Beautiful Place

                                Gig Harbor Washington with Mt. Rainier in the background

On Friday afternoon  I was in at drug store to pick up a couple items. I ended up talking to one of the store clerks for several minutes. She reminded me once again what a beautiful area of the country and world that we live in.

It is hard to remember when it is raining a lot this time of the year. Of course you hear from friends and acquaintances who are going to go off to Hawaii, California or Arizona however I do live in a great place despite the weather now.

I am sure being a great place is why we have a lot of people moving here from elsewhere whether it is retirement or taking a new job. Most of us who have lived here all or most of our lives are tired of all the developments spring up in the area. The traffic is much heavier than what it used to be. In fact the clerk mentioned that she had made a delivery to a couple who don’t drive anymore to my old neighborhood. It used to take ten or fifteen minutes at the most to drive however the traffic was so much it took her twenty-five minutes to get there.  That doesn’t seem like a big deal when driving on the highways however this was through rural roads. Where she went the population hasn’t changed much however it has in the area between the drug store and the couple. Although the traffic is heavier I still wouldn’t want to live many other places however I hope that the development slows down. It actually should since there really isn’t a lot more space to build if you want to keep some of the trees and wild life. It has become an adjustment for animals as well.

The clerk said to me there are so many beautiful places to see around the state and I agreed with her. She mentioned that she met her husband at college in Bellingham which is not far from the Canadian. There is a few options going into Canada from Bellingham you can continue north on Interstate 5 or go east for a couple other border crossings that don’t take long to get to. I have crossed at Blaine which is straight north or the two more east. How much time it takes depends when you are going whether a holiday either in USA or Canada or just a regular day. Depending on the traffic to it is a short drive to Vancouver, British Columbia. So if you come to Seattle for a visit and have some time it is a nice drive up interstate 5 and go to Vancouver. From Seattle it is about a two and half hour drive again depending on traffic. There are some nice spots you can stop in on the way if you want to take a rest on the way up.

I asked the clerk where she grew up. She said that she lived in Kelso which is a twin city with Longview. Both cities are about a little more than half way between Seattle and Portland. She told me her parents still live on the farm she grew up on. There used to be a lot of logging going on around Longview and Kelso however the recession several years back has hurt the economy. It has been several years since I visited the area however it is a nice place to visit as well. Like so much of Washington state these small towns are beautiful and personalities of their own as well.

I look forward this year to go visit in the different area of western Washington. So if you have the time and come for a visit get out into the country besides just seeing Seattle. There are bed and breakfast spots you can stay at besides motels and hotels. A great way to adventure.