Travel Reference
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23 Front St. & 360/678-5480. Reservations recommended. Main courses $7.25-$10 lunch, $13-$22 din-
ner. AE, DISC, MC, V. Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm and 5-9pm; Sat-Sun noon-2:30pm and 5-9pm.
The Oystercatcher NORTHWEST Located a block off the waterfront
at the back of a small, modern building, this tiny restaurant is the best in town.
Chef and owner Susan Vanderbeek has nearly 3 decades of experience at North-
west restaurants, and here looks over her handful of tables with great care. The
menu changes every few weeks and usually only includes three appetizers and
three or four entrees. With such a short menu, you can be sure every dish is per-
fectly done. On a recent fall menu, appetizers included oysters with a basil-
lemon mayonnaise, as well as local mussels. Among the entrees were a curried
chicken served with cranberry-fig chutney, and braised lamb shanks.
901 Grace St. & 360/678-0683. Reservations highly recommended. Main courses $17-$19. MC, V. Wed-Sat
5-9pm.
2 Anacortes
75 miles N of Seattle, 39 miles S of Bellingham, 92 miles S of Vancouver, B.C.
For most people, Anacortes is little more than that town you drive through on the
way to the San Juan Islands ferry terminal. Actually, Anacortes has much more to
offer than a driver late for the ferry could ever know. The route to the ferry sticks
to roads that are fine examples of commercial and suburban sprawl—strip malls,
gas stations, aging motels, housing developments. However, if you have time to
detour off the main road, you'll find a town that, while not nearly as quaint as
those on the San Juans, does have some historic character and, perhaps best of all,
plenty of good places to eat. The restored downtown business district, residential
neighborhoods full of old Victorian homes, a large, forested waterfront park, and
a mountain-top viewpoint are all worth a look. So, if you can, slow down and take
a look at Anacortes before or after a trip to the San Juans.
Anacortes made its early fortunes on lumbering and fishing, and today com-
mercial fishing, as well as boat building, are still important to the town's econ-
omy. This marine orientation has given the town its character, which can be seen
in the many restored buildings along Commercial Avenue.
Anacortes also makes a good base for exploring the San Juans if you either
can't get or can't afford a room on the islands. Using Anacortes as a base and
leaving your car here on the mainland, you can travel as a passenger on the fer-
ries and, by using public transit, mopeds, or bicycles, still manage to see plenty
of the San Juan Islands. In any event, Anacortes is also on an island, Fidalgo
Island, and has plenty of water views, the best of which are from Washington
Park near the ferry terminal, from atop Mount Erie in the middle of the island,
and from Deception Pass State Park at the south end of the island.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE From I-5 at Burlington, take Wash. 20 west to the Wash.
20 Spur. South of Anacortes, Wash. 20 connects to Whidbey Island by way of
the Deception Pass Bridge.
See “Getting There,” under “The San Juan Islands,” below, for details on air-
port service to Anacortes from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and for
information on ferry connections to Anacortes from the islands and Vancouver
Island, British Columbia.
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