If you are a lover of Powell's Books in Portland, take a look at Pelican Books in downtown Anacortes. Not a "city of used books" like Powell's, but a great selection, along with unique baked treats and an espresso bar.
Yes! Pelican Bay is one of our favorites. Having grown up in Seattle going to both used bookshops and great coffee shops, I have a deep appreciation for this spot. :)
I could not agree more! Whidbey Coffee is DELICIOUS (thank goodness they have so many locations!), and the Store's muffin selection is second to none! You could literally 'eeny-meeny-miny-mo' your muffin selection and end up with something incredible!
I'll put in a word for Skagit Bakery in the Commercial district. They have very limited hours for retail, but their pastries are great and they serve good coffee and espresso drinks. They have Italian sodas and Lopez Creamery ice cream in the summer. They are mostly wholesale, including supplying pastries to Whidbey Coffee.
We're so glad to hear that, Misty! Thank you for sharing! Don't hesitate to reach out if you need any specific recommendations on all things Anacortes and Skagit County! :)
Self-guided tour. Interesting to see what life was like on the snag boats, along with the technology used to keep the rivers navigable. Good views from the upper deck. Also a great intro to the maritime heritage of the area in the exhibits in the building next to the boat.
you could say the same thing for most of western Washington. I grew up in Poulsbo most all those things are a half hour to an hour car ride away, plus access to Seattle pretty easy. be prepared to sell a kidney to live here tho.
True! It's fascinating to explore what all the minute differences are of the various towns in this area. Anacortes definitely has it's own vibe - totally different from Stanwood, Oak Harbor, Langley, etc. But, on the whole, the quality of Western Washington is pretty darned high. :)
You are totally right! It's a city park - that was a total booboo. It's amazing how many fabulous city parks we have on this island that appear to look like state parks! 😄
There's also Sharpe Park, a Skagit County park. Nice thing about the city and county parks is they have no fee for parking, in contrast to the state parks.
We totally get it - and the prices have especially gone up after covid! Fingers crossed that we have some price corrections in our future so that the town can become more affordable again!
Definitely! There are multiple vantage points on the west side of the island where you could look for whales, but our highest recommendation would be to take a whale watching tour (there are MANY excellent companies out of Anacortes) for an up close and personal experience! Let us know if you'd like any whale watching expedition company recommendations!
@@leahcourage Hi, thanks for the response. We ended up going whale watching and it was a great time! Had two humpbacks circling our boat. Will be back again to see some orcas hopefully :)
There are whales, including sightings of orcas right out in Guemes Channel this past week. But it's not like, "Hey, let's go out to the park and see some whales". And whales in any sighting are likely to be at a significant distance. That's why the sightings in Guemes Channel are so neat when they happen. Or, you could get incredibly lucky walking across the Deception Pass bridge and spot a pod traveling under you through the pass, an experience a friend related to us. Just don't be disappointed if you go to a viewpoint to see whales and it doesn't happen. The whale tour boats are more of a sure thing because of spotters and radio relay of sightings, but again, restrictions to protect orcas mean that these viewings will be at a 1000 yards or more.
