Sequim rocks!! I dated a lady there about 10 years ago and spent a lot of time up there...even met Robbie Kenevil at one of the casinos there....Nice quiet town..and not to hijack the thread.....sea level does provide lots more power and lower EGT's like prevously mentioned.....

 

Thank you everyone for the great comments including Diane, BD and Dave and everyone else.
Kwik, we actually don't want to live in Mount Vernon, but my wife works there. She's 10 years younger than me, so she'll be supporting my fat butt for a few years. She's in the medical field in a VERY specialized sub-field. She moved from Colorado in April, so it's been a long time for me to finally move out.... selling house to the oldest kid, retiring from the force etc. I'm excited to finally get there. This flying back and forth every 6 weeks is a killer. Once she finishes her training in 2009, she'll be able to have her pick of places to work any where in the world making very high 6 figures. I'm there for the ride I initially put her through college, so she owes me. Don't let her see this post or she'll kick my butt... Anyhow she also just found out today they are starting a medical center in some small town on Winby Island (Poletown???). Not sure if either name is spelled right??? Right now if she stays in Mount Vernon, we will look just about any where within about 30 minutes drive time.
When I get out there we'll have to meet up and have a cup of coffee or a brew, which ever is your liking.
Damn I'm excited to get out there and start this chapter in my life. I just got to stay safe for 13 more days. Everyone told me that officers about to retire go through this paranoia about ones safety. My eyeballs are wide open...

Marty

 

Probably Whidbey Island is what you are thinking. I don't know if you have seen it yet but the bridge onto Whidbey is eye popping. VERY high up in the air over some very fast water. The pictures don't do the view from the bridge justice. There's a halfway point on a big rock where you can pull over, get out and look. Stay safe and we'll have some lunch sometime.

Here is a google search of images.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=deception+pass&gbv=2

 

great goobly woobly Dan. Me thinks I like my bridges a whole lot closer to the water than that.

 

Yep thats the spelling and I have driven over that bridge once. Me and my wife was driving around before she moved out to get a feel for the area. This was before she knew for sure if she was coming out there. Anyhow we parked on the cutout when she got the call that they wanted her to train. We never went any further, but rushed back to town to look into an apartment for her. We will definitely go back there and check it out.
Kwik thanks for the info and I'll take you up on that lunch sometime.

Marty

 

Kwik you got me thinking about that picture. I looked in my pictures and found a few I took when we were there......

 

Those pictures are great examples of why I like it so much up here. One of the most scenic places on the planet IMO.
The state of Washington has the most varied climates of all the 50 states. Anything from the Hoh rain forest on the west side of the Olympic mountain range to the evergreen forests on the "dry" side of the Olympics to the Ponderosa pine forests on the east side of the Cascades to the rock deserts of the Grand Coulee dam region. We even have sand dunes in the Potholes region.
On clear days driving south to work in the morning I can look left and see the Cascade mountains, look right and see the Olympics.
We have it all.
Oh, and you will have a tough time getting the truck to smoke compared to 6000' up.

 

Kwik,

"You should be on the tourism council for Washington" is what my father would say to you. Except he said that to me for Colorado. I do love this state. It has 56 of the 91 mountains in the USA over 14000', a semi-arrid climate, 300 days of snow and 300 days of sunshine, some water , heavy forests, plains, varied altitude from about 3315' to 14440', canyons, great hiking and camping, skiing and snow boarding, mountain trout fishing and hunting, and on a clear day I can sit on my front porch at the foot of Pikes Peak and look south at the Spanish Peaks side by side mountains which is over 100 miles away and see them clearly et cetera !!!!! Which prompts one of my favorite sayings or tag lines.... "What's that funny smell...oh ya it's fresh air" I will miss this state, but nothing says I can't move back to it sometime in the future.

Marty

 

Whenever Kriss and I are on vacation in the trailer it's somewhere on the geographical formation called the Colorado Plateau. We love that whole area.
Or Banff in Canada. We spent our honeymoon there.

 

Yep, although I would like to think that Colorado is one of the most beautiful states for scenery, I think every state has it's own beauty. North Pennsylvania is one of the most heavily treed areas in the USA. There are forests that you can drive through that you are not able to see the sky at all. I'll never will forget that experience. I've heard that areas in Oregon are like that too.

Marty

 

It is a great job. Most rewarding job for me. If I wasn't that, being a cop would be a close second. Luckily for me I got a job as a FF, as my wife doesn't apreciate the idea of me being a cop, let alopne a FF. Thanks to all of you that serve, especially this holiday season.

RockyMtnRanger, welcome to the beautiful state of washington. Couldn't agree more with kwikordead about the scenery and varied climates. Been here all my life and don't plan on moving anytime soon. Maybe to the eastside of the cascades for retirement (but that's 25 years away.)
Congrats again, I'll drink to that!!

 

Thanks. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was looking at 25 years till retirement. 9 more days...

Marty