Staying Places

Four weeks before that Spouse o' Mine and I headed west to Western Washington, I perused the hotel offerings in Bellingham.  I perused, and then set that on the back burner of my days.  Three days before we began our trip, I pulled up the perusals once again and began making phone calls.

What made me think that any hotel worth its name would still have rooms available three days before Commencement Weekend?  What was I thinking?  Apparently, I was NOT.

Plan B:  I Googled Bed & Breakfasts, Bellingham, WA.  I found several which looked to be dandy.  I called one in my favorite area of Bellingham: Fairhaven.  Booked.  The woman on the phone sounded like she could barely contain her laughter, because, really, what was I thinking?  Just before a big University weekend?

I moved on to the B & B # 2.  Jackpot!

Sort of.  They had an available room for one night.  "We'll take it."

Plan B's B & B was really wonderful.  We will go back.  Tons of room in the "B & B, plus marvelous gardns, complete with Koi and evening-strolling deer.  And kayaks!!  Did I mention kayaks?  (The kayaks were actually my impetus for taking the room at this B 7 B, so that that Spouse o' mine would have something to do in the off hours; he is like an Australian Shepherd, and needs "a job" in all waking hours.  I thought paddling around Lake Whatcom would be perfect.  As it happened, the following day was COLD and rainy.  Indoor day.  But you know what?  Our breakfast with the two other couples in the inn was great fun.  One couple was from 107º Tuscon, escaping the heat for the weekend, and the other couple: A Canadian Mountie! and his French-speaking wife.  Fun, how fun....      

So, then, on to Plan C: Air B & B.  For those unfamiliar with Air B & B, it is an online site where homeowners can advertise their homes (or other) for rent by room, or whole home.  It bypasses the laws and taxes that hotels are liable for, and therein lies a GREAT rub in the hotel industry.  All I can say is, enjoy this opportunity while it lasts, because the lobbyists are hot on the trail in D.C. as I type.

And so, Plan C:  Ha ha ha!! I picked a boat.  Yes.  A boat.  For our two remaining nights.  And we had fun!   The owners stayed on the boat as well, and they were great fun.  They told sailing stories about the Caribbean, and we told stories about rural Kansas.  Or places equally as interesting.

 Our final night in the Pacific Northwest was in Seattle with my lovely niece Melinda and her Kiwi Huz Josh. They met in Antarctica years ago, and got married last year in Breckenridge.  They are so fun, so sweet, so adventurous.  Love those two!  They took us to the Arboretum and the Rose Garden (I have no clue what the real names are; these are the awesome places right in their neighborhood (walkable! walkable distances!!) where they escape when the "City' gets to be too much.

And there it is: places we stayed. 

Such a fun weekend.