience one should have at least once whilst in the Great Pacific Northwest. 

Then it was a promised tour through the vast fields of tulips near LaConner. Oops, no tulips unless they look like bright yellow daffodils! The roads and fields were filled with folks taking pictures of the bright yellow daffodils or pictures of themselves in front of the bright yellow daffodils. 

Alas, the tulips must wait for another trip.

We got to the ferry from Coupeville without a reservation making the trip an adventure of sorts. 

Doesn’t it feel obnoxiously great to be able to go without a reservation and be the last standby to get on a ferry? It felt almost that good being the second to last! 

Very few folks get out and wander the ferry these days and it turns out our friends Mike Kenna and Olivia Parker were also on the ferry since we passed them while driving off and ended up exchanging pleasantries in the Bayview Restaurant parking lot. 

By the time we got home the first game of the Final Four between victorious Baylor and Houston was coming to a close. Then the favored Gonzaga Bulldogs took on a tough UCLA team even playing an overtime. 

Many of us basketball fans think that game might have seen the best ending ever with a 40-foot three-point shot winning it. (The final on Monday between BJ’s favorite Baylor and my favorite Gonzaga was played after the deadline for this column.) 

And yes, an oil change is not cheap these days, particularly when included with a stay in a hotel, several meals and some blue cheese!

Love a curmudgeon, continue enjoying your mask and have a great week. 

(Ned “Nothing But Net” Luce is a retired IBM executive and Port Ludlow resident. Reach Ned at ned@ptleader.com.)