Update, Mt. Vernon

Staying busy here at Mt. Vernon.  Friday we enjoyed the bar-b-q lunch that they serve all weekend.  Nothing better than a good cheeseburger from the grill.  While we ate we chatted with 2 other couples and discussed the good and bad of parks all of us have stayed in.


Saturday evening was Blackberry time.  The park has blackberries growing everywhere and they are just ripe for the pickin' now.  Elaine, the manager, had a great time with kids and families.  First they did the blackberry throw and those that were lucky enough to get a blackberry in the cup, won a cup that changes color.  Then onto the pie eating contest, this was done by age group.  It was fun to watch the little ones under 5, what a mess some of them ended up being.  The older kids had to eat 2 pies and then it was adult time and they got the challenge to consume 3 pies, the winner was a bigger mess than the kids under 5.  Good thing the pies were just little tart size.  Next was the pie throwing contest.  It started out they were going to see who could throw one the furthest, wasn't long before some kids volunteered to get hit with them, then the fight was on.  I think the manager ended up with more whipped crème on her than anyone else.

We played bingo after all the fun with the blackberries.  Neither won of us got to yell B-I-N-G-O.

Sunday we tried the breakfast at the clubhouse.  It was slow starting but picked up before we left.  Did enjoy the buffet which had bacon, sausage links, pancakes, French toast, scrambled eggs and biscuits and gravy.  We were stuffed when we left but it was good.

We have hit the casinos a couple of times, no large winnings to report, darn.

Checked out the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center north of the quiet community of Bay View, Washington - 15 minutes west of I-5 in Skagit County. Here in the heart of the Salish Sea is a massive eelgrass meadow, 8000+ acres, and second largest on the Pacific Coast of North America. This is why Padilla Bay is one of 29 sites in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) established to protect coastal areas for long-term research, monitoring and education, and stewardship.
At the Reserve you may find busloads of school kids (no kids, school hasn't started) learning about the importance of estuaries and exploring the intertidal mud flats. Or you may see research staff collecting data and processing samples in the laboratory. When you enter the Breazeale Interpretive Center, you're invited to browse through the exhibits and observe sea stars, urchins, and other marine life in the aquarium room. Nearby trails and an overlook will give you the opportunity to see eagles, herons, ducks, and other birds that live here year round or pass through on their migratory paths.

 

 

 

 

       


Len's birthday was yesterday and his choice for his dinner was Papa Murphy's take-n-bake pizza.  Cheap date this year. Did surprise him with an apple pie for his "birthday cake".

We are here for another week and looking forward to more adventures.

 

 

 

We got a real nice site here and it is a full hookup with good satellite. Some time we get lucky.

Bristol is having a great time here catching mice. He has gotten real good at too. Mostly he plays with them till they kick the bucket. But he still has not eaten any of them.