Long day - got coffee and hit the road heading South into the Skagit River Valley.
My first two stops were places that advertised various kinds of surplus. The first one - Coho Liquidation - turned out to be very overpriced junk. Great looking website but the store was a mess of cluttered piles and the stuff they were selling was very overpriced - approaching new list for damaged merch. Not going there again...
The second one was wonderful - Skagit Building Salvage - lots of reclaimed wood and metal, old lockers, sinks, kitchen cabinets, etc... There is a similar store in Bellingham but their prices have been creeping up over the last five years so it is nice to have a decently priced alternative. Definitely going back there again!
My third stop was in response to a Craigslist advertisement for some PA equipment. The stuff was beat to shit, the seller gave every indication of being a serious meth-head and the merch gave every indication of being stolen. No.
There is was a wonderful BBQ place in Mt. Vernon - Reverie BBQ - I swung by there thinking to pick up a pound of brisket or pulled pork for future meals. They were closed with no indication of what happened. As I was driving through Mt. Vernon to get on the freeway, I noticed that they were working with the Hope on the Street people (there was a sign up on a Church). Reverie was always good about turning part of their profits back to feeding the hungry and homeless so it looks like they just closed their storefront but are still operating in some measure. They did good work and I am happy to see that they are continuing.
There is a major electronics retail store in Mt. Vernon - Skagit Whatcom Electronic Supply - I swung by there to see what new stuff they were carrying. I want to get into the Arduino computers - lots of fun stuff happening there. They are only open from Monday to Friday though.
All and all, a very nice drive but if I was out for that, I would have headed East and gone up the mountain or East on Route 20 for a while. At least, now I know these things...
