So Tom, Ryeleigh and myself headed out on an afternoon trip yesterday to take care of some items on my Skagit Bucket list.  This was somewhat prompted by Tom running out of his new-favorite garlic salt from San Juan Island Sea Salt.

We drove past the refineries and Dakota Shipyard,

and arrived at our lunch destination, Secret Cove.

Tom has long been telling me about this place which he used to go to for lunch when he was surveying in Anacortes.  He always told me how nice it was to have lunch in the upstairs lounge and watch the ships go by.  So we went upstairs,

had lunch,

and watched the ships go by.

Tom disagrees, but I thought it would be better on a gloomy drizzly day.  They were also loading a barge from trucks next to us.  I couldn’t figure out what the cargo was though.

Then the three of us went to see the retired snagboat, W. T. Preston.  It was quite impressive.

The museum was closed, but there were explanatory signs outside.

I initially couldn’t figure out how it snagged stuff, but this poster helped explain it.

This boat was at the old railroad depot.

And it was at the Memorial Park for the wrecks of the Altair and Americus.  Tom remembers this event, but I do not.

Then we headed West Marine to buy some boat sealant for our leaking hot tub.  It was fun checking out marine stuff.

Across the street was an estate sale store that we had to check out.  There was a cool old Simplex Servi-Car,

and an antique fire extinguisher.

I am proud to say that we bought nothing at this store (as we really do not need more stuff).  Then we headed to the old Carnegie Library which is now the Anacortes Museum.

There were lots of cool photos and artifacts related to the town’s history.

Then we headed to Washington Park where we walked the dog and checked out the gorgeous views.  Tom hadn’t been around the loop before.

We then headed to the Seafarers’ Memorial Park.  It was a grim reminder of the costs in lives with fishing.

Here’s an old cannery building nearby which is now housing multiple departments of the Samish Indian Nation.

Then we went to the Brown Lantern for a beverage.

Then we drove past more boats to SeaBear.

Tom purchased his Garlic and Friends Blend salt, I got smoked salmon, and we both got other goodies as well.  On leaving there was a large boat blocking the road.

We headed to the Anchor Inn for another beverage.  We have both been curious about this place as we have driven by over the years.  They had pool, foosball and shuffle board inside.  On the televisions there was hockey and Sumu wrestling.  It was interesting.

We tried to go the Majestic Inn’s rooftop restaurant, but it was closed due to staffing issues.  But across the street there was this hotrod truck that was having a hard time starting.  It was amusing to watch.

So we went to our old standby, Dad’s Diner.

Ton had Memphis BBQ tacos, and I had a peppered Cuban sandwich.  Both were excellent.

And then we headed home, successfully knocking several items off of my bucket list.  Unfortunately I saw a Turkish coffee place while we were running around but didn’t stop.  Now that will have to go on the list.  It is fun being a tourist in your own backyard.