Wow, it’s almost been a month since my last road trip. The weather has been particularly rotten lately here on the West Coast, plus the semester at school is wrapping up so there is plenty of work to do. However, I just got my NEXUS pass and have been itching to try it out, so since today looked like it would be a sunny morning I took a short day trip over the border for lunch to Edison, WA.
Edison is a small town just off Chuckanut Drive, south of Bellingham, Washington. It has a population of 150, and was named after the famous inventor, Thomas Edison. Also notably, in 1897 it was once the headquarters of a utopian socialist project–according to Wikipedia, anyway. So of course I had to see it.
My Jeep, a 2014 Wrangler.
Funnily enough, while at my dentist last week, I mentioned that this was a destination I was hoping to get out to see. The dental hygienist told me that she had been there, and that it was an amazing place. She even gave me the name of a bakery to check out.
First, when you enter Edison, it looks like a pretty typical small town. I’ve actually given up on what I at first mistook as the “small town staples”; a steam clock, an old church, and a museum. I’ve now come to realize that’s a staple of the “historic downtown” in a bigger metropolis, and not at all what you’ll find in small towns. The first shop I found was “The Lucky Dumpster,” which was an antique/artisan shop with many cool finds. The shop owner was busy sweeping the sidewalk in front of his store, but greeted me politely and we exchanged some friendly banter.
There were also two art galleries, a fitness studio, and a cafe called, “Tweets” that I did not go to this time around. That water fountain below is in front of one of the artist galleries.
I took these photos because they reminded me of my zombie WIP, and I’m considering if I were to write a sequel to it that it may take place here. Just look at that truck! And that shed is filled to the brim with pieces of wood.
I wound up here, Slough Food, which was beside the Bread Farm–the bakery my dental hygienist had told me about. It didn’t look like much on the outside, and it wasn’t fancy on the inside, but I just had a very good feeling about this place so I gave it a shot.
What I will say, is that the staff at this restaurant were two of the nicest people I’ve ever met. When I looked like I might be a little lost, one of the servers told me they had a seating area out back with heaters if I were interested. I was, so I ventured through a door that felt like the doors on the wardrobe leading to Narnia.
The slough out back was low because of the season, but at this point mid-morning the sun had started to come out and it was actually getting warm. I needed a place to hunker down and do some homework, so I decided this would be where I sat for the remainder of my time here. The soup of the day was potato-leek, and I added a grilled-cheese with ham sandwich to that. The food was amazing.
For much of the morning, I enjoyed their atmosphere while chatting with the server, whose name I asked, but neglected to write down. Drat my memory!
And while I sat and drank coffee after my lunch, I saw a few birds. The server, whose name I wish I recalled, brought me out refills for my coffee and offered me a fresh pot when she ran out.
And then this guy flew ten feet over my head!
And this was my spot for the morning. The time to come here, so I’ve been told, is during the Tulip Festival. Edison is close enough to the action, but far enough away not be be smack into the mayhem.
That was pretty much my trip to Edison this time around. Will return again, as there is a lot along the Chuckanut I still want to explore. I did, however, find a steampunk artist shop on the Chuckanut that had the coolest items for sale. It was called the Chuckanut Bay Gallery and Sculpture Garden. I couldn’t take photos of the interior, as that would be unfair to the artists.
Plus, I got my assignments done that I needed to get done and returned home just as the rain started. Edison, WA, is a place worth exploring. And the Slough Food, definitely a place worth eating at.