Anacortes, WA

If anybody thinks that this is a tourist destination, they would be sadly mistaken.  This is basically a blue-collar working town that happens to be on the point of Fidalgo Island.  It is surrounded on three sides by four bodies of water.  These are Fidalgo Bay (east), Guemes Channel (north), Rosario Strait (northwest) and Burrows Bay (southwest).  We did not do much exploring around here because this was not one of our 'destinations.'  This was a stop over for a little R&R before catching our ferry to Friday Harbor the next morning.  We got here pretty early and decided to do a little sight-seeing.  There wasn't much in the main part of town.  The only thing of interest was the historic downtown area. We got here a little early and, after checking into our room at the Islands Inn (great place) we went to the historic area.  We were trying to figure out where to eat for dinner and we saw this sign:

Good food, but kind of pricey for what you get.

 We stopped in for a little nosh just to get a feel and taste for the place.  Two crab cakes, two beverages, an order of Heffeweizen cheese dip and $40.00 later we decided this was NOT the place for dinner.  The food was excellent, but the pocketbook was feeling a little bruised.

So, further along on our wanderings we see an A board advertising waterside dining.  Now we're talkin'.  We meandered over to the restaurant to check it out.  BINGO!!!  The pace for dinner.  Nice menu, good atmosphere and prices that are kind to the pocketbook.  We made a reservation right then and there.

The place to have dinner if you in Anacortes, WA

The seafood here is so fresh you could swear it swam in just to be enjoyed.  The Calamari steak strips were wonderful.  The size of large cut fries and so tender and sweet.  David got oysters and I got steak and prawns.  Randy's Pier 61 is THE place to eat in Anacortes.

Oh, I forgot to mention.  Just down the road from our hotel there is a great coffee shop called Penguin Coffee.  Great coffee!!!

One more thing.  As we were driving to the ferry, there was this ship.  I don't know know the history of how it got her, but it is so beautiful.