Day 64-69 – Anacortes -> Seattle, WA

Saturday, November 13^th, 2010

Today I left Bellingham and headed south to Seattle to visit with my sister and brother-in-law. On the way I stopped in Anacortes. Anacortes is a small city on Fidalgo Island, covers 14.2 square miles and has a population near 17k. The majority of the island is surrounded by the waters of the Puget Sound but it is still connected by land to Washington State on its eastern shore. My first impression of Anacortes was that of a beach town. Marinas had their place on the shoreline housing motor boats and sailboats. Others marinas were tailored more to commercial operations such as whale watching and ferry services to the various islands in the Sound as well as British Columbia. Here it seemed like people trade their mountain bikes for beach cruisers and quads for kayaks. It feels like a pretty nice town. Other islands are visible from the shoreline, however as nice as that is the views are somewhat diminished by the plumes of smoke coming from the Tesoro oil refinery and pipeline across the water. It is quite puzzling why gas costs $3.20 per gallon here with it's own refinery in town.

It was a typical overcast day with temperatures in the low 50s. Being close to the water makes it always feel chillier than it really is. I felt I needed something warm to eat. Good thing I was close to Bob’s Chowder Bar. The sign in the window read “Voted Best Chowder” which I took as a challenge to my taste buds. I walked inside to a menu of different chowders but ordered a bowl of whatever was their famed chowder. I sat down at one of the few seats along the window facing the street and spooned into a bowl of New England style clam chowder. I have to admit that anytime I’m about to try something that has been labeled “the best”, I’m skeptical. Now besides fish tacos, one of my other weaknesses is chowder. This had the perfect balance of texture, consistency and flavor. Bob’s Chowder Bar serves the best clam chowder I have ever had. If you like chowder like I do, get some at Bob’s! Before I left I bought a quart to take with me to Seattle.

After fighting the traffic and trying to find a place to pick up some beer I finally got to Becky and Rick's place. I had to park on the street so I grabbed my two bikes from the roof and a couple of bags to bring inside. We spent the rest of the day drinking beer, eating pizza and watching football followed by a movie. It was the perfect way to relax. It felt good to be in a house again.

Day 65 - 69, Sunday through Thursday

I realize that I've been behind in posting for awhile. I arrived in Seattle last Saturday and have been spending time with my sister and brother-in-law. I've been enjoying the lazy days in rainy Seattle. It's been snowing in the Pass's nearby so I'll be checking the road conditions and planning a day trip to go play in the snow. Yesterday my sister and I found a butcher who sells rabbit so we could make some rabbit stew. It was pretty awesome. We also bought some wild boar so if anyone knows of a recipe for boar, let me know. Other than that, it's gonna be slow goin' for a little while and I'm quite happy about that!