33 months on the road-that’s our plan. Loosey goosey that it is !  We kicked off this adventure with a good bye to family-a pizza dinner in Langley; pictures along the waterfront and a visit to the kissing ball of Langley.

It couldn’t have been a more beautiful day, perfect to spend with those we love and hold dear to us.

Going to miss our sweet family !

The Kissing Ball is a must stop in Langley-it’s right in front of John L Scott Real Estate and just a short walk from Village Pizza where we had lunch !

 

After we said our goodbyes Jim and I headed home for the last 4 days of packing and moving personal belongings to storage.  We found a lovely couple to entrust our home to while we are on the road- Lori an artist extraordinaire and her husband, Jeff , a musician extraordinaire !   We were looking forward to being done with cleaning and packing and hitting the road so the morning after we had the house deep cleaned we took off.  We planned on one last visit with family and friends.  First stop, Bellingham to say goodbye to my brother.  While he was at work, we took a little trip to Edison and Bow.  If you are in this neck of the woods please don’t miss visiting Bow and Edison. Edison was founded 1869 and they call themselves a Kindness Town and they really are.

We stopped at the main attraction-THE BREADFARM, I put that in caps because I want to shout that name from the mountains.  If you follow me you know how I rave about Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Portland.  Well after visiting the Breadfarm we no longer have to wait for trips to Portland for some of the most delicious and outstanding bread we have ever had.  We bought a loaf of ciabatta along with a quarter chunk of the whole wheat Miche. Oh my gosh, this will be something to look forward to when we finally do return home-regular trips to Edison !  We also tried the ginger,honey,and cardamom shortbread and the vanilla shortbread-I highly recommend both.

We took the recommendation of the lovely woman at the Breadfarm and headed next door to The Slough Cafe. We ended up buying our lunch there: Sammish Bay Gouda , yummy; some freshly made cornichons and two sticks of Bavarian Meats Landjaeger.  We met the owner, John, and got such a great vibe from him and his cafe-we definitely will be returning here many many times !

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Once we had our goodies loaded into Ruby (yes we decided to call her Ruby like our previous Roadtrek-we couldn’t stop calling her Ruby since we got her, but she is Ruby the Wild Heart !), we headed out to explore the area looking for a picnic spot.  We headed towards the water and were so blessed and surprised by the Sammish Bay Slough just west of town.  Bald eagles filled the trees; herons searched the mud and shoreline for lunch; snow geese napped in the fields and a barn owl surprised us with a fly by !  What a wonderful way to say good bye to Washington.

We were lucky to spend my brother’s birthday with him that evening and in the morning we said our final goodbyes to him and his wife Martha and headed out for our next stop.

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Heading to Monroe to visit friends who are more family than friends. We knew we wanted to boon dock one night before we arrived at their place. We wanted to ensure all systems on Ruby the Wild Heart were working as planned.  We also knew it wasn’t going to be a jaw dropping spot for boon docking-just a spot to spend the evening, out of the path of civilization.  We found a quiet spot near Money Creek Campground off of Highway 2 outside of Skykomish. It rained all night long so we were lulled to sleep by the rain on the roof.  When we woke up we thought we had a leak in the door, the insulation drape I installed was soaking wet along the outside edge. But careless me, had closed the rear driver’s side door on an insulation drape and got it stuck in the crack so it was acting as a wick to outside rain. Whew, easy problem to resolve-no leak !

Took some shots of the Skykomish River as we headed to our friends home.  I knew I wanted to get a shot of the falls and that led to an adventure I didn’t bargain for.  You know how we photographers are-always wanting to get a better view for a better shot. Jim and I had hiked down over the hill from the highway to get closer to the raging falls. There was a gal in cowboy boots who was casually climbing down the hillside and I figured well if cowboy boots were good then my super gripper hiking boots would be ideal.  I obviously didn’t take the same path she took close to the edge of the rocks .       My first step resulted in a slip slide falling down on my rear !

I slid down two or three rocks that way and was anxiously looking for a branch or root to grab on to.  Luckily Jim was just below me and he interrupted my free fall slide. He literally stopped me from sliding into the river !  Whew, lesson learned, watch the pushing the envelope thing on slippery rocks near raging rivers !

We planned on spending Saturday night and Super Bowl Sunday with our dear friends but there was a winter storm warning issued that was to begin Sunday afternoon and last to Monday afternoon. We didn’t want to be stuck driving south to my sister’s place in that along with a bunch of drunken Super Bowl watchers who were headed home, so left our friends place earlier than we planned.

Last stop, my sister’s home to say goodbye to her and her husband, JR.  Did I mention she has a hot tub ?  Ideal way to kick off the road trip the night before is to soak in a hot tub ! Right?  Especially with a sore back end and bruised ego, ha ha.

So here it is Monday, February 4th and on the road we go. Our destination before we check in for camp ground hosting in Moab is Sierra Expeditions in Mesa AZ.  We have a battery charging systemt-CTEK along with the Smartpass 120-to get installed and they do super work so Mesa here we come.

 

Who knows what adventures lie ahead or where the wind will take us, we just want to enjoy the moment and savor the blessings that have been given to us.  We are so grateful for this opportunity and can never express that gratitude to its fullest. We hope to live our lives to demonstrate our gratitude and love for this life and all we have been blessed with.

Happy trails to all of you and safe travels  wherever your dreams take you.  The important thing is to have those dreams !

“ When you cease to dream you cease to live. ”

-Malcolm Forbes