Beautiful Bellingham, Day Two

I slept so well last night. Our room was quiet, and comfortable, and clean, and I like staying at the Holiday Inn Express Hotels. This one had Dove products in the shower, and even had a dark blue "MakeUp" towel for me to use, something a person who wears eye makeup can appreciate.

For my complimentary breakfast, I chose an egg white veggie omelette, turkey sausage with gravy, greek yogurt, orange juice, and coffee. And then I grabbed a banana for later, which I ended up giving to Diana.

another good place to read

We decided that a walk to Diana's might be a good thing to do. It ended up being a cold, wet 45 minute walk in the rain, and it made me glad that I was wearing a water repellant jacket that had a hood. We saw a deer along the way, and I heard an unfamiliar bird call. So, I turned on my phone's Merlin Bird App to check it out, and discovered that it was a Steller's Jay. 

Vase of Dahlias

Diana's Vintage VW Camper

Millie

We made it to Diana's and met her companion dog, Millie, who rides everywhere in the car with her when she's out and about. A friend of Diana's had brought multiple vases of Dahlias, and they were all over her house. Dahlias seem to be a favorite flower in Washington State.

We drove to the Care Center to visit Bruce's brother. Before seeing him, we needed to screen ourselves for Covid, and wear both a mask and face shield while we were there. I think Washington State is still taking Covid seriously because we saw quite a few people wearing face masks, even while outside walking. 

We were able to eat lunch in the dining room with David. They served pork sausage gravy over bread, with mashed potatoes and veg, peach cobbler, and some kind of orange drink. Then we played a few games of dominoes. We thought about it, and decided that it's probably been close to 16 years since we've last seen David! It's good that we made the trip.

We went back to Diana's, and she and Millie drove to a park for Millie to chase the ball. Bruce and I stayed behind, and Bruce tried to work on the battery connections in David's car. No luck in getting it started, though. Diana will have to get a mechanic to look at it.

In the evening, we went out to eat with a bunch of Diana's friends. It was fun to see faces to the names we've heard about over the years, and it seems that she has some pretty long term, solid friendships going on. I especially enjoyed talking to Sally. 

View of San Juan Islands

Flank Steak with Cornbread Pudding

We ate at Anthony's Hearthfire Grill, located on Squalicum Harbor in Bellwether on the Bay. You can see views of the San Juan Islands from the restaurant, and it was beautiful. We had the flank steak with cornbread pudding, Caesar salad, and shared desserts of Burnt Cream and Sharon's (Caramel Chocolate) Jar Pie. Bruce said it was the best tasting steak he'd ever eaten! Well then, I guess it was pretty good!

Back to the Hotel for bed, and to talk about our day. We decided that instead of a working vacation (Bruce is always looking for a project!), it would be a time for family, seeing the sights, and eating lots of delicious food. That turned out to be a good plan. 😊

Thought for the day ... It's always better to see family sooner than later.