Greetings from Everett, Washington. Why, you wonder, are we here? When we used to work for Boeing, managers put intense pressure on employees to buy EE savings bonds. Jim was a manager and for him it was a condition of employment, so there was really no choice but to buy them. I guess because the company had military contracts. So we did. Redeeming these bonds has become a nightmare. No one wants to do it because it's time consuming and generates no income for the financial institution. So, we drove from Spokane to Everett to go to our credit union, who has two offices that will still cash bonds for customers. It's a loooooooooong drive. You can mail them in, but given the current state of the USPS, we don't like to mail anything.
In July 2022, we drove to Bellingham (north of Everett) and the traffic on I5 from I90 to Bellingham was so horrendous, we declared never again. Returning home, we took US 2 to avoid the traffic between Marysville and I90. We remembered it as a pleasant drive. Today we again took the US 2 route, and it was horrendous. It goes through downtown Wenatchee, which took forever. Every small town seems to have sprouted stop signs and round abouts. Part of the problem is that it's harvest season, there are many trucks on the road transporting food. So, I think US 2 is now on the banned list. Tomorrow, we're going to try I5 south, and then east on I90. This is probably our last trip to the Seattle/Everett area. The traffic is so bad, the drivers act like it's a personal insult to them if you change lanes, and there is really nothing over here worth a six hour drive.
Eastern Washington is really different from the western side of the state. They get way more rain than we do. Eastern is more desert-ish. The area around the Columbia Basin is full of fruit trees, lima beans, alfalfa, timothy, sweet corn, seed corn, and potatoes.
Here are photos from the day's drive. They grow Kentucky Blue Grass for seed here. Then they burn the fields to get rid of the grass part of the plant.
This looks like the Palouse.
We are heading down to the Columbia river.
The Rock Island dam.
Now we are entering the Cascade mountain range. They keep the west side wet.
We're staying at what appears to be a new Hampton Inn in downtown Everett. It's very nice. Rooms are a little small, but we won't be here very long.
That is a long drive! And a dismal one at best. We do not go any farther south than Mount Vernon- going north is better. It is claustrophobic up here, expensive and dark....BUT the politics are good, and the forests are friendly. East of the mountains is like going to Wyoming sort of, I like it. Except for the politics and the lack of crazy art/artists.
ReplyDeleteThat is a long drive!
ReplyDeleteRock island like the Rock Island Line in the song?
That's a pain in the ass. Those photos look so much like the interior of BC.
ReplyDeleteThat's a heck of a drive just for some banking. Very scenic though.
ReplyDeleteGosh, what a pain! Can't you send the bonds by certified mail or some method with accountability? I hope you can at least do some fun things in and around Everett while you're there. (Assuming there are any fun things to do.)
ReplyDeleteI live on the west side and a trip to Seattle is generally on the Sounder or the light rail. Pretty much stress-free. I like the eastern side but am not so into desert, triple digit summer temps or the politics.
ReplyDeleteI haven't cashed bonds or driven than part of the country in forty years. Both were not a problem back then.
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