Washington Coast 2012 Day 10

Hang on to your hats this was a day to remember!

When I visit a costal city/town I wan to see the WATER!  I can hardly tell the GPS to take me to the ocean!  I've had pretty good luck with my method-head west until the road ends then choose another road to take me west until I can see the water, then I look for a beach!  Unfortunately, I could never find my way back to that particular beach and I never truly know where I am.  (This is important later.) So after a quick stop at Wally World that's what Quinn and I did.  And we did find the beach, or rather the shore as it was a rocky beach not a sandy one.  Quinn had a blast on her retractable leash, running and investigating everything and we walked all over the place.

Squalicum Beach, Bellingham, WA

A happy Quinn!  So much space to run, so much to smell!

San Juan Islands in the distance.

A Rock with barnacles

That's a smokestack in the distance, not a lighthouse.  Darn it.

A driftwood treehouse!

Blackberries on the beach.  Not quite ripe!

Then it was about time for lunch so I started back to the truck only to discover my keys missing!  I carry my truck key and the tonto cover key on a springie, spiral thing on my wrist and apparently it broke and fell away.  I didn't notice it as it is very light with just the two keys and I was struggling to keep my balance on the rocks.  Back out to the beach we went to look for them, on a sandy beach I would likely have found them but on a beach full of rocks the size of grapefruit and melons it was a hopeless cause.  At some point I also realized that I had forgotten to pick up my cell phone (it just gets better and better).  Many of my shorts don't have pockets so I'm constantly looking for my phone at home and when I travel I have a slot in the dash were it fits nicely and I just didn't put it into the bag I carry with Quinn's stuff in it.  Top that all off with the "I have no idea where I am"  and the insurance card with the number for roadside assistance was in my purse inside the locked truck and I was in a pickle.  Luckily, a very nice lady who was walking her dog told me where I was and let me use her phone to call State Farm (she had state farm as well).  In all the craziness I discovered I had not locked the tonto cover on the back end and with some help from tools back there and the fact that the vent windows in back were open I got into to truck.  But, all was not well as I broke the latch on the window doing it. (more on that later)  Anyway, State Farm sent a locksmith out.  While we waited in a lovely spot on a lovely sunny day we had lunch.  I put Quinn in the bed of the truck with her rug, food and water, and set up her portable, battery operated fan (when you wear a  parka all year you need help staying cool) so she was good.  Then I put a foam rug and a towel on the tailgate and had lunch (peanut butter).  Quinn got lots of attention from other beach lovers and her fan got lots of attention as well!  Several people asked if we needed help but by then it was just waiting.  The locksmith came, made me two new keys and we were soon on our way, me somewhat poorer!

After the beach adventure, I asked Sam (the gps) to take me to Quilt shops (I needed retail therapy).  After we went to the address of at least 4 others (no longer in business or something-it happens) I finally found one!  It was a nice little shop but I only bought some larger papers for hexies there.

Then it was back to the hotel for a NAP!  After that and dinner we headed back to the Lake Bellingham and walked all the way around it before we settled in for the night.

I decided to head on the next morning- for the actual Pacific ocean (not the Puget sound or Bellingham bay) so I spent some time studying the map and thinking about where I could stay the next night.  Even made a reservation!

So ends an eventful day--thank goodness.