This was a very odd month. Filled with ups and – some very low – downs.
The month started with knowing I had at some time before Christmas torn my left suprispanatus (the front muscle of the rotator cuff). This means trying to avoid doing more damage by not using my left arm for a lot of things like; braiding my hair, lifting anything, most yoga moves and I could go on. As I write this I’m still waiting for a date for my MRI with the orthopedic surgeon’s office. But I’ve been down this road before and survived so I’ll survive this also. It’s just not a fun thing.
In the second weekend of the month I received the news that the doctor I worked for in Bellingham was in hospice with the end stages of Parkinson’s Disease. He’d been diagnosed two years prior which explains why he did not respond to my text message in 2023. He passed the next day. I worked for this brilliant, compassionate, kind man for eleven years. The news was devastating.
I had been hoping to get up to Bellingham this spring. With this news we decided it was time.
So we packed up the van and drove north the next day, Tuesday the 10th.
Bellingham is a 7 hour drive from Eugene. We do not do 7 hour drives anymore. We stopped above Marysville, Washington at the Tulalip Casino. Most casinos have space for overnight parking. Most of the time that parking is in the middle of dozens of semis. The Tulalip has specific RV parking and all you do is go into the casino, get a players card, and give them a description of your vehicle and viola a place to sleep for the night. We found the very large sign with a phone number to call security and register. There wasn’t a security person available to come out and get our information, so the person on the phone said welcome and have a good night. There was one other camper in the parking lot at the front so we took a spot at the back. The parking lot was amazingly flat – not usually the case.
Once we parked the van and put the shades on all the windows it was time for dinner. It was a Tuesday therefore the casino was nearly empty. That went for restaurants also. Three of the restaurants were closed. We found a table in The Cedars Cafe. I was starving so I had the risotto, which was delicious, and I ate the whole thing.
It was a very quiet night and we both slept very well. Since we wanted to be in Bellingham before noon we bought coffee in the casino – also very good – and had protein bars for breakfast on the road.
When we arrived in Bellingham we stopped in Fairhaven at Whatcom Art Market. This is where my friends’ Norma Appleton and James Williamson’s art is always on display.
30+ years ago Norma taught me art framing at a small gallery/gift shop in Lynden WA. (I loved it but you can’t feed your family on the pay.) At that time Norma wasn’t painting or papermaking, her specialty at the time. Jim was doing mostly watercolors of tall ships and work for a tugboat company in Seattle.
Since then they have both expanded into other fields. Jim is doing more Pacific Northwest nature oils and Norma is painting beautiful acrylic paintings of the beauty found in the Pacific Northwest. She is also making jewelry. I bought one of her prints and a lovely pair of amethyst earrings.
If you live in Whatcom County or just passing through you must see Whatcom Art Market. So many talented artists producing so many beautiful pieces.
Norma’s “North Cascades View – Mt Baker & Sisters
From Fairhaven we drove to the north end of the city for lunch.
David’s favorite restaurant in Bellingham is Mi Mexico on Guide Meridian across from Bellis Fair mall. They do Mexican like no one else. We left with leftovers for dinner that evening.
After lunch we were off to visit my friends Norma Appleton and Jim Williamson. It had been far too many years since I had seen either of them.
This was an unexpected educational visit. Norma and Jim took us into their inner sanctum; their studios where beauty is created.. I revealed that I wanted to pick up oil painting again after 53 years. Both he and Norma gave me marvelous tips, which I have taken to heart since picking up the brush this month. Before we knew it two hours had passed and we had to move on to our destination for the night: Valley Tap House in Nooksack, about 2 miles from our old house.
I know I’ve mentioned Harvest Hosts before. Once again our membership saved our butts.
Valley Tap House is a warm, friendly beer stop with a very flat parking lot. The owners, Cindy and Kevin, had actually lived a few blocks from us in the 90’s. We arrived about 15 minutes before closing but they stayed and talked with us until we finished our beers. Fortunately, we were able to stay here for two nights and the train no longer makes a 5:45 AM run through town.
Thursday was another clear day so we ventured back into Bellingham and Boulevard Park on
Squalicum Bay. We found a place to park and after a quick lunch of left over lunch from the day before we decided we really needed a good walk to offset the lunch and dinner from the day before and the meal we knew we were having later that evening.
Bellingham is a great town for walking and bike riding. The 2.5 mile walk from Boulevard Park to Fairhaven takes you from the park along a board walk above the water. It’s beautiful. Do it! Just remember to bring your camera. For some strange reason I left mine in the van and only had my phone.
We left Boulevard Park and drove north to Squalicum Harbor. The weather was starting to turn but I wanted to get some pictures of boats so that I could start putting on paper an idea I had for a painting (a suggestion from Norma and Jim). This time I had my digital. We walked around for a bit ogling boats of all kinds and the weather started to turn. The wind picked up and the sky got dark. It was time to fill up the van and grab some groceries.
The drive to the North Bellingham Fred Meyer was when we saw how Bellingham had really changed in the 13 years since we lived in Whatcom County. Eye opening.
After wandering a bit we went back to Everson and met our former neighbor Ed and his wife Loni at another favorite restaurant, Herbie’s Steak House, for dinner. We learned from Ed that the restaurant was nearly lost in the December 2025 floods.
We built our first house in Everson with Self Help Homes and with five other families. Ed and his first wife were one of the five other couples. It was great to catch up on families.
Before we parked for the night we stopped in at the Valley Tap House for a last beer. We were so glad we did. The place was packed but they made room for us at the bar. It was a wonderful evening of conversation, reminiscing, and learning who was still in the area and who was gone
Friday we started our journey south. Not wanting to do a seven or 8 hour drive to Eugene, we called David’s sister J to see if they were going to be in town. J’s mother-in-law was recently moved to Hospice and they were planning a trip to Sunnyside to say goodbye. As it turned out they weren’t leaving until the following night. Friday night was a go at Hotel Williams.
The following week J’s mother-in-law passed away. We were all very relieved that she had found peace.
The last Sunday in February I received the news that my cousin’s eldest son had suddenly and tragically died after falling from a truck.
As I said; this was a very odd month.
I’ve tried very hard to keep this blog upbeat and really didn’t want to end on a sad note. So after some editing I’ve decided to end with the following:
Once we got home to Eugene and I got some household chores out of the way, I pulled out my paints and brushes, bought some brush cleaner, bought some linseed oil, a new brush, and a couple of tubes of oil paint. I tried my hand at oil painting. It felt wonderfully relaxing. The results were ok. Not fantastic. Not a masterpiece. But a good learning experience.
We’ll see how it turns out next month.
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