Full Bloom

You know that it's spring when you're driving down the 20 and all you see is a carpet of pink to your right. Since the day we arrived in February, all anyone could talk about was the tulips. "Just wait till spring, the tulips will blow your mind." And so they have.

It has been a strange winter... the sun shined far too bright and gave everyone the impression that Winter forgot to come to Anacortes this year, but all too soon, the sun disappeared and now we are left with a fairly drab Spring. Like Winter is pissed that he slept in and is now fighting Spring for some attention. Anyway, the tulips were evidently confused because they bloomed wayyyy too early. Still, people bundle up in their coats and rain boots to brave the wind and massive puddles to see them because no one wants to miss the vibrant, sweeping colors of the millions of flowers that have overtaken Skagit County. Your eyes can't stop widening to let in all the color and you certainly can't deny that it's spring.

The "Tulip Festival" is really just a bunch of local gardens that open up to boast their spring flowers during their first few weeks of spring. Local vendors set up tents within the gardens and gift shoppes stock their shelves for the mobs of tourists that come to visit. There are no parades, no flags and no marching bands. Some places offer helicopter tours, and there are fudge tastings and such. There are events that take place, but they are scattered throughout the county rather than all happening in one place like the term "festival" implies. Nonetheless, the experience is worth it.

We visited Roozengaarde to start. William Roozen (which means "Rose" in Dutch) came to the US in 1947 from Holland after WWII. Since Skagit County has such a similar climate, many Hollanders migrated to the area and began to farm tulips. William purchased 5 acres of tulip fields in 1950 and it has since grown to over 2,000 acres and is the largest tulip distributer in the world. Rumor has it that Roozengaarde ships their bulbs to Holland who, in turn, sells the bulbs back to the US as "Bulbs of Holland"... so... I think that's lame.

Roozengaarde is amazing... there are so many varieties of daffodils, hyacinth, iris and tulips all of which are incredibly colorful. The garden is carefully planted and it blooms into perfect patterns of color and variety while the fields are just vast seas of flowers... To me, the fields are the most visually stunning, not just because the flowers are gorgeous but because I have never seen anything like that up close. Since the tulips are expected to stay in full bloom until early May, we are going to visit the other gardens in the area when the weather is warmer. After tromping through the fields and braving all the elements, we headed to La Conner for some hot soup to warm our bones. Then it seemed appropriate to get some fancy tea and a good book from the local shops to end our day the right way :)

(there were plenty of signs that discouraged playing in the fields but I ignored them. As I should have.)

Fun Fun Washington Super Party

So it's been just over a month since we arrived in the beautiful state of Washington and I am already starting to feel... detached? Yes. That seems like the right word. I am feeling detached from... everything. From my responsibilities, from my family and friends, from my life. I mean, here I am watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians when I should be at the gym or job hunting... or at least taking a shower. But the longer I sit in front of the tele, the less I care. It's all very frustrating. But as you know, it doesn't matter how many applications you send in because they never call you back, the house never stays clean, your friends have their own lives that you can't be a part of and no matter how many hours of cardio you do, the only thing that matters is how much you eat. And isn't eating more the point of working out?? So why bother?

I am not as depressed as I sound, honest, but I just don't know how to fit in here. You know? I thought that if I really wanted to start over that it would be as easy as just wishing it. It makes me sad to see my previous life stuffed into boxes in the garage... they remind me of my freedom. Even though I do enjoy spending so much time with Will and all the adventures we get to have... sometimes I just feel lost inside the vast expansion of the "starting over". So many loose ends to tie, so many goals that require a lot of work. I guess I forgot how long it takes to build a life. I am trying to enjoy the ride, though. And to stay as positive as possible, Will and I had been looking forward to a glimmer of our previous OC life coming to visit us. Shaun and Britt and some newish Washitonian friends come together for 4 days of adventure. Welcome:

Video: Fun Fun Washington Super Party

It was just what we needed before we went back to our normal lives, full of adult type things. And maybe I will put all my worrying and reasoning behind me for another week or two. I feel more free spirited when I don't focus on things that weigh me down, anyway... And w ho knows? Maybe the universe will align because of my willingness to surrender and to let all the struggles we encounter inspire me instead of consume me. Who knows.

Eagle Scout and Some Early Daffodils

Most Californians never get to see a bald eagle up close, mostly because they live in the northern parts of the country and partly because they have been on the verge of extinction. That last part became hard for me to believe when we moved to Washington. They're everywhere! Jolyn pointed out the very large eagle nest perched in a tree right as you enter Anacortes.... It's huge. On average, they measure 13 feet deep, 8 feet wide and weigh 2000 POUNDS! Isn't that incredible?! It's no wonder I can spot a nest 2 miles away while driving down the freeway at 65 mph. I saw them everywhere. Even though the eagle migrate north in the early spring, they come back to the same nest every winter. For obvious reasons. It takes 1 - 3 months to build it. Yikes!

Apparently, they arrive in northern Washington early December when the salmon arrive. The Skagit River is the largest river system in Washington and hosts 5 healthy populations of salmon... since eagles mainly prey on fish and salmon is the most abundant and since salmon are migratory... the eagle follow them.

River

They were supposed to leave Skagiket County on February 15th but we heard rumors of the birds hanging out on the reservation over by the airport. SO... we tracked them.

Wow, guys. Wow. We drove for about an hour around the indian reservation, and since Will, Jolyn and I are all novice bird watchers, we sent ourselves on a few "wild goose chases". Sometimes it's hard to tell how far away the birds are... therefore it's hard to perceive their size.

Will "look! I see one flying over the field over there!"

Jolyn "Ok! I'll turn in here..."

Me "Wow... it's realy big..."

Will "... it's a crow."

After mistaking several seagulls, crows and pidgins for the incredible bald eagles, we discovered the key distinction between eagles and everything else:

Wing Span.... Everyone knows they have these giant wings, right? So when the birds are in flight.... they don't flap them that often. Just one swoop of their powerful wings and they shoot upwards about 20 feet, so they mostly glide. Unlike gulls and crows, you don't see a whole lot of flapping out there. Once we figured that out, we found them much more easily.

Since this is an El Nino winter... everything is a little off... the eagles are lingering a little longer than normal, the weather is uncharacteristically warm and the daffodils are blooming a whole 3 weeks early. Crazy! That means...

THE TULIPS ARE COMING!!!!

but for now... here is a sneak preview: