The day starts as promised – clouds letting loose just enough to make photo-ops just about impossible. What to do, what to do? Well…on the official to-do list was to get some shopping done. (Now…for the faint of heart I feel it prudent to warn you, this day will appear to many as rather dull. But we’re not beach-bodies. The weather lately hasn’t been ripe for that anyway or for almost any other outdoor activity. We do enjoy sight-seeing and window-shopping as well as actual shopping.) With that in mind it’s off to the nearest Burlington Coat Factory. As it turns out, it’s not that far away.
If you look around, you really can find a deal, depending on what you’re looking for. I needed a coat and found a London Fog for $30. Deal one. Found a pair of Rockport shoes for another $30. Deal two. Rose and mother made equally good deals so this turned out well for everyone.
Then it was off to Costco. Ah ha! Caught you off guard with that one I bet. 🙂 There was no ulterior motive here other than seeing how prices compared. The range, for the most part, was from slightly to substantially less. To be fair, there were some equalities and some (very rare) that were higher. One of the really big differences, of course, was liquor. (Washington just recently – June 1 in fact – passed legislation that allows liquor to be sold outside of state controlled stores. Many other states have taken that step some time ago, but not all.) First – the liquor was IN the store, not in a separate store located elsewhere on the Costco site. Second – was the price. So cheap it’s almost not worth it to bother at the duty-free store. And of course, it’s Costco, so all the spirits just come in the extra-large size.
Then off to Safeway. (Another got-cha). Portable lunch and wine. Why here and not Costco? Better overall selection and almost as cheap. Surprisingly, Safeway in the U.S., is one of the best places to do one’s wine shopping.
As the day wears on, the clouds do their best to quit being so uncooperative. We find a quiet little end-of-a-road area to enjoy a late lunch and then it’s on to do a little exploring. First stop a kitchen store…again just to see what’s there. Yeah…we’re rather boring. 🙂 Fine wine selection, surprisingly, and a deal on a vegetable cleaver (Henckel Twin Man). Then it’s off to the small town of Snohomish.
This town is one antique store after another. On any given street, on both sides of the street, there are at least 3-5 antique stores. The whole town is an antique. A quick walk through a local farmer’s market (about 1.5 blocks long). Nothing exciting (to us) but a bouquet of flowers (a whopping $5! for what in Edmonton would be at least $25) for the hotel front desk staff (who have been really great).
As it turns out, Garmin is good for suggestions as well as directions. One of its better suggestions was a visit to a local lighthouse. It wasn’t open when we got there, but with the rain over and the clouds a little more forgiving, maybe there was hope for the photo-ops yet. This particular site was where Captain George Vancouver landed on May 30, 1792. I suspect the lighthouse wasn’t there to guide him away from the rocks. But I also figure he wouldn’t have needed the ferry to get to the other islands either.
All in all the day worked out well. A little supper and back to the hotel. Quality assessment of at least one of our purchases seems apropos. As we anticipated, the quality remains high. 🙂
Tomorrow is our final day of local touring so, weather permitting, it’s off to Snoqualmie Falls. Or a trip to Bainsbridge Island. Or maybe a tour down through the islands starting at Anacortes. It all depends. But the phone doesn’t ring, no-one wants computer assistance and we haven’t run out of wine. 🙂