Cheese, salmon sandwiches, beer

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BJ and I took a day trip to Bellingham last summer, er, last week. Hey, was that a great few days of nice weather or what? 

Back to the trip. 

The Porsche had a big service anniversary, so I decided to go to the dealer in Bellingham in spite of the early-morning ferry ride and the fairly long drive. 

I was talking with a fellow ferry rider about our day, and he suggested BJ and I head to Lynden for lunch while the car was being pampered. We took his advice and had a nice lunch at the Lynden Dutch Bakery whilst sitting outside and enjoying the scene of many young women wheeling strollers down the sidewalk. 

Opinion here: We need more of those young folks here in Jefferson County! 

BJ spent some time in the Drizzle store checking out the olive oils and cheeses it sells. She bought some cheese from the Twin Sisters Creamery in Ferndale. During the extensive conversation, the saleslady allowed that her husband is a commercial fisherman who occasionally spends the night in Ludlow Bay and she met him one day to spend the night at the Inn at Port Ludlow. 

Sounds like a good plan. 

I went next door to rest my back and enjoy the nice chairs in the lobby of the Inn at Lynden. 

Did I mention Ferndale? Yep, that was the next stop, home of Twin Sisters Creamery with their blue cheese and former “big cheese” University of Washington and Tennessee quarterback Jake Locker. (There was a big article about him in last week’s Sport Illustrated magazine.) 

It turned out the mechanic checking out the car was doing a real thorough job on it, and it wasn’t going to be ready until the next day. So, we took a loaner car home. 

We headed home and made a side trip to the Tulip Festival in La Conner. We have seen the tulips several times during the years, but the bright sun coupled with the bright flowers in the fields looked better than ever. 

On the way to the Coupeville ferry, we stopped at the Captain Whidbey Inn for a couple of salmon sandwiches. We had never been there and will probably go back. We got on the ferry and we were right behind a pickup truck out of which four people emerged. One of them is wearing a T-shirt from the Keg and I, the new tavern on Chimacum Road just south of the Chimacum Corner Farmstand. 

It turns out the T-shirt was being worn by Keith Rasmussen, owner of the Keg and I, who was accompanied by some local beer connoisseurs. They had been to the beer festival in Bellingham. One of them is my old friend Robin Dudley, who was a copy editor at The Leader for this column and many other more erudite features of the paper. She recognized both BJ and me, and it was fun to see her again and hear all about the new entertainment destination for the locals. It might be just as much fun as the Valley Tavern, particularly since the tavern is getting a new drain field for its septic system. You can see it going in up the hill from the tavern. 

So, it was a nice day. Cheese in Ferndale, salmon sandwiches in Coupeville and beer talk on the ferry. Unfortunately, BJ was a little ill the next day, probably from all the sunshine! But, we got the car back safe and sound. After all the rides on the ferry, I am reminded of an observation about human nature and whales. “Optimism is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat; chutzpah is taking the tartar sauce with you!“

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week.

 

Ned Luce writes this column weekly for The Leader. Connect with him at NedLuce@sbcglobal.net.