{ Let's Go On A Date }

Last Saturday, Mike and I went on a date. Like, a most-of-the-day date.

Recently we've become increasingly aware that while we are really good at being shoulder-to-shoulder friends {working together towards goals, etc.}, we invest very little time and energy toward being face-to-face friends {spending time together, talking, building our relationship, being friends}. We decided to take a Saturday and spend it face-to-face. And while it didn't turn out exactly as planned, we both had a lot of fun. And spent a lot of time just talking and hanging out and being friends. Which was the point!

We started off with breakfast at a local breakfast joint. This establishment is no longer on our list of places to go for breakfast. It has been hovering on the brink for a while, but the less-than-stellar service and just-okay food pushed it over for us. Bye-bye, Patty's Eggnest!

Then we headed up to Chuckanut Drive, that beautiful two-lane, cliff-hugging highway that winds in and out of steep, evergreen-thick hillsides to reveal breathtaking panoramas of the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands. We have so many fun memories along Chuckanut, from a couple random dates to a big portion of our engagement day.

Once we reached Bellingham, of course the streets in the part of town we wanted to visit were blocked off for a St. Patrick's Day parade...free parking was virtually nonexistent...and there were some tense, crabby moments in the car as we drove hither and yon trying to find parking and figure out what to do. We made up, finally parked, and found a lovely coffee shop called The Woods Coffee. Ohmygoodness. Love. In the photo below, you can see a glimpse of their decor: original pressed tin ceilings, vintage light fixtures, reclaimed metal barstools, a wall "papered" with burlap coffee sacks--plus original hardwood floors, beautiful exposed woodwork, comfy leather chairs--the place was an aesthetic feast! My coconut latte was pretty good, too.

We meandered around town on foot for a couple hours, dodging rainshowers and exploring random shops. We bought Strong's Exhaustive Concordance at a used bookstore {I have been meaning to buy an exhaustive concordance for months}, and Mike even ventured into a fibers shop with me--full of exotic yarns, spinning wheels, and various kinds of locally-raised and beautifully dyed fibers {wool, alpaca, llama, rabbit, etc.} waiting to be spun or felted.

For lunch, we stopped at Bayou on Bay, and boy oh boy, was it good!

Mike's BBQ pulled pork po' boy sandwich came with the best sweet potato fries I have ever tasted. I ate most of them. And I would like some more, please.

I had gumbo and an Arnold Palmer. Both delicious.

On our way back home, we stopped at one of the scenic overlooks to take some pictures.

Miss Peanut likes Chuckanut Drive.

It was a good day, and a good date.

~The End~