We arrived in Bellingham, Washington on Sunday afternoon. I directed Mom to Hong Kong Gardens, my favorite Chinese restaurant, only to find them closed. I was elated to find that they would be open on Monday. (My memories of the place kept telling me they were closed on Sunday and Monday) . After having lunch with Joy, Cathie, and Cathie’s boys, Cathie and Joy took Dean to go shop for a router.Dean had brought forty dollars for the router. He wanted to hook up the Wii to the internet. Joy says to me, it may not be enough. I give her forty dollars of my money, and knowing bargain Cathie, I felt safe at getting most of my money back. Cathie is slipping. She allowed him to buy a game for the Wii and a router, with my money.
Spent two nights in Bellingham, at The Village Inn in Fairhaven. I was right across from my street favorite bookstore Village Books. (Went shopping in Village Books, and my nephew told my Mom, “Some women go shopping for lots of shoes,. Aunt Mickey buys books.) The view was great. I watched the freight trains, Amtrak and tugs pulling a ship into port. Every morning I would wake up to the sound of seagulls.
It was nice to see Fairhaven looking so good. We had breakfast on morning at the Skylark. Joy walked us through an alley to get to it. I don’t remember alley ways leading to shops. Fairhaven reminds me of the Gas Light district of Vancouver, B.C. At least the Vancouver, I remember 25 years ago.On a cold and blustery day, we headed for LaConner to check out the Tulips. The Skagit Valley is enjoying an early Tulip season. The winter was mild, and they may not have any tulips for the up coming Tulip Festival. Those fields were so cold and
muddy.No pictures of the hawks, bald eagles, or snow geese. They were all too far away in some farmer’s field, and Joy wouldn’t have stopped anyway. She thinks I’m a bird brain, and wants nothing to do with my odd behavior.
Monday evening, I finally get to eat at Hong Kong Garden. On the way there, I noticed a historical marker by the post office. It said something about a bridge being Pickett’s bridge. I had to look up on the internet to find out that George E. Pickett lived in Bellingham. I knew he had been to San Juan Island during the Pig War. According the all, I’ve read, his house still stands. I still can’t believe it. All those years I bicycled or walked over that bridge, I didn’t have a clue.
I didn’t wear my glasses and had to rely on Joy to tell me what the menu said. As she gets up to buy rice candy in the store, she say’s order a side of prawns. I tell the waitress, “I’d like 2B, with a side of prawns.”
“It comes with prawns!”.
“Sorry, I was relying on my sister. I didn’t wear my glasses.”
She sasses back, “your sister didn’t wear her glasses either.”
Mom is driving back to The Village Inn, and I’m navigating. I tell her follow that bicyclist. Then I tell her turn right. She asks, “follow the bike?”
Dean replies, “yea, follow the bike.”
I say, “turn right.” She doesn’t hear. She follows the bicyclist through a parking lot!
