Tim and Hallie had planned a "date night" for an evening during their visit here. Nana and Grandpa were put in charge of the little one and have been looking forward to it as much as Tim and Halie.
Tim was searching for an excellent local restaurant and, after much consideration, Grandpa suggested the nationally renowned restaurant at The Willows Inn on beautiful Lummi Island. A short drive to the ferry in Bellingham and an even shorter ride on the ferry and you are there. It is a picturesque spot overlooking Rosario Straits and one finds relaxation immediately upon arrival.
But I will let Hallie and Tim blog about their evening.
The last thing they did before leaving Mount Vernon was to put Oly Lou down for her (late) nap.
Nana put Grandpa down too and the house was totally quiet.
Not wanting Oly to sleep too late, Nana first woke Grandpa and we both ventured down to her Princess Bed (named by Oly) to wake her up.
This is what we found.
She was tough to wake, and put her head back down a few times until Nana said "Hey Oly, want to go see the Christmas lights?" Before we could blink, she was standing in her bed, fully awake and ready to go.
Which is more than we can say for Grandpa.
So we needed to stop for coffee on the way. Oly scored a hot chocolate with whipped cream for the ride and kept her eyes peeled for decorated houses along the way.
We saw plenty and they were all very pretty. But they were nothing compared to what we saw at The Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach Camp.
They advertise the display as over one million lights and I don't doubt it at all. Oly instantly proclaimed them to be "bee-yootiful!"
We got to walk under a canopy of lights.
We decided to stop at one of the five entertainment stages for a little music.
This was fun, but we really wanted to see more lights.
Of course, we got hungry and needed a hot dog.
We found ourselves in front of Bruce the Spruce, the talking tree.
After a nice conversation, in which Oly informed Bruce that she had never spoken to a tree before, we headed over to wait in line for the train ride!
We scrambled on and Nana scooped Oly up into her lap for a ride around the camp.
After the train ride, we went inside for yet another round of music (and another hot dog).
Oly wanted to go onto the stage but then got "a little shy".
There was a banjo player, a guitar player and a woman playing bass just like Grandpa Mac.
More lights.
Followed by a quick trip inside a pen to pet some sheep......
And to pose for Grandpa.
By then, we were tired and it was time to say good-bye to the lights.
Any self respecting three year-old can find puddles in the parking lot to walk and stomp in.
Even though it was late when we got home, there was time for one more thing.
Vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and whipped cream!
Now off to bed....
