Short Trips
LANGLEY -- This south Whidbey Island town is a wonderful reminder of small-town charm. From free and easy street parking to shop owners who personally welcome you, a day in Langley can be pure pleasure.
The town has been luring me for years. The turnoff -- not far from the Clinton ferry landing -- beckoned, but there was always something more urgent farther up the island. It's embarrassing to admit that my only previous trip to Langley was for a Christmas Eve service more than 20 years ago.
November 24, 2005
Advice to all those who travel to North Bend to shop the factory outlet mall: Go a little bit farther.
Just down Bendigo Boulevard is the real North Bend, a slice of 1950s small-town America where for a few hours you can experience another era.
There's a main street where young males still cruise -- showing off shiny cars or trucks and revving their engines to show off their mufflers (or lack thereof). There's a "streamlined" '40s-era theater -- a building that will be familiar to those who remember Saturday afternoon matinees for a dime.
March 24, 2005
There's more to Edmonds than a ferry line and Rick Steves' headquarters.
Travelers heading to Kingston and beyond fall into the first category. And travelers planning visits to Europe -- devoted to travel guru Steves' "through the back door" philosophy -- often can be found sitting around the fireplace in his retail store on Fourth Avenue, reading travel books and perusing maps.
If this is how you think of Edmonds, you're not getting the picture. Definitely not.
February 10, 2005
"Butt Lifter jeans." That sweet little phrase literally popped off the page.
Could it be possible to defy gravity without surgical intervention, exercise, or heaven forbid, dieting?
At the end of the press release announcing the wonders of these special Blue Cult denims was an offer to "test drive" a pair. I was on the phone in a flash.
"Of course we'd love to send you a pair," cooed Karen Webb from Los Angeles. "What size?"
January 18, 2005
When Puget Sounders go to Portland, they shop. They may be there for another reason perhaps a game or business but they shop.
Oregon's lack of a sales tax is alluring, but that's not what draws Washingtonians over the border.
"Portland is organized so well. The city's designed in a sensitive way. It's less of a hassle to go to different shopping areas," says Seattle textile designer Janell deVarona.
December 1, 2003
Call it river rafting 101.
A three-to four-hour trip down 13 miles of the Yakima River is perfect for first-time rafters who white-knuckle at the mention of whitewater.
"It's a Class 1 ride,'' Ninon Rill, owner of Rill Adventures Raft Rentals in Thorp, says soothingly as she checks in two boatloads of clients.
When Rill learns the camera-laden P-I photographer will be shooting during the trip, and that the reporter doesn't know paddle from spatula, she suggests a guide.
August 10, 2000
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