On my way back from Oregon for Grandma’s 95th birthday party I took a detour and stopped out at DeGoede tulips.  I was there last year, too, but was a little early.  This year I hit it just right (though the farm store was not open, so I didn’t get to buy any to bring home).

Interesting.  I look back at the photos I took last year and they’re actually rather good. Why do I point that out?  Because they were taken with my little Canon point-n-shoot pocket camera.  It actually does a very good job and will be a companion in the Caribbean when we go places that I don’t want to take the “fancy” (read:  expensive) gear.  For instance, if we’re going hiking and beaching for a day I’m not going to take the ‘spensive gear.  Why?  Because if we’re both in the water I can’t very well leave it on the beach.  I also can’t leave it in the jeep because it will be a) too warm and b) it’s a soft-top jeep. Actually, we wouldn’t have even rented a jeep (because we’re thrifty), but the lady who we rented the apartment from said the windy, hilly roads of St. John demand a 4wd. Thus…jeep. The bottom line?  Glad I have a point-n-shoot that does a nice job.  We may even have to play a game when I return…I post photos and you guess if it was taken with point-n-shoot or DLSR.  Ohhh…good game!

I got off topic.

Look….dreeeeaaaaammmmyyyy tulips.

Anyways, DeGoede bulb farms is only 20 minutes off I-5, so it was an easy hop-skip out there.  When I arrived there were, perhaps, a couple dozen people out there.  Most right at the top of the fields.

Now, compare that with the hundreds (and I do mean hundreds) of thousands of people who visit Mt. Vernon for their annual tulip festival.  Where would you prefer to go?  Right? Which is why I’m not going to give you specific directions to DeGoede.

Though you could Google it if you want.

But, maybe I spelled it incorrectly.

On purpose.

Not one to hang with the masses, I took off down the side of one of the fields and then hopped onto the farm road that cut between the two largest fields.  Now, DeGoede doesn’t have anywhere near the volume of flowers that Mt. Vernon has.  But, there are enough to satisfy even the greatest of tulip lovers (I would be one of those people).

After standing tall, crouching low, twisting, turning and getting lost in both beauty and photography (or are they one in the same?) I had my fill (well, not really, but I needed to get home before the husband called out the hounds) and headed northward.

Until next year, DeGoede!