Dear Gee:
How about heading for Portland, OR, a splendid city with more than its share of theaters, cozy hotels and romantic restaurants (check pova.com for details). You could drive there via Mount Rainier or Mt. St. Helens, and you could later travel up the Columbia River Gorge or to Mt. Hood for hiking.
Or, as an alternative--if the weather is fine--you could go to the Long Beach Peninsula and spend your anniversary at one of the lighhouse keepers' houses rented out by the WA State Parks at Fort Canby, or the steward's house at Fort Columbia.

Hi, Gee,
Well, for urban stuff, there's Seattle or Portland...Vancouver's more than 2 hours (more like 4) or of course Tacoma or Cosmopolis.
But you might consider tulips in the Skagit valley, based out of LaConner (shopping, cuteness), or (if it was us) maybe the Columbia Gorge, which ought to be in high spring color and possibly dryer. You could stay at McMenamin's Edgefield near Troutdale, OR (on the Columbia at the west end of the Gorge). It's the former Multnomah Co. poor farm now converted to a hotel/brewery/winery/restaurant/movie theater/concert complex, lively and fun, with day trips to Powell's books in Portland or to Multnomah Falls or the orchards near Hood River easily undertaken. About 2 hours from Oly.
Congrats!

Dear Gee:
Since your anniversary is at the end of April (and since we are having an early spring), the Skagit Valley tulips will be far beyond their prime. But you might still find a few fields of irises.

Hey John..when WILL be a good time this year to see the La Connor area tullips in bloom so we can plan a trip? Thanks.

Dear Tammy:

My early daffodils and crocuses (and a few irises) are already in bloom; most of my tulips have pushed up their leaves, and a few of the early tulips are getting flower heads.

The Skagit Valley is a bit colder than my garden (it is one climate zone lower). That means, as judged by previous years, that their flowers usually develop about a week later.

For the latest info, go to

http://www.tulipfestival.org/

To check on what's in bloom and where (map of the fields currently in bloom), go to the following web sites:

There are several maps:

1. An overview map, showing not only the fields, but also listing visitor attractions (http://www.tulips.com/map.htm)
2. A map which shows what’s in bloom and where (http://www.tulips.com/maps.html) [click on “View the Bloom Map] The web site’s map is color coded: if a field is in bloom it will be colored yellow (daffodils), red (tulips), or blue (irises). Right now, none of the fields are colored in. But you should check back in a week or so, to see which fields are in bloom.
3. A map with color coded fields which shows you which VARIETIES of daffodils, tulips, or irises are planted in a given field. This is kind of cool: if you click on a field, you not only get the names of the varieties, but also thumbnail photos of the different varieties, giving you an idea of what you’re looking at when you visit (I’m going to print those out on a color printer, so I don’t have to drag my laptop to the fields.) [Same web site as number 2, http://www.tulips.com/maps.html, but click on “View the Field Map.]


Here is the most recent update from that web site:

DAFFODILS
Daffodil fields are progressing along nicely - we anticipate having some nice color right around March 10th - if you like yellow, be sure to come and take a look! (I have had a LOT of color since the last week of February.)

TULIPS
The tulips are growing right on schedule - at this time it appears that the bloom will coincide nicely with the Tulip Festival (March 31 - April 16), but it is too early to know for sure! It all depends on the weather over the next four to six weeks, so stay tuned and we'll keep you posted!

IRISES
Irises typically bloom in the middle of May and provide some nice, late-spring color. Come on out and enjoy the blue, white and yellow fields in bloom! (That, too, depends on the weather—the irises may be early this year.)

SKAGIT VALLEY TULIP UPDATE:
Today was beautifully sunny and warm, so I took a drive to the Skagit Valley to check on the flowers:
The daffodils are starting to bloom early. Several fields are already turning bright yellow. In fact, local farm stands are starting to sell freshly picked daffodil blooms.
The tulips are coming up quickly. But I talked to a grower who told me she still expects them to be on schedule for the Tulip Festival (31 March to 16 April), unless the weather turns unexpectedly warm.
A good place for buying fresh flowers between now and May (daffodils, tulips, irises) is
Lefeber Bulb Co.
15379 State Route 536 (Memorial Highway)
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
1.800.725.7251
http://www.lefeberbulb.com

Thanks ever so for that info John! It's great. I loked at the web page and have bookmarked it. We went last year and loved the tulips. Maybe this year we can make it for the irises. Our daffodils that are planted in sunny spots have been in bloom for about a week with the ones in shade just about a week or more behind them.