Monday, January 29, 2007

 

A trip to La Conner, WA

Last Saturday the weather was too good to just stay home and we were ready for an outing in the sunshine. We drove the Miata to the quaint waterfront town of La Conner, on the Swinomish Slough about 13 miles from Mt. Vernon, for lunch and a little browsing through some of the shops along the waterfront. We ate at Seeds, a restaurant located in the old building that housed the first large seed business in Skagit County from 1890 until 2003. Food and service were good.

Then over to the waterfront where we were lucky enough to find parking in the lot just outside the Good Kitty, Bad Kitty store.
LaConner 04
This is a store that will appeal to any person who fancies cats. Patti bought some of their super strong cat nip, I bought her a T-shirt that maybe I can get her to model before long and post a photo of here. This photo shows the entrance from the lot where we were parked into the store.

After shopping there we moved along the waterfront to a small grocery store that also includes a cafe, where we were able to order our daily mochas. They do make a good mocha there and when we go back I think we will plan to have lunch there, too. The menu is similar to that at Seeds but the prices are a little lower. We were able to sit inside but with windows looking out onto the Slough with the boats moving by and I decided I wanted some photos after the coffees. I did not take the Nikon D200 as I was still reading about it but did have the little Sony in my jacket pocket, so that is what these were taken with.

LaConner 01
This view is looking north and I leaned out over the railing in order to take the photo without the railing showing up. Unfortunately I didn't hold the camera level so had to use Photoshop to rotate the image about 15 degrees to the right in order to level the horizon line. When I cropped it I ended up with white border areas from outside the image area at the top left that required a bit of work with the Clone stamp to paint back in part of the sky and the upper part of a piling, but I think it came out pretty well.

LaConner 02
The next view looks south into the sun. The orange bridge that spans from the mainland to the other side of the Slough is above the water in the background. The next pier south shows up as does some of the private boats moored along the waterfront. The Puget Sound area is often refered to as the boating capital of the country as the ratio of boats to people has always been the highest in the nation.

LaConner 03
The gangway to the boat float that is near the Good Kitty, Bad Kitty store has a rather whimsical salmon made of stainless steel wire above it. This photo is a bit hard to see the shape of the fish but with a little imagination I think you will be able to visualize it. There were no boats at this float and I kind of wonder if it is a public float for visiting boaters to use.

Our whole trip was only about four hours long but it was a welcome outing. But don't let the sunshine fool you. The breeze that was blowing from the north was still a bit cool. Summer is not here yet.

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Comments:
Great pictures as usual! I haven't been to LaConner in quite a while, and the 'Good Kitty, Bad Kitty' store looks like one I must visit soon! I will
tell Mary Lou about it too.
Best wishes to you and Pat.

Judy in O.H.
 
Ooh, the Good Kitty Bad Kitty store looks like fun ... wish we had one here !!
Your photos, as usual, are wonderful.
Glad you had such a nice day.
Take care, hugs to you and Pat ... Meow
 
Looks beautiful!
 
For fun and the easiest photo fixes try the free Picasa 2.0 from Google. The photo storage is great too; I have had it repair photos much
easier and better than my more expensive programs.

The pictures are great and makes me want to visit this wonderful little town.
 
Great pics Dick, and CONGRATULATIONS to you and Pat! :-)
 
Hello Dick, I am new to your site, my dtr sicked me onto it. She said you were and RV'er and so are we (John & Patsy). We have been by that store you mentioned though not in it. I love your pictures. Take lots more.
 
Dad,

Wonderful pics! La Conner is nice... I took a motorbike ride up there and had a warm-me-up mocha at the same location not too long ago. Keep 'em coming!
 
CONGRATS!!! I just read your last post, and am SOOO happy for both of you. Best wishes to you both and may every day be kinder to you than the last. :)
 
whoa! what did I miss? I better go read down some more huh?

Is SEEDS in the old tillighaust seed store, that used to have a nice nursery and gift store in it? Had a year round christmas store upstairs too?
 
Wow, now you KNOW how much I love travel pictures! They're beautiful...keep'em coming!
 
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