You know that I have spent my summers in the little resort town of Leland, Michigan, just like my mother. Well, imagine our surprise when we rounded the corner in Michaels Craft store (on the East-side of Seattle, no less) and saw this stack of crates!
Our only explanation is that the designers must have Googled fishing village and found my favorite little town! My mom bought one of these cute crates. It corrals her magazines and reminds her of where she will be in a matter of weeks. Isn't it a wonderful coincidence?
To me, this looks just like the television show, Northern Exposure. You see it too, right? In reality, it is the popular "weekend getaway" destination La Conner, Washington. As we walked around the town we had the feeling that we had been there before. For my Michigan readers, it is a Suttons Bay of the Pacific Northwest.
A friend in Seattle recommended that since we were heading on a daytrip to the Skagit Tulip Festival, we should see the tulips and then go West on WA20 and drive around the perimeter of Fidalgo Island and then south WA20 through Deception Pass State Park (which has saltwater and freshwater shoreline!), over Deception Pass (the bridge) and across to the Whidbey Island to the Clinton - Mukilteo ferry crossing to head back to Seattle.
Others had mentioned that La Conner was a great little town to have lunch. We combined the two suggestions and found an outside table at La Conner Waterfront Cafe where we could enjoy the sunny day and have some fresh fish and chips. Truth be told, the cafe was overwhelmed by the "tulip traffic," so it wasn't ideal, but we enjoyed our very very long lunch on this outdoor patio that was right on the Swinomish Channel.
Spring is just beginning to wake up this little town - I can only imagine how picturesque it will be when summer is in full swing. Be prepared to hold hands and spend an afternoon wandering past the art galleries and resort shops.
