Look what’s still blooming at the beach house! This peony has been there since we bought the place the first time.
We have been enjoying our rain shadow escape house this spring. We had a houseful of boys for a few days during the April school break, a girls-only weekend, and a rainy Memorial Day trip that included the extra challenge of getting around the I-5 bridge collapse.
On our April break trip, Dave managed to commute back to work a few of the days (!!), but my friend & I wanted to fit in a day trip. We left the boys in charge of the dog and the wood stove, hoping for the best, and set off on an adventure.
Fuelled by the recent Top Chef series set in Seattle, we were off to find Taylor Shellfish Farms. It would have been faster by boat! While we can see Samish Island from the deck, actually getting to their store on Samish Bay involves heading back across the ferry, through Anacortes, back along Hwy 20, and then north through Edison to Chuckanut Drive, a great scenic road. Right where the road gets particularly squiggly, we turned off to find the source of these fresh oysters, harvested that morning.
I bought a shucking knife and a dozen oysters for a fabulous appetizer. I may never volunteer to shuck oysters again, but you can’t get any fresher than that!
More recently, a few friends came up with me for a weekend break from our boys. Here’s how you know it wasn’t your average weekend: flowers deemed necessary for the breakfast buffet! A quiet day of walking in the woods, reading, and making crafts segued into game night with ease.
Although our Memorial Day weekend wasn’t particularly sunny, we still enjoyed the peace and quiet, the blooms and birds around us, and a great sunset. And now we know a few more back roads!