Last week, I spent a day driving north through the Skagit Valley to
Bellingham, on the awe-inspiring Chuckanut Drive. This one day felt
like an epic escape. My friend and I hiked down to the beach, up the
coastline, and sunned ourselves on big rocks; we stopped and peeked in
at the oyster beds at Blau Oysters on Samish Island. For breakfast, we
ate a pork chop and a sausage patty and eggs at Don’s Restaurant (open
24 hours) in Everett; for dinner, a pound of manila clams and six Blau
oyster shooters at the La Conner Tavern. Sometimes you just need to get
out of town to remind yourself that everything can taste delicious and
new.
The long Memorial Day weekend is the perfect excuse to take a ferry
ride and cross the beautiful blue-gray expanse of the Hood Canal Bridge
for a quick trip to the Olympic Peninsula. And ShrimpFest 2008,
which takes place in the town of Brinnon, is the perfect chance for you
to watch some belt-sander races while gorging yourself on local Hood
Canal spot shrimp. If you’re hungry for more seafood, you’re in luck:
Just south of Brinnon lie the Duckabush flats, where the tide will
likely be low enough to harvest clams and oysters (though you’ll need a
license to do that). If a road trip and mass amounts of fresh seafood
aren’t incentive enough, there’s also the charming, official
description of ShrimpFest’s idyllic location: “the grassy field on the
north side of the Dosewallips River.”
Hood Canal ShrimpFest in Brinnon is
Sat May 24, 10
am–6 pm, and Sun May 25, 10 am–5 pm, free. For directions
visit
www.emeraldtowns.org/shrimpfest.htm.
