Driving in the Rain

Today on my drive to work, the sky really let everyone have it. Hell, lake-fulls of water fell from the sky pretty much all day. I write this post not as a hackneyed rant on how much it rains in the Pacific Northwest. That complaint really doesn't have any teeth anymore, and it's something I've gotten used to as a transplanted Washingtonian. 

Instead, I'd like to spend some time here thanking everyone I passed or saw driving on I-5 on my way to work for driving safely in the rain. Wet-weather driving probably comes as second nature to most everyone who calls this corner of the U.S. home, but it is truly refreshing to see for someone coming from a completely different climate (me).

In my hometown of Las Vegas it rains as much as it did today for a few weeks in August and September; our wet season, if you will. Because of the paucity of rain showers leading to normally dry ground and the Las Vegas valley's geography, flash floods are not uncommon. The yearly occurrence of flash flooding even inspired our regional flood control district to initiate a fairly well-known billboard campaign warning of the dangers of floods with billboards like this:

Source: http://www.ccrfcd.org/2004billboards.htm

Despite these painfully obvious warnings, some people continue to not get it. Shots of stranded motorists being rescued from cars they drove into waist-deep water are a more common site on the local news than I'm comfortable admitting regularly.

You'd think images like the one above would be hard to forget.

Some Las Vegas drivers also seem to think that driving in the rain at or over the speed limit is a good idea; as if getting to their destination as quickly as possible is the best way to drive in wet weather. People eventually learn, but then inexplicably forget a year later, that driving in the rain means slowing down. The posted speed limit is not a challenge, it is the fastest most drivers can safely travel in the best conditions; roads glossy with water are far from ideal.

Fortunately, people in my adoptive state seem to get it. Most everyone I saw driving today kept a safe distance from the car in front of them and did not seem to feel the irresistible urge to go flat out. I have a feeling this will be only one of the many things with which I am continually pleasantly surprised as I grow more and more to consider Bellingham my home.

Canada Geese Sightings

I imagine the first thought of anyone gazing upon the title of this post who happens to reside in the Pacific Northwest or Canada will be something along the lines of, "Yeah, so? They're all over the place." What someone who mentally asks that question will most likely not know is that for someone who was raised in the desert city of Las Vegas, Nevada, such creatures are a extremely rare occurrence.

So, I hope my Pacific Northwest friends will forgive my naive excitement at seeing a large flock of these geese parked on the grassy lawns across from The Northern Light building (where I work) in Blaine a few days ago. I even took some time out of my day to run across the street and take some pictures of the numerous examples of Branta canadensis that had alighted near the amphitheater at Marine Park.

 I have to admit, taking the pictures was a quite a thrill. I recalled the hours and hours of watching the Discovery Channel as a child and tried my best to stay downwind of the geese. I got some pretty good shots, but I have no idea whether this was due to my wildlife photography skills or the birds' general apathy toward humans.

 After about half an hour and my left shoe sporting a smear of brand new goose poop, these are some of the shots I took. The rest of the album can be found here. 

This was one of the first shots I took. That's Canada in the far background.

This one was taken from the opposite direction as the first photo. The Northern Light building stands in the background.

This is what happened when I accidentally scared some of the flock away.

Part of what made this so exciting for me was how obvious it made the fact that my adoptive home of Bellingham is so very different from where I grew up. It's amazing how much of a difference a two-hour plane ride can make in this ecologically and geographically diverse nation of ours.

All Moved In

Well, here I am. I am writing this post from my brand new apartment. It is definitely a step up from the old one in both fit and finish and neighbors.

The Northern Light will undoubtedly keep my busy from now on, it being officially my full-time job and all, but that means I will be exposed to even more of the interesting stories between my adoptive home of Bellingham and Blaine.

My Sincerest Apologies

I regret not being able to make posts here daily, but I started this blog in a rather busy time in my life. This weekend, for example, I am both graduating from college and moving into a new apartment. I have spent the last few evenings moving furniture and putting things into boxes.

So yeah, I've been busy.

With that said, here's something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything but that I find hysterical. Enjoy!

As some of my more astute readers may have noticed, I have not mentioned the 100th annual Northwest Washington Fair currently going on in Lynden all this week.

Put simply, it's because I don't plan on going. I would certainly like to, but the tickets are a bit pricey and my days are being taken up by work and the moving process in which I am currently involved.

With that said, this headline from The Bellingham Herald simply made me laugh:

Cooler mishap causes Moo-Wich meltdown at Lynden fair

The Whatcom County Dairy Women came to their booth at the fair Monday morning to find nearly 6,500 of their Moo-Wich ice cream sandwiches had melted due to equipment failures. Volunteers had apparently worked hard in the days before the fair to prepare the treats for eagerly waiting customers.

Now before anyone gets up in arms for me poking fun at this truly tragic occurrence, it should be known that a nearby Haggen supermarket had replacement cookies in the oven within  hours of the mishap. 650 Moo-Wiches should have been ready for customers by this afternoon.

I am of course glad to hear this tale had a happy ending. I just hope the Whatcom County Dairy Women didn't loose any moo-ney because of this unfortunate state of affairs.

If any other tragically hilarious mishaps occur at the fair, you will most definitely be able to read about them here. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with better puns by the time that happens.

Corvette For Sale

I hope you excuse this shameless bit of advertising for whoever this "Bob" person is, but I could not pass up sharing photos of this beautiful 1957 Corvette parked not a quarter-mile for The Northern Light building (where I work). This is by no means a blog devoted to classic cars, but seeing a C1 Corvette for sale will always make me stop and take notice.

In case it has not yet become clear, I am a bit of car guy. These Corvettes have always been favorites of mine. They became even more so when I did a report in high school on Harley Earl, the so-called "Father of the Corvette" and some might say modern car design. Earl was an incredibly influential car designer for GM in the 1950s and 60s. Not only did he pen the shapes of some of the most beautiful American cars of that era, he pretty much invented the modern car show. The days of tailfins, which Earl also invented, and mile-long Cadillacs may be gone, but Earl's trademark design cues can still be found in American cars today. I can't help but wonder what he would have thought of the near collapse of GM, the shuttering of Ford, and the Italian buyout of Chrysler. 

Here are some of the photos I took. Stay tuned for me attempting to get in touch with "Bob" and learn more about this specific 'Vette.

St. Francis Antique Car Show

For my inaugural post on From Bellingham to Blaine, I'm presenting a few photos I took at the St. Francis Antique Car Show. The show took place at the St. Francis of Bellingham nursing care facility near St. Joseph Hospital.

The show featured about 15 classic and antique cars, some living up to the "antique" moniker more than others. The cars varied in age from the 1910s on up through the 1960s and 70s. The people at St. Francis also provided free food in the form of hot dogs and chips. Even without the cars present, I found it difficult to pass up the opportunity for free food.

My paltry 23 years on this planet put me in the younger age range of the roughly 30-strong crowd at the show. Hell, all the cars were even older than me. Car show culture is always something with which I've been incredibly fascinated. The love of the automobile and the freedom it brings its owner seems to be uniquely American.

Without further ado, here are some photographic highlights. You can check out the entire album here.

This was one of the three Ford Model-Ts in attendance.

The oldest car at the show: a 1913 Model T Speedster.

Controls don't get much simpler than that.

A 1958 Corvette. According to the owner, 1958 was the only year they offered the car in this "Panama Yellow."

A classic Ford Thunderbird. 

Well, that's all the pictures I'm going to cram into this post. Once again, you can find the entire album here.