Nevertheless, yesterday we got out of the house early and headed south down Chuckanut Drive, a scenic two-lane drive tucked into the cliffs overlooking our coastline. This drive includes narrow turns, deep second growth forests and stunning overlooks out onto the bays and coves below.
Eventually, the twists and turns popped us out onto the Skagit Flats and we pulled over at the little crossroads seetlement at Chuckanut Drive and Bow Hill Road. This is the turn off to head into the tiny settlement of Edison, Washington, but before making the turn there was a lot to check out at the crossroads.
The Rhododendren Cafe, a long established eatery is well known in the area for its always changing menu reflecting cultures all over the world. Nearby is the Farm To Market Bakery, owned by thefolks at the Rhododendren Cafe. We stoped by and found a delicious Lime-Soaked Polenta Cake It’s a combination of pound cake and polenta soaked with their sweet lime sauce. It was very light, had a bit of crunch and delicious.
Also near this corner of deliciousness is the Samish Bay Cheese Company, well known at locaal farmer's markets. They make a variety of fresh and aged cheeses and many other products. Its worth a stop in to taste a few of their offerings. Buy a chunk of cheese and hold onto it for when you get to our next stop.
Heading down the road into the little settlement of Edison is quite an odd experince. How did its contents wind up here? An art gallery and several great places to eat! The town has been here since the Civil War, sitting on the edge of the sloughs leading out into Padilla Bay.
We had breakfast at the old Edison Cafe where we enjoyed an omelet, crispy browns and rye bread and a bowl of vanilla yogurt and house made granola. Two cups of Fidalgo Bay coffee served up by a very friendly staff made the experience very pleasant.
A bit further into the town we stoped in to the don't miss Breadfarm bakery for some of their delicious baked goods. Their bread and sweet and savory items are well known at farmers markets all over the sound. We picked out a loaf of their multi-grain and a cinnamon snails.
Sadly, two of our favorite spots wer closed and didn't open until later in the morning. We had hoped to breakfast at Tweets and stop in to Slough Foods and pick up some of the famous Salumi sausage made by Mario Batali's father in Seattle. Slough Foods is one of the few places where you can buy Salumi other than at the restaurant in Seattle. It is pricey stuff but worth the treat and isn't so bad when sliced very thin and squeezed between slices of fresh Breadfarm bread. Alas, Slough Foods was not open and so we had to move on to our next stop for the day--La Conner.
This quaint community sits along the Swinomish Channel, a salt water channel cut near Anacrotes at the north end and leading out into Skagit Bay and either towards the stunning Deception Pass or south down the inside of of Whidbey Island.
La Conner is a sweet town of onnly a few hundred residents but contains plenty to do and see. Museums, a brewery, plenty of shops, galleries and great restaurants.
Our favorite place on our most recent trips has been the discovery of Anelia's Kitchen and Stage. The name hides that fact that it is actually an amazing Polish restaurant. Run by a young couple the options are just head on the table delicious. On our recent visit we shared the Polish Platter, an assortment of the fabulous options on the menu.Take a walk down the main street of La Conner andtry to pick the place you want to dine. Several places are righ along the waterfront and offer al fresco dining. Stroll along the waterfront walk for stunning views of the channel, boats tied up along the docks and plenty of wild life watching.
