In the spring of 1984 Joan and I decided to leave Sacramento. I had retired from Aerojet (although I continued to do consulting work) and we were ready to relocate. We had always lived where my job brought me. That was no longer necessary. We talked of moving back to Wisconsin but decided to spend some time trying new locations.
Joan ruled out big cities; I like big cities.
We compromised. We would seek a little city not too far from a big city.
We found Bellingham.
Wandering northward through Oregon and Washington, we saw attractive towns but nothing said “just right.” Then, thirty miles before you run out of United States, we found Bellingham. By chance the day was bright and brilliant, one of those days that lift your spirits. We felt that Bellingham just might do for us.
It was the right size, population about 40,000. Not too far from Seattle, Vancouver, BC and (by ferry) Victoria, BC. The surrounding terrain varied from farm land to rain forest to mountain. Conditioned by Puget Sound,it promised to be cooler and wetter than Sacramento.