La Conner Seafood & Prime Rib House

The breeze in my hair, the billow of flags & bunting, the chatter & laughter of long weekenders… the clink of my Hazelnut Espresso Cold Brew tumbler to my husband’s Chardonnay glass while watching sea vessels of all kinds sail past us at La Conner Seafood & Prime Rib House.

We had wandered by a few eateries on our way through town but this one had great views & lots of seating, so after about a 10 minute wait, we were seated on the harbour-side outdoor patio. Staff were friendly & chatty, also quick to bring water, without being asked & our food came quickly as well.

My husband ordered the 2 piece cod & chips & I decided on the crispy cod sandwich with chips & coleslaw. The batter was just enough, the coleslaw was fresh & crunchy, the chips were hot & there was malt vinegar, a sign of a chef who gets it.

It was so nice to sit, enjoy the view, talk about what we’d seen along the way so far & hear the waves beneath our feet, as the restaurant is literally built over the water. Lots of other people were walking, some with their dogs, along the boardwalk or out & about with their babies in strollers to take advantage of the dog days of Summer.

The prices were reasonable & the servings were a good size. There’s a drink menu & wine list with many selections + the food menu has a lot of choice. The patio had plenty of seating, or you could sit at the bar inside, there’s more seating with comfortable soft armchairs indoors, along with more family-style tables. This venue could easily host your family birthdays, or get togethers with a few friends.

Nasty Jacks Antiques

As you drive into La Conner, on the corner of First & Morris Streets, you can’t miss a two-storey antique store with the tattoo-ish looking signs letting you know you’ve arrived at Nasty Jacks Antiques.

Each time we visit we have to wander through the two floors of collections to see what they’ve found since our last stopover.

From the glass bottle collection, to their HUGE selection of Time magazines & comic books, to china & silverware, the heavy antique furnishings (my favourites are always the old roll top desks & library card file cabinets… oh! and the old typewriters!), to the many, many pieces of art… there is something here to intrigue you for sure.

Before you even go inside, there’s an All Knowing Zoltar fortune telling machine – that works! Next to it is one of those penny press machines that stamps your penny with a local design.

There’s some really cool handblown glass buoys, tons of old keys, record albums, copious amounts of Mad magazines, jewelry – both costume & real, quite a lot of antique looking yet modern signs (Route 66, Chevrolet, gas station logos, etc), antique clocks, and well, you just really need to see the rest for yourself.

Birch Bay

Birch Bay is a protected bay of the east shore of the Salish Sea, between Semiahmoo Bay and Lummi Bay; approximately 100 miles north of Seattle and 35 miles south of Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

I came here with my kid sister when we were young & stayed at Jacob’s Landing (which is still here, directly across the road from the beach!).

Early in the morning the tide would be out so we’d search for clams, seashells & build sandcastles with my grandfather.

We tried to convince my Nana we had to make chowder with our bounty of 3 clams…

They took us to the Birch Bay Waterslides (still there!), roller skating at the rink (couldn’t spot that one) & for copious trips for treats.

There was a great outdoor pool & of course the ocean to tire us out with plenty of swimming.

Amazing memories & still a beautiful spot to visit.

Harbourside Accountant

Hey I’m not good with numbers but I would sure try if I got to work with this view on the daily!

This perfectly set up little office space sits right on the harbour in La Conner, Washington, USA.