Hankering for a Swim

Today we went downtown to pick up Helena. Our plan was to head to Fairhaven and check out the Brenthaven store before they moved to Seattle. They are having a moving sale of their bags. Being a "bag lady" I had to see what was what. Turned out there was nothing that really tweaked my fancy, so I saved money. Next we shopped a bit for some things Arvin needed. Helena found some cute bunny slippers with an insert you warm in the microwave and bought those. They won't get much use now but come winter, they should be cozy.

Next we drove to North Lake Whatcom Trail. The place was packed with hikers, bikers and lots of people swimming in Lake Whatcom. I must remember this place when I hanker for a swim. There are spots that would work for my recent yearning to swim. I don't want to swim just anywhere. Our local beach would not do: too crowded and not very appealing... seems a bit on the dirty side. Nor would Lake Padden do either. They have a Swimmers Itch problem and that keeps me away.

The perfect spot would be the one I create in my imagination when I need a fantasy trip to peace and serenity. It is a large crystal pool with a waterfall that you can swim under. The water is clean, fresh and the perfect temperature. The pool is in a tropic glade with beautiful green plants, trees and flowers with just a hint of fragrance.... ahhh.

But in truth such a place most likely doesn't exist. I have been to some wonderful ones that do. There is a pool near Lake Miniwaska in the Mid Hudson Valley in New York that is darn close to this fantasy. And the hot spring called Mataranka in Australia is fantastic. Wonderful warm water that washes over you in a small waterfall you can sit in. Yep. That would do the trick. A bit far from here though. 

I did wade in the lake and the water was a very good temperature. And there are spots where you can get to deeper water fairly quickly and have a good swim. So the next really hot day, I might just go to that trail with a suit on. Today I had waterproof shoes and shorts so I was able to take a walk in water up to my knees. That was refreshing.

We stopped at The Fork for lunch on the way home. The food was yummy and my shoes were almost dry so all was well. Now we are resting. Arvin and I have a Marrowstone concert tonight. We will drop Helena home on the way.

PS The concert was great. The student musicians in the Marrowstone program are really good. And they played some rarely heard music including a cello concerto by Victor Herbert. Yes. That's right. A classical concerto by VH. And the man who played it was phenomenal. He is one of the cello instructors. Lucky cello playing kids I would say.