Tuesday night with the Johansson's in La Conner
Tuesday night was our turn to visit Bobbie and Brent Johansson in their neck of the woods, La Conner.
For YEARS Bobbie and I were fellow English teachers. When she retired in 2000, she did exactly what I never suspected her to do: she became an RV vagabond. They sold their home, bought a big truck and a fifth-wheel trailer, and never looked back. Since then, they've been all over the country in their tricked-out, air-conditioned 38' RV.
Lucky for us, one of their favorite oases is La Conner's heavily-forested Thousand Trails RV Park, a mere fifteen minutes from our home.
We had a great supper at La Conner Seafood and Prime Rib,
and were waited on by a delightfully goofy waitress who really owns her own organic deli in Sedro-Wooley, the Hottie Tottie, which was named before she bought it. She regaled us with stories of her opening day, when she thought she could do it all by herself. Now she has employees.
What did we learn over dinner? Mt. Baker Winery is really in the flatter-lands of southeastern Washington. Gen. Custer's army had single-shot rifles, while the Indians had repeat-firing rifles, or something like that. (I forgot to take notes.) The Tetons could just as easily have been named Las Melones.
PS - We discovered later that an even better place to dine in La Conner is Seeds. Alas.
Being a military town, Oak Harbor differs markedly from the rest of the island, not so much for its bellicosity, but because, I think, people are constantly leaving, or they're waiting for someone to come home safely from war or from a practice flight mission. Missing are the lovely gardens, the imaginative shops and eateries, and all the other things creative people do to enhance their existence.
Anyway, jet jockey Lt. Dave "Wonder" Brennan led us through VAQ 133's hangar to view EA-6B Prowler jet repairs and out on the tarmac where electronic jamming jets stood at the ready. He explained how everyone lines up and walks the tarmac, picking up stones or whatever could be sucked into the jet engines, otherwise known as FOD (foreign object damage). Wonder answered plenty of our questions, like why they're so loud when they fly over Fidalgo Island, how he got his moniker, and how the jets get to Iraq and Afghanistan. (Duh, they fly them! It takes seven hours, and they refuel mid-air through their probosces [see pic.] over the East Coast and twice over Europe.)
We learned that the jets usually only bother one side of Fidalgo Island or the other, depending on the weather and wind patterns. Happily, the air station's getting some new, quieter jets. We also learned Wonder got his moniker because, out on the tarmac, his plane clipped a parked parts truck that looked remarkably like a (Wonder??) bread truck. Monikers, he explained, are meant to "bust your chops."
Another highlight was to meet Fidalgo Island's resident hero, Lt. Commander Ariel Klein (USNA '97, Beat Army!), to whom Davy personally wrote in late spring.
Then we got a new guide, Lt. Commander Brightner, who was quite informative as we toured SAR (Search and Rescue), which he insisted did NOT bother Fidalgo with a bunch of noise.
Hands down, SAR has the best wall-size relief map I've ever seen. It was like three inches deep, so you can really compare the state's extreme elevations. Which is really important since this SAR unit, when not saving people from the sea, saves a lot of people from mountain tops, which I gather is an intense trick to accomplish in Washington's jagged ranges. They do this at no cost to the victim. God bless them! Brightner told us SAR was ironically far more successful saving people from mountains than from boating accidents because, try as they might, some kayaker or sailboat always seemed to get to the victim first. LOL!
LCDR Brightner really stole my heart when he said the best thing he ever did in the service was helping survivors of Indonesia's Christmas Day tsunami while he was stationed in Guam.
Our tour ended with a yummy lunch in the Officers Club.
Tuesday night was our turn to visit Bobbie and Brent Johansson in their neck of the woods, La Conner. For YEARS Bobbie and I were fellow English teachers. When she retired in 2000, she did exactly what I never suspected her to do: she became an RV vagabond. They sold their home, bought a big truck and a fifth-wheel trailer, and never looked back. Since then, they've been all over the country in their tricked-out, air-conditioned 38' RV.
Lucky for us, one of their favorite oases is La Conner's heavily-forested Thousand Trails RV Park, a mere fifteen minutes from our home.
We had a great supper at La Conner Seafood and Prime Rib,
and were waited on by a delightfully goofy waitress who really owns her own organic deli in Sedro-Wooley, the Hottie Tottie, which was named before she bought it. She regaled us with stories of her opening day, when she thought she could do it all by herself. Now she has employees.
What did we learn over dinner? Mt. Baker Winery is really in the flatter-lands of southeastern Washington. Gen. Custer's army had single-shot rifles, while the Indians had repeat-firing rifles, or something like that. (I forgot to take notes.) The Tetons could just as easily have been named Las Melones.
PS - We discovered later that an even better place to dine in La Conner is Seeds. Alas.
Wednesday morning at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
Far too early the next morning, we headed out with a group of Anacortesans for a tour of top-ranked NAS Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor.
Before I describe our trip, I'd like to say that Whidbey Island is a long, bucolic island situated north of Seattle and east of Vancouver Island. By its nature, it lures artists, writers, dreamers, seafarers, and organic farms.
Plunged in the northern one-third of all this beauty is a huge naval air station and the city, Oak Harbor, that supports it.
Before I describe our trip, I'd like to say that Whidbey Island is a long, bucolic island situated north of Seattle and east of Vancouver Island. By its nature, it lures artists, writers, dreamers, seafarers, and organic farms.
Plunged in the northern one-third of all this beauty is a huge naval air station and the city, Oak Harbor, that supports it.
Anyway, jet jockey Lt. Dave "Wonder" Brennan led us through VAQ 133's hangar to view EA-6B Prowler jet repairs and out on the tarmac where electronic jamming jets stood at the ready. He explained how everyone lines up and walks the tarmac, picking up stones or whatever could be sucked into the jet engines, otherwise known as FOD (foreign object damage). Wonder answered plenty of our questions, like why they're so loud when they fly over Fidalgo Island, how he got his moniker, and how the jets get to Iraq and Afghanistan. (Duh, they fly them! It takes seven hours, and they refuel mid-air through their probosces [see pic.] over the East Coast and twice over Europe.)
We learned that the jets usually only bother one side of Fidalgo Island or the other, depending on the weather and wind patterns. Happily, the air station's getting some new, quieter jets. We also learned Wonder got his moniker because, out on the tarmac, his plane clipped a parked parts truck that looked remarkably like a (Wonder??) bread truck. Monikers, he explained, are meant to "bust your chops."
Another highlight was to meet Fidalgo Island's resident hero, Lt. Commander Ariel Klein (USNA '97, Beat Army!), to whom Davy personally wrote in late spring.
Then we got a new guide, Lt. Commander Brightner, who was quite informative as we toured SAR (Search and Rescue), which he insisted did NOT bother Fidalgo with a bunch of noise.
Hands down, SAR has the best wall-size relief map I've ever seen. It was like three inches deep, so you can really compare the state's extreme elevations. Which is really important since this SAR unit, when not saving people from the sea, saves a lot of people from mountain tops, which I gather is an intense trick to accomplish in Washington's jagged ranges. They do this at no cost to the victim. God bless them! Brightner told us SAR was ironically far more successful saving people from mountains than from boating accidents because, try as they might, some kayaker or sailboat always seemed to get to the victim first. LOL!
LCDR Brightner really stole my heart when he said the best thing he ever did in the service was helping survivors of Indonesia's Christmas Day tsunami while he was stationed in Guam.
Our tour ended with a yummy lunch in the Officers Club.
Love the call sign explanation. Somehow I thought SAR was part of the Coast Guard. Bless all our servicemen and women--and the kayakers :)
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