Tulips, Whales And Bridges – An Epic Day in the Pacific Northwest

A few years ago, Peggy and I started our Big Travel List.  A combination of “Bucket List Travel Destinations”, “50 Places to See Before you Die”, “Most Beautiful Places in America”, “Most Beautiful Places in the World”, etc. You get the picture.

The list of “24 Breathtaking Places You Won’t Believe are in the US” led us to The Apostle Islands, Dry Tortugas National Park, Savannah, and quite a few others.  But there was one right in our own backyard that we hadn’t done.

In April, it was time for the once a year opportunity to see the Tulips of Skagit Valley. While it is never going to be the Netherlands, it is a Washington State much-loved event. Definitely someplace you should be eye-balling if you are looking for a mid-spring getaway in the PNW.

Sister Weekend Begins!

About 90 minutes North of Seattle is Mt. Vernon, Washington.  A small town in the Skagit Valley, with reminders of their Tulip-y claim to fame in everything from the street signs to water towers to overhead freeway tiles. 

Sister Side Note (ssn) – I flew into Paine Field in Everett late the night before the adventures began. Pro tip: If you are visiting Seattle and you are focused on anywhere but the south end, check for flights to PAE. VERY small, very new airport that is insanely convenient compared to SEA. If there were such thing as Boutique Airports, this would be one.

But first, Breakfast (as always!)

We started our morning with breakfast at the Calico Cupboard.  A place chosen off the internet pictures of a quaint bakery, with mimosas and a varied menu.  And it was just charming, and sweet, and we had some fantastic blueberry pancakes!  Pouting about my new found sensitivity to eggs, we had to pass up the mushroom quiche that look amazing in the bakery glass case! 

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

There are two big tulip farms and a bunch of small ones.  We opted for Roozengaarde over Tulip Town. It seemed less family oriented. If you are traveling with the kids, Tulip Town has activities, food trucks, and booths that will make for a more family friendly day. Roozengaarde is bigger and we were in for more bang for our Tulip buck.  Definitely buy your tickets online before going. The festival gets very busy as it is only one month long but definitely worth the trip.

Roozengaarde

Roozengaarde was truly amazing, more beautiful than I even imagined or could describe.  Our trip was on the last weekend of the festival and they were winding down. But it was so beautiful I can’t fathom that it may have been better a week earlier, when all the fields were in full bloom. You can check the “tulip forecast” on many local websites.

It was HUGE, fields of row after row of color.  A smaller, more curated garden area as you walk in, with colors and styles of tulips you never knew existed.  It was made more magical by the slight breeze blowing the cherry blossoms around.  And as we were walking by, the cute little man outside the fence guiding traffic yelled to us to look up. There were tulips blooming on the tree branches.  Oh, he was such a sweet man!  Then you walk past the big windmill for a short walk to the true tulip fields.

OMG, the Tulips!

We know you might feel like you should dress up for your Insta-poses in your long flowy dresses in heels. Please keep in mind that you are walking about a quarter mile around the fields through dirt. And as this is the Pacific Northwest, often mud.  Peggy wore adorable rainboots and they were perfect for the day!  Go buy some adorable rainboots for your social media filtered pictures.  The back drop for this incredible view are the hills and mountains leading up to and including the Cascade Mountain Range.  So, you are going to get some incredible pictures, even if it is grey and overcast.

We had a couple stop and help guide us with what they found was the best shot. Take the shot from the left, with tulips in front of us and tulip fields behind us.  Everyone was super friendly, and helpful, because how can you not be surrounded by all this beauty in nature.  Sadly, you are not allowed to actually tip toe through the tulips. But there are several points where there are posing points set up to make it look like you are in the middle of the field from a camera lens. 

And You Can/Should Buy Your Own Tulips

Roozengaarde also has a cute boutique shop, food stands. They also have a big tent where you can order tulip bulbs to be delivered in the fall when it’s time for planting.  The helpful women in the tent can tell you what types grow best in your temperate zone. If you don’t know what you kind to order, you can tell them which kind you liked best and they will tell you what they are by the description. Ok, you know those ones that look like sunset with flames shooting out the middle?  Yeah, I don’t but these wonderful women know what they are called.

It was a crazy beautiful experience. I definitely understand why this is on the American Most Beautiful Sites list.  It was gorgeous.

Deception Pass

After the festival (it really is only a 2-3 hour experience), and since we were this far north and in the middle of all this beauty, we headed up past Anacortes to Deception Pass.

Now, I know many of you are like us and there is nothing better than a sunny, warm jaunt through a tropical island.  The San Juans are not that type of island vacation. But are their own spectacular site-seeing experience for those who are not so found of the heat and humidity of the tropics. 

I have been really dying to go up to Deception Pass. Mainly because in 30 years of living in the Pac NW, I have never been.

Deception Pass Bridge

It’s this huge bridge spanning Whidbey Island with the mainland at Fidalgo Island (near Anacortes).  And yes, I was the one who was actually WANTING to go to a bridge and cross over it.  It seemed like such a great idea at the time. Until reality set in and I not only had to drive OVER it, I had to drive BACK OVER it to get back to the mainland.  Then, my slightly sadistic sister insisted that we walk out on to the bridge for the ‘gram pictures. 

It was so beautiful. The colors of the water, the view, the “Welcome to Canada” text message that came on my phone. No, it’s not actually in Canada. But it’s that close, that you could, I don’t know maybe see it if it were on fire. *please reference our Madeline Island Ferry trip for why this makes me giggle*.  The views were incredible for sure, and definitely death defying in MY mind. But I survived, once again, the treacherous adventure of crossing high bridges that could lead to my death.

ssn – the extent of her bravery never ceases to amaze me.

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La Conner

We decided it was time for a little sustenance, and perhaps a cocktail to calm my nerves, and found the darling town of La Conner.  And while we really wanted to eat with a view of the Puget Sound, La Conner is right on an inlet. It turned out to have this adorable little downtown with tiny local shops, hand-crafted goods, and fresh seafood.

We chose the La Conner Pub and Eatery, shockingly not for the fact it’s a pub. But actually because it sits right on the Swinomish Channel, overlooking the water.  The mimosa was just a bonus. We shared the seafood platter, and it was super fresh (and deep fried). It was an inviting pub with a great, friendly staff.

We spent some time wandering in and out of shops and galleries, it was really quaint. I am so glad we found this town that is not much more than a blip on a map, but is actually a great little touristy stop.

It would be a great opportunity for a peaceful get-away weekend.  It is also home to the Swinomish Indians with their tribal community just over the bridge across the river, and is worth a drive to see their little community.

Whale Watching

As long as we were in the San Juans and it was early May, it was a great time to go whale watching.  There are plenty of opportunities to see orcas in the Puget Sound. They have many orca pods that live there year round. You can track these pods online at www.orcasnetwork.org and there are many whale watching companies that launch either out of Seattle (in the city), Anacortes, or Friday Harbor.

While we really wanted to do the kayak tour (out of Friday Harbor) we couldn’t book a ferry ride, as it was sold out. So if you know you are going for a visit, pre-book your ferry ride for the day at www.wsdot.wa.gov so you make sure to get over to all the little islands. We booked our whale watching tour with Island Adventures out of Everett, where we were staying for a few nights. The boat had indoor and outdoor seating and a bar (surprise!).

An Afternoon of Whale Watching

While we didn’t get to see the orcas I was so ready for, we were fortunate enough to have several encounters with grey whales. And exploring the beauty of the San Juans and all the gorgeous homes, and beaches. I found some “ooh, I gotta go there” moments for future weekend getaways.  There are morning and afternoon tours about 3 hours in length.  As long as you are there in peak season, the tours have about a 96% success rate of getting you to see a whale. Plus, they always guarantee a free return visit if you aren’t so lucky.

ssn – there is no video proof, but I’m fairly certain that our spot-on whale calls (picture Dory from Finding Nemo) were key to bringing the whales to us.

As much as people focus on Seattle for vacations, and there is so much to see and do there, it is definitely worth shifting your focus a just a little more north if you are going to be in the area in the spring.  The weather is amazing, a little rain but a possibility of sun and mild weather. And the views are incredible and views that are a whole different kind of beauty that simply must be seen.

More Seattle and NW Washington Adventures

• Seattle – Day Drinking
• Seattle’s Quirky Neighborhoods
• Seattle – Tike, Thai, Speakeasy and Sushi
• Olympic National Park