Happy Anniversary - 12 years

Happy Anniversary – 12 years


So what do you get for someone who has everything he needs, or wants, or…he just goes and buy it himself?

Several months ago I saw something on TV about the Deception Pass boat tours. Larry loves boats and I thought if he hadn’t already done this, it just might be the perfect gift. I waited until several weeks before our anniversary before I said anything to him about my idea. He loved the suggestion and we decided that we would find a nice sunny day to do the tour, even if it was not our anniversary date.

Monday June 14th and it’s our anniversary and the sun is shining!

Kelly posted notes to both of us on Facebook and then called us to wish us happy anniversary. She said that Larry signed his life away 12 years ago and that we, the kids and I own him…and we love him lots. He owns our hearts and love.

I cooked breakfast for Larry and then had to tell him that I hid his anniversary card so he wouldn’t find it--so well, in fact, that I couldn’t find it, either. Larry laughed and pointed out that it must be within 50 feet and one day we would discover where it was hidden.

Larry, on the other hand, is much more organized than I am. He left to run an errand and returned with two dozen yellow roses and 12 red ones (one for each year we have been married); not one, but two cards, and chocolate truffles from Chocolate Necessities. As if that were not enough, Larry gave me a real rose dipped in 24kt gold--he gives me a gold rose every year on our anniversary; I now have a full dozen. He loves me.

We grabbed our warm jackets and headed off to Deception Pass. We took the freeway down and arrived early enough to take the 3:00 PM tour instead of the planned 4:00 PM tour.

Clifford met us at the dock and walked us down to the boat. Because the tourist season has not really started, we had the boat all to ourselves today. Our own personal guided tour. Cameron was our guide, and Captain Brett piloted the boat.

We just pulled away from the dock when we saw a harbor seal swimming close by. They told us the water in the summer gets to a high of 530, warm enough for the seal, but not me. Just a few yards beyond the tree line on the shore is an old growth forest with trees that range between 100 and 400 years old. We saw where boot-leg liquor was secretly brought in to Washington from Canada during prohibition. We also saw the remnants of a state prison rock quarry, up a cliff and now barred up to prevent anyone from entering the cave where the prisoners were housed.

The crew cranked up the music “Danger Zone” as we went under Deception Pass and through the churning water. The water is at different levels under Canoe Pass and it was a little to0 rough today to go through the pass. The boat would move sideways and then bounce up and dip down through the swells. Hang on, we’re airborne. We had a 20mph wind advisory so we didn’t stay out long, but we were definitely out long enough to experience the wilder side of the force of the water and waves.

We were back at the dock at just a minute before 4:00 PM with memories to treasure. If you have a little time, we would encourage you to go for a Deception Pass tour and a chance to see the bridge from a different point of view.

We headed to the Longhorn Saloon and Grill for dinner. We weren’t expecting entertainment, but we had some. A guy rode in on his motorcycle, not a Harley, and pulled front wheel into the parking space, then after some extended maneuvering he managed to park his bike. Then he strode up the bar and wanted to know if a seat next to two bicyclists was empty. The bar was empty but he needed that seat at least for the next minute or so before he moved to a table. He was a big guy but he looked more like a wannabe…something…not sure what he really wanted to be. He had a big, big knife strapped to his knee. He was wearing all sorts of patches, crosses, skulls, jokers, but the best one was “bad ass”. If you have to wear the patch that says you are a “bad ass” and have handicap plates on your bike, maybe you are dreaming. It gave us a chuckle during dinner. We left and headed up Chuckanut Drive heading for home. If you aren’t the designated driver, you should try a Longhorn Amber Ale, only available at the Longhorn Saloon in Edison.

For more information on the tours, go to: Deception Pass Tour - http://www.deceptionpasstours.com/tour-info-and-rates/