The Feast

Oh: how we love seafood. How we love Washington State seafood! We harvest, what I consider, the best mussels, clams, dungeness crabs, oysters, salmon & halibut there is to offer. And tonight: the tribe gets to feast on some of the best. Tonights menu is: fresh greens with blueberries, strawberries, & raspberries, (fresh from Sakuma Farms here in the Skagit Valley), tossed in a raspberry dressing with feta cheese: grilled bourbon salmon, (right out of the waters just south of us), curried lentils & rice, AND Nana's famous rum cake for dessert. Oooops: forgot the appetizer hour. Penn Cove mussels and Manila clams from the Olympic Peninsula steamed in a white wine garlic butter w/ fresh basil, as well as Olympic oysters grilled on the barbie. 15 dozen oysters, 15 #'s of mussels and clams each. Talk about YUMMMMM! You should have been here.

Today's ride was pretty relaxed after yesterday. The hit of the day was the Farm to Market Cafe in Edison, as well as the bakery there. Some of the tribe had lunch at the Farm to Market and were completely thrilled when ordering a salad the owners daughter went out to pick the greens from the garden. Bob, one of the tribe members, ordered pesto tortellini and was floored when the owner informed him that she was out of pesto, but could whip together a dish with fresh basil from the garden and pine nuts. We're heading to Edison when the tours are over!

Dad and Mom made it out, with their little sausage of a Cavalier: Scamp, to help with the appetizer hour. OF COURSE! Bob & Linda had guests from Arizona for dinner that just happened to be old customers of my dad's when he had his meat shop. Go figure! What did I tell you? I can't go anywhere with him.

So: the tribe members slurped up oysters, downed dozens of mussels and clams, cleaned up the salmon, and hit the beach. A happy tribe if I do say. Don't you wish you could have been here? Maybe next year!

Tomorrow: on to Deception Pass and Whidbey Island. The really cute little town of Langley and we will say goodbye to the tribe. (There's a great chocolate shop that is a must do when in Langley!!) We are headed to Idaho for the relaxed tour early Saturday morning: my son Matthew and his girlfriend Zanna will be there to kick off the last breakfast of the tour. Aaron is off to Chelan for the triathalon: (good luck Aaron! ) It all goes so fast. Another week with this tribe would be fun.

So: we'll report in tomorrow night with the finale and off to Idaho!