In April 2012, my grandmother joined me for a quick weekend trip to Mount Vernon, Washington, home of the famous Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The weather turned out to be absolutely beautiful and the tulips were at their peak. Many of the tulip farmers in that area are from Holland originally, and they even today export bulbs to Holland. So, the farms are very authentic and some of the most beautiful garden settings for tulips I’ve ever seen. Daffadils were at the end of their season, but still beautiful as we looked out across field after field stretching toward Mount Baker in the distance. There sure were a lot of people though! It took us about 45 minutes to drive the five miles back to our hotel through the jammed downtown.

 The next morning we decided to return home the scenic route. We got up very early and visited Mount Erie in Anacortes for sunrise. This 1,200 foot mountain is very easy to access and offers commanding views of the Skagit Valley, North Cascades, Whidbey Island, and even the Olympics. We worked out way down Whidbey Island, then took the ferry over to Port Townsend. Our final stop was Hurricane Ridge, inside Olympic National Park near Port Angeles. What amazing views as we could see the entire Olympic range spread out with beautiful snow still covering them.