Chuckanut Drive

Last weekend we decided to take a trip down to Chuckanut Drive. It’s about 90 minutes north of Seattle and a beautiful place for a scenic drive. We’ve been living in Washington State for just over 4 months now and continue to be amazed by how much natural beauty there is here. Chuckanut Drive is described as a “superhero of scenic byways. Bay views, country views, island views, mountain views and coastal views. Plus, you can get out of your car to eat fresh oysters, peer into tide pools on a secluded beach, or hike to a mountain summit, all right off the twisting tree-lined road�.

We arrived at Burlington and decided to stop at the tourist information center. We met a lovely elderly lady who told us so much about the history of the area and how so many people from around the world had added to the rich cultural tapestry of the area. She told us about the Native American Indians, the Spanish explorers (many places in the area have Spanish names), the Dutch who made the area famous for tulips and in more recent years the Mexican workers who arrived in their droves to work on the fields and decided to settle in the area.

We stopped at the famous Oyster Bar restaurant for lunch and sat by the window with an amazing view of the Samish Bay . I had some oysters to start with and then a fire roasted Ahi tuna with spinach, wasabi mayonnaise and basmati rice. Tamy had the fresh Tasmanian Salmon grilled with huckleberry-mango chutney. And then for dessert we had the most amazing Key Lime pie made with freshly squeezed Mexican Key Limes. Yummy! It turned out to be a long lunch. We’d planned to stop for a quick meal and ended up spending over 2 hours. But it was worth it. 

We stopped at several points along the way to admire the views and natural beauty. At one of the viewpoints, we met a man waking his dog. He told us that he lived on Whidbey Island and was “borrowing� his friends dog for the weekend. He described himself as a “Stanford Brat� as he’d grown up living on the campus at Stanford University , where his father was a professor. A polite conversation, turned into a political discussion when he discovered that I was from London . He asked me what I thought about the bombings in London . It seems like these days everyone wants to know what I think about these terrible events. He then went on to tell us how he thought most Americans didn’t have visibility to “international issues� and how most of the problems around the world (especially in the Arab world) were caused by the West’s interference. I really wasn’t expecting to be having this type of discussion down Chuckanut Drive. My mind kept shifting between what he was saying and the beautiful views of the Samish Bay and mountains behind him. We were really behind schedule by now and we decided to make a graceful exit and get moving. In the car, Tamy told me not to talk to anymore people along the way! 

At the end of Chuckanut Drive, we arrived in the historical old town of Fairhaven . This is described as a “one of those areas that looks like a movie set with trendy restaurants, galleries and cute cafes. In 1889, Fairhaven was a boom town with its residents working ceaselessly to clear the muddy streets and build hotels, homes, offices and the new railroad which was to transform the town into the next Chicago . The ‘boom’ became a ‘bust’ when the railroad went to Seattle , but the beginnings of Fairhaven define its character today�. We stopped again for some ice-cream and home-made lemonade and then took a brief stroll around the town. Then we got in the car and made our way up to Bellingham where we took the I-5 back down to Seattle . It was a long and tiring day, but well worth it. 

I’d definitely recommend this. It’s a great day out and an amazing scenic drive.

Back in London Again

Would you believe it…I relocated to Seattle just over a month ago (for one job) and I’ m given responsibilities for our UK development team (another job)! So I’ m back in London on business. I stayed the weekend with my parents. It was so great to see them again.

Now I’ ve just checked into a Central London hotel for a few days. It’ s called the St Martins Lane Hotel and it’ s modern and weird! It’ s great to stay in cool and funky places. But I’ ve done so much business travel that it’ s kind of lost the novelty factor (especially when it takes you nearly 5 minutes to find the “hidden” wardrobe”) and sometimes I can’ t help feeling it would be simpler to stay in a no-fuss, boring business hotel. I must be getting old!