I finalised my visit into America now and will be staying in Mount Vernon which is about 1.15 hours from Surrey in British Columbia. I know that the border crossing could hours to my trip. I am going to cross over the Peace Arch at Blaine for 3 nights next month. I chose this area because it in between Seattle and Vancouver.

I want some rest, relaxation and some retail therapy. My intention is to walk from my AirBnB to the Amtrak and for $35 take the Amtrak Cascades route for the day to King Street in Seattle. I then don’t need to do battle with the I5 towards the Emerald City nor stress about affordable parking.

I might drive through the North Cascade Mountains to the National Park Visitor Centre and on to Newhalem. I will be in search of Diablo Lake which looks like a competitor to anything the Rocky Mountains can offer.

I  am also considering taking a Washington Ferry from Anacortes as a foot passenger to one of the nearby islands or just drive around Skagit Bay.

The whole area looks delightful and very scenic and I haven’t been to this area before so it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to discover North Washington State before returning to Vancouver to start my Rocky Mountaineer Adventure.