A Low-Key Getaway: Lopez Island, Washington, USA

By Ann Marie Svilar

Covering 29.5 square miles, Lopez Island, Washington is the first ferry stop in a cluster of islands called the San Juans, that rise from the Puget Sound and hug the Canadian border. Even during bustling tourist season Lopez Island will make you turn off the laptop and slow down. Wave to the blonde woman named Margie manning the ferry dock as you arrive. She will wave back. Waving is a tradition on this island; there is even a “Lopez wave” consisting of two fingers in a locked together peace sign.

As you make your first twists from the ferry dock, smell the dense trees and dried wild grass. Look for deer: there are many and they are domesticated enough to walk right up to you. Notice a Madrona tree with bark that looks like red peeling paper; scratch the trunk and it turns green. Look out for a Great Blue Heron, they are an elegant and common Lopez Island bird. You can find them almost anywhere in tidal lagoons along the seashore.

You’ll see that most people name their driveways after themselves or something original like Pterodactyl Lane, or Baroque ‘n Glass Lane. Mailboxes are painted with bald eagles and rich gardens are covered with tall fences to keep deer out. Some people live in make-shift buses, clusters of trailers, or in an A-Frame house. Stop by the Lopez Island Vineyards and pick up a bottle of Siegerrebe. Note that most streets don’t have yellow lines and traffic is minimal in any direction. Enjoy the quiet and keep going.

If you’re camping, Spencer Spit is the best place to stay. Located on the East side of the island, you can feel good karma there; the Spencer family sold the land to the state for much less than the private offers they received in order to make a state park that everyone could enjoy. Shirley (Spencer) Plummer is 87 years old, and recently became a great, great grandmother, she sits in her living room that overlooks Spencer Spit. It is a stretch of beach like no other, with driftwood, rocks and sand coming together into a single point that stares at Frost Island. The driftwood is easily made into forts. A muddy lagoon lines the spit to the North like a seam and smells as murky as it looks. Pitch your tent along the trees at the mouth of the spit; light a fire; cook some s’mores.

If you like beautiful beaches and down to earth people, you will love Lopez Island. It is a getaway in the simplest sense. Below are 7 things you should do whilst visiting the island.

Iceberg Point – Just past Agate Beach there is a small place to park and then walk into what looks like private residence. When you hit the tree line, turn right down a dirt path; walk through a gate and onto a maintained trail. After less than a mile the trees will open up to the most vast part of the Island; the unprotected South side. Your landscape will be big hills and rocks with tall grass that smells like dry summers. Your view will be of an ocean that seems to go on forever until you see the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic Mountains far in the distance.

Sharks Reef – My favourite spot on the island is Sharks Reef. The water here is treacherous because of undertow and sometimes you will see kayakers twirling and paddling their way through the narrow corridor that separates Lopez Island from San Juan Island. Large pieces of sea kelp that look like women with mermaid hair line the rocks. Here is where you see some of the best tide pools on the Island full of lipids’ and sea anemones.

Saturday Farmers Market – Farmers Markets are special no matter where you go. Lopez market’s charm lies in its small size. My favourite stall is Marianna’s clothing, made of scraps of recycled cloth. She also has a store in the main part of town called Okeydo. Also visit my parent’s booth at the market where they sell my brother’s photos every Saturday. Introduce yourself!

Horse Drawn Farms – This eco-friendly farm used to use horses to farm the land, but now they use oxen. Produce is pre-picked and you can just drive up, make your selection and leave money based on the honour system. It’s as simple and trusting as that.

Community Center – The centre hosts music and community theatre all year long. While you are there, walk North-east to the skate park where young kids are dropping into small half pipes.

The Bay Café – The Bay Café has the most expensive food on the island, averaging at around $20 a plate. But it also offers the most brilliant place to have dinner and watch the sunset as it lies down for the night behind Friday Harbour. The restaurant is run by two local men, with a lot of energy, who know how to bake an amazing cedar salmon. You’ll also be guaranteed great hospitality.

Lopez Island Kayaks – Being on an island is amazing enough, getting the chance to see it up close from the water is special too. Rent a kayak, get some advice on routes and get close to the water. If you time your float trip between April and October you may see big rusty-red Lion’s mane jellyfish as they make their way towards the beach at low tide.

TRAVELLER’S CHECK LIST

Getting there:

By ferry… Travel from Anacortes on the mainland to Lopez Island. The journey is approximately 85 miles and takes about 45 minutes. For pricing info and to buy tickets click here. On the ferry keep your eyes peeled for bald eagles, seals, otters and the occasional orca whale.

By plane… Kenmore Air fly direct from Seattle to Lopez Island daily. For more information on schedules, pricing and booking click here. The journey takes about 1hr 10 mins.

Where to stay:

1. Lopez Islander Resort; PO Box 459, Lopez Island, WA; desk@lopezislander.com
2. MacKaye Harbor Inn; 949 MacKaye Harbor Road Lopez Island, WA 98261; (888) 314-6140; innkeeper@mackayeharborinn.com. From USD 135 per night.
3. Edenwild; 1-800-606-0662; edenwild@rockisland.com. From USD 170 per night.
4. Lopez Lodge; Lopez Lodge, Lopez Island, WA 98261; (360) 468-2816; needle@rockisland.com. From USD 70 per night.

For information on camping on Lopez Island, click here

Where to eat:

1. Bay Café – about $30 a person. 9 Old Post Road Suite C, PO Box 692, Lopez, WA 98261; Tel: 360.468.3700
2. Love Dog Café – $10-$15 per person. 1 Village Center, PO Box 633, Lopez Island, WA 98261; Tel: 360.468.2150.
3. HollyB’s Bakery – $5 or less. Lopez Plz, Lopez Island, WA 98261; Tel: 360.468.2133.
4. Vortex – $10 per person for wraps and smoothies. Homestead Bldg C, Lopez Island, WA, 98261; Tel: 360.468.4740.
5. Isabel’s Espresso – $5 or less for espresso drinks. 308 Lopez Rd, Lopez Island, WA, 98261; Tel: 360.468.4114

What to see:

For general information about visit the Lopez Island visitors bureau online here

1. Iceburg Point and Sharks Reef: click here for a map of Lopez.
2. Saturday Farmer’s Market: Community Center.
3. Lopez Island Kayak: located at Marinas on Fisherman’s Bay 360-468-2847
4. Horse Drawn Farms: 2823 Port Stanley Road

Events:

1. Fourth of July on Lopez: fun run, parade, salmon bbq and fireworks
2. Tour de Lopez (bike tour): last Saturday of April
3. Lopez Farmer’s Market: May to Sept.
4. Artist’s Studio Tour: last weekend in August

For more information on Lopez Island events click here

All photographs ©David Svilar.

A moment for the Borough Market cheese man

One of the best things about London is eating a grilled cheese sandwich from the Cheese Man in Borough Market. These sandwiches taste especially good when eaten in the gardens of Southwark Cathedral and accompanied by cider (also available at the market).

I don’t know how the Cheese Man makes those incredible sandwiches, but he told me once that he invented his very own type of cheese, Ogleshield, to do it – perhaps he was pulling my leg.

He also makes amazing raclette – melted cheese scraped over a plate of potatoes, onions and gherkins.

(The Cheese Man is the one with the goatee)

Even from 6,000 miles away I crave those delicious sandwiches and will be making a beeline for his stall this Saturday.

Toasted Cheese Sandwich Innards by su-lin via flickr (Creative Commons).

Watching over the Raclette by su-lin via flickr (Creative Commons).

The stuff of Parisian fantasies

Everyone has a Paris that they fantasise about. Some dream of dining in candlelit bistros, others hanker after markets heaving with cheeses and warm baguettes, perhaps you imagine getting lost in a maze of old streets, stumbling upon delicious patisseries and hidden courtyards.

The sad truth is that whatever your particular Paris fantasy is, it’s hard to find in reality. The City of Lights is a big and busy capital: tourists swarm, noses in guidebooks, from The Louvre to the Musée d’Orsay to the Eiffel Tower to the Champs Elysees to Montmartre. Getting off the beaten track is no mean feat. Many of the city’s rarest treats are almost impossible to find, eluding even the most avid of guidebook writers behind unassuming doors.

So, what if for €175, less than the cost of a pair of Parisian Louboutins, you could find your fantasy? Richard Nahem, a native New Yorker, has been living in Paris for three years with one mission: to show people the city he loves and the one that tourists seldom see. From the moment he made the move to France he was inundated with requests from friends and acquaintances to show people the “real” Paris and now he’s made a business of it, Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which dovetails with the places that he features on his blog Eye Prefer Paris.

Richard’s tours cater to a maximum of 6ish people so you’re guaranteed a personalised experience. Based on clients’ interests tours take a specific theme – e.g. shopping, markets and gourmet food, architecture and culture. Standard tours (€175) last three hours, those looking for more can extend to a full day, three days or a week if needs be.

Most tours centre on the Marais district, Richard’s home and area of expertise, which spreads across the third and fourth arrondissements. Le Marais is one of Paris’s most impressive areas, packed with 16th and 17th century private mansions, secret courtyards, neighbourhood restaurants, outstanding patisseries and traditional ateliers. Unless you know where they are however they all too easy to miss, chances are you’ll be swallowed up instead by the tourists who flock to the district’s famous gay bars and kosher restaurants.

Richard describes the perfect three hours in Paris as exploring the Place des Vosges (the oldest square in the city, dating back to 1605); stopping for a coffee and a pastry at one of the best patisseries in town; visiting a chocolate shop where you can buy all the chocolate sculptures you could ever dream of; uncovering a secret garden where wild roses grow unchecked; soaking up impressive 16th and 17th century architecture and exploring former private mansions.

Food lovers can look forward to Paris’s Bastille food market (the city’s biggest), gourmet food shops and the inside scoop on where to eat. Die-hard shoppers will feel lightheaded at the prospect of speciality shops, exclusive to Paris, where you can pick up organic cosmetics, stashes of handcrafted jewellery, piles of pashminas and Parisian couture. Culture vultures can sate themselves on Richard’s expert knowledge of the history behind the city’s streets, buildings and gardens.

As Richard puts it, “I’m here to fulfil peoples’ Paris fantasy” – everyone dreams about Paris and whether your version includes ateliers and authentic restaurants or palaces and patisseries, Richard’s goal is to find you exactly what you’ve been looking for.

For more information on Richard’s tours and to contact him please visit Eye Prefer Paris Tours.