Anacortes

For the weekend, Mar, Sallie, Fede, BK & I headed up north for the Tour de Lopez bike ride once again.  Porkchop & Kevi Kev were supposed to join as well, but they instead jetted off to NYC. (You can read about the great New York Cupcake Quest here:  http://kelwarner.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/the-great-nyc-cupcake-quest/  ).  Since we had so many problems getting off of Lopez last year, we decided to try a new tactic this year by staying gin Anacortes and just walking on the ferry, which turned out pretty well.

Friday afternoon Mar, BK and I squeezed three people, three bikes and three sets of gear into the Jeep and headed north in hopes of making it to Bow-Edison before 7:00pm, when Breadfarm (http://www.breadfarm.com/) closes.  We made pretty good time as traffic through Everett wasn’t too bad.  As we speed along Chuckanut drive, it was going to be close.  We pulled up to the front door at 7:02pm!  Mar jumped out of the car to see if they’d still let us in an they said yes, so we quickly parked and ran.  They were totally mopping the floor so we just had to point and grab, but we got a loaf of potato bread and a couple bags of chocolate cookies (The Cocoa Nib ones are delicious.  The chocolate ginger ones were too gingery for me but the others liked them. 

From Breadfarm we headed back up the road to the Rhododendron Café (http://rhodycafe.com/) for dinner which was really good.  They had a three-course for $25 deal going on, so I got that with seafood chowder, salmon and ice creams.  BK did the same with Paella instead, and Mar got some veggies cakes and mussels.

Since we had the Jeep, we used the GPS system after dinner to take the backroads into Anacortes and found our super cute house.  Sallie had found it on Craigslist and we were the first guests so we weren’t sure what to expect, but it turned out pretty perfect for us.  It was about 10 blocks from Commercial Drive, with three bedrooms, bath, kitchen and living room.  The woman renting it to us actually lives there, but she had started fixing it up to rent too as she had recently lost her job and wanted to make some extra cash.  It had a southwestern décor theme, lots of bright colors, and a funky fun front yard.

 

Saturday was the bike ride.  Sallie & Fede biked to the Terminal, while we drove and met them there.  We stopped along the way for coffee where I spotted a sign for the monthly Iron Cupcake competition – awesome idea!  (Info:  http://www.alteredrecipes.com/ica_2.htm)

 

At the dock we joined the masses in line waiting to walk on with our bikes.  Arriving on Lopez I walked up the first part of the hill before hopping on to get over to the park for registration.  And then we were off.  All but Fede had planned to do the 31-mile route but as we got going, that prospect seemed bleaker and bleaker to me.  It was kind of cold and I didn’t remember their being as many hills at the beginning of the ride.  I was definitely struggling in some parts and quickly realizing that three rides on the Burke were not the same as having done this ride last year right after the Lavaman.  BK was feeling the same way (or at least being nice to me) so at the decision point near Shark Reef Bay, we turned to do the 17-miler instead of the 31.  The main factor for me was knowing there were more hills coming on the 31 that I knew I would struggle on.  I think if it had been warmer out I probably would have gone for it, but I was cold and tired and ready to be done.  It was still a good ride, just not as good as last year.  BK and I rolled into Lopez Village, parked our bikes and warmed up in Holly B’s bakery which I was delighted to see was open.  We loaded up on baked goods and then walked over to the BBQ.  We grabbed a table at the back to get whatever sun we could when it poked out from behind the clouds.  Slowly the rest of our group gathered and we all hung out around the Village for a couple hours since the ferry wasn’t until after 4:00pm.  We did have like 5 more miles to get back to the ferry though, so that warmed us up eventually (especially the last climb to the ferry dock) and the sun was out when we got down there which was nice.

Back in Anacortes, we took turns showering and then headed downtown for dinner at a spot called Adrift (http://www.adriftrestaurant.com/).  We had a bit of a wait which tired out our already tired group, but the food was well worth it – they have a wide variety and use lots of local vendors.  I had sweet potato and pork tacos that were yummy.  Back at home Sallie had brought some games to play, but we all crashed pretty quickly.

 

Sunday morning we packed up and drove back to Bow-Edison to visit the Farm-To-Market Bakery, home of the Lime Polenta Cake (http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3723386117).  I didn’t see any when we first walked in, but luckily they were just coming out of the over.  Mar, BK and I each bought two.  Mar and I also split a piece of quiche and a maple walnut scone that was also fresh from the oven.  (And the good news was BK & I would be back up there in a couple weeks for the Skagit Spring Classic and more yummy goodies!)  Sallie & Fede met us there too, but then hung around Edison while we took off through the Tulip fields.  We stopped at one daffodil field and tulip field for a few photos before hitting the highway home.

Viva Las Vegas – Day 3

Today was the day we knew would be the warmest, so we were looking forward to pool time. We once again hit the café for breakfast, but before changing into our suits, attended the free Craps lesson going on, as Sara’s one goal for the trip was to learn craps. It seems like a very confusing game, even after the lesson – I shall stick to blackjack. Down at the pool, we were slightly disappointed to find that while warm and sunny, a heavy desert breeze was blowing through pretty often. We stuck it out for about three hours though, because we had to log more miles on the lazy river! Eventually though, we couldn’t handle it anymore, so we packed up went back to the room.

From a cab the other night I had spotted Zara at the Fashion Show Mall, so I made a pilgrimage that direction while Sara went down to practice Craps. It was nice to get out and walk a bit. Treasure Island has tried to reimagine itself as “TI”, and across the street from there are the Wynn and Encore, both pretty plush. At Fashion Show mall I picked up the Jones Family favorites, liquor barrels from Ethel M chocolates, as well as a lavender sweater from Zara. I walked home on the other side of the strip and ducked into the Venetian to visit Bouchon bakery of the recommendation of BK. Got pain au chocolat for breakfast the next morning, as well as their versions of a nutter butter and oreo. I let Sara know when I was back at the Monte Carlo and we met in the room to change for dinner and our last evening out.

We had chosen the Monte Carlo not only because of the lazy river, but also because on every previous trip we have eaten at the Monte Carlo brew pub. It’s nothing special, just casual normal food, but we always go there. So, that was our dinner spot for the night as it had been closed the two previous evenings. From there we walked down the street to Excalibur in hopes of finding some $5 dollar tables to play at. We found one blackjack table, but I had to wait quite awhile before finally getting a seat. Sara meanwhile found Craps and roulette, and we both did pretty good! I came out $80 ahead on blackjack and Sara won like $100 at craps! To round out the evening, we went farther down to Mandalay Bay to see what was happening. We had read about their ice bar so we decided to check that out.

It had a hefty cover charge, but since we were big winners we decided to splurge. We also got two drinks included with it, as well as our parkas, gloves and boots to keep us warm. The bar was small, and not very full but pretty cool (literally and figuratively). The bar, tables and benches were all carved of ice, and a bunch of sculptures were around too. Even our glasses were carved of New Zealand Spring water. My drink of choice was the frozen apple. As we were leaving, three guys arrived and begged us to stay – since they were buying, we did two were from New York, one from Calgary, in town for a brokers conference. They were pretty entertaining, so we stayed much later than anticipated, but it was fun. Their next stop was a club, so we parted ways and caught a taxi home. But before bed we had to play a little more Goldfish of course, where we each lost $20 (but not before being propositioned by a new pair of guys. (Big night out for us!)

It was a really good, quick break – especially since it was snowing in Seattle. I had never been to Vegas mid-week, so it was interesting to see how many less people there were, and I’m sure even less due to the economy. We talked to a lot of cabbies about the situation around town, and it’s sad. Hopefully folks will start traveling there again soon…