Lake Pleasant RV Park, Bothell WA

Blue skies over Site 12 at Lake Pleasant RV Park, Bothell, WA.

If you follow my blog, you know Wayne and I recently purchased an RV. In addition to winter "snow bird" trips to the Southwest, we wanted an RV to attend sports events.

This weekend we took our Forest River Sunseeker south to Seattle for the NCAA Women's Softball Regionals at the University of Washington (UW). Seattle doesn't have many RV parks. The closest I found online was Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell.

Our "rent-a-toad" from the Enterprise in Bothell.

Our motorhome is 25' long and we don't have a toad (a car towed behind). Bothell is 13 miles from Husky Softball Stadium.

Public transit was complicated. The Uber estimate was $38-$50 per direction for three games. We decided to use "rent-a-toad." That's my nickname for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Total cost was $125 for three days with unlimited miles. The Bothell office also provided free pick-up. Deal done!

We enjoyed the wide pad and grassy lakeshore.

Lake Pleasant RV Park lives up to its name. The RV spots surround a long lake in a forested hideaway in the middle of the city. We got one of the prime lakeshore spots for $44 per night for full hookups.

The park is well maintained. Sites are paved, wide, level and divided with trees and hedges for privacy. Green grass adds to the natural ambiance. Each site comes with a picnic table. There are no wood fires, but portable propane fire pits are allowed.

Fellow Canadians made us feel at home.

The laundry, restrooms and showers are immaculate.  Long-term visitors can arrange to receive mail and packages. Propane is available next to the office. There's also a library with a small store.

Lake Pleasant is a nature preserve. It's home to Canada Geese, ducks, and at least one heron. We loved sitting in the sun and waking to the sounds of nature rather than traffic. This trip we missed hiking the forest trails surrounding the park.

We will be back for sure, every time we attend a University of Washington game, professional sports or other event in the Seattle area. Reservations are highly recommended, especially during the busy summer months.

University of Washington vs Mississippi at Husky Stadium.

The combination of the Lake Pleasant RV Park and Enterprise Rent-A-Car make it the perfect spot to stay any time of the year. -- Margy

The Old Edison Inn in Edison, WA

From Bellingham, take Chuckanut Drive to Edison for a scenic excursion. When you get there, stop at The Old Edison.

This historic restaurant was established in 1934 and continues to provide good food, drink and entertainment for locals and travelers alike.

The Edison has two things I really love, beer and oysters. They have local micro-brews on tap, now that's a little bit of heaven.

You can get fresh oysters from nearby Samish Bay as an appetizer, burger or a meal (my choice). Of course, there are steaks, burgers, salads and other good stuff -- but the oysters are for me.

Prices are reasonable and the old-time casual atmosphere makes it comfortable. Want to eat outdoors on a sunny day or warm evening? There's a huge grass area with tables out back.

Like entertainment? There are two very popular shuffleboard tables. And there's live music with dancing on weekends.

Tidal reflections as the ocean reaches all the way to Edison in the Samish Delta.

Lunch is served daily from 11:30 a.m. Closing is 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Edison may be a bit off the main drag, but well worth the scenic side trip.

You can also get to Edison from the I-5 Freeway. If you are heading north or south take the Bow-Hill exit and head west (click here for directions). You can't miss it. -- Margy

Wayne and Margy's New RV Adventure

Site 45 at Lost Dutchman State Park.

In January and February, Wayne and I went on a Rental RV Road Trip from Bellingham, Washington to Arizona. We were gone for 25 days and loved the experience. You can read about that trip by clicking here.

When we got back, we started looking for an RV of our own. We really liked the Coachmen Leprechaun we rented. It had a comfy layout for a small 24' overall length Class C. We wanted small for easier driving and parking in restaurant and shopping lots.

We looked at several other brands, but kept coming back to the Coachmen Freelander 21RS with a bed slide-out. Our rental had a rear corner bed. While we were leery of the mechanics of a slide, we wanted increased sleeping comfort.

Since Poulsbo RV is the only Coachmen dealer near us, we went to one of their RV shows. And guess where it was, in the Bellis Fair Mall next to our condo. Seemed like kismet. They only had a larger Freelander display, but did have a Forest River Sunseeker 2250SLE. After much thought, we decided it was even better. Forest River is the parent company of Coachmen so we knew the quality was similar.

What changed our minds was: a Chevy 4500-322HP V8 gas engine, more interior storage, a bathroom sink in the living area, a functional dinette, well laid out kitchen, omnidirectional antennae and tank heaters. To put the icing on the cake, they gave us an extra discount for purchasing the show model. We were happy and Kevin, the salesman, was happy.

Inside our new Sunseeker 2250SLE RV.

We drove 30 miles down to the Poulsbo RV in Mt. Vernon to pick her up after detailing. Having the dealer relatively close is nice. Jacob was the mechanic in charge and he gave us a detailed tour of the coach and all of her systems. Like we did with our rental adventure, we took our new rig to the Bellingham RV Park for the first night to test everything out.

At the Bellingham RV Park for our first night.

When you live in a condo, you have to make alternative plans for RV parking. We chose secure Gotcha Covered near Bellingham. You have a choice of outside parking, or under cover with electrical hookups. We chose the latter. It's close enough to our condo for easy packing.

Parked at Gotcha Covered for storage.

On day six day we started our first New RV Adventure. Come along with us and see what we found. Please note, the posts have been reordered for easier reading. -- Wayne and Margy