PNW Pro Tip: Day Trip to La Conner

I don't know about you, but I genuinely enjoy it when my family comes to visit. Despite all of the cleaning beforehand, coordinating getting people to and from airports and hotels, and the exhaustion that comes with hosting, I am thrilled every time a member of my family visits me in Seattle.

This time around my mom and dad came to visit JD and I for a whole week and it was a blast! I love my parents. They have been the best support system a girl could ask for and we just enjoy each other's company and have fun when we all get together.

My dad is really into selfies

It was my mom's birthday and so on top of celebrating that we did a lot of fun things and ate A LOT of good food while they were here. A few things worth mentioning: a visit to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, taking in the beautiful cherry blossoms at the University of Washington, and a surprisingly charming visit to a little town called La Conner. 

I go a little "itinerary crazy" whenever a trip is coming up. Whether we are traveling somewhere or people are visiting us, I like to plan out specific things to see and do, and places to eat because details make me happy and planning is a hobby of mine. Or maybe a sickness. Whatever you want to call it, I always feel like things are going to go more smoothly with an itinerary, but you know what they say about best laid plans...

We originally set out to take a trip to the San Juan islands, and had everything planned out to take the ferry to Friday Harbor and spend the day there. Or at least I thought we had everything planned out. I was confusing the San Juan Island ferry terminal with another terminal where ferry's leave every half hour. So even though we arrived 45 minutes beforehand we missed our boat! And we were only 3 cars away from boarding, which was like a punch in the gut after realizing that our island day plans were slowly slipping away from us. Note to the reader: you can make reservations online for the ferry now! Do that and show up an hour early anyway, because ferry travel is a pain in the ass.

After I sulked for a good 15 minutes we started brainstorming about what to do instead and settled on a visit to La Conner. I had read about their daffodil festival, but since it wasn't peak season we just walked around the main strip of the small town.

It was probably partly because of the great company, but we ended up having a great time walking from shop to shop. We made a few purchases in an antique store and just enjoyed the small town vibe. If you are looking to get away from the city for a day, consider this cute spot just north of Seattle. And make sure to pay a visit to Nasty Jack's Antiques where you can find all sorts of fun, quirky, novelty knick knacks. The highlight, though was our lunch pick, Anelia's Kitchen and Stage, a Polish restaurant that also hosts live musicians on weekend nights. The happy hour was really affordable and we had plenty of food between the four of us. The German bratwurst and pierogies were phenomenal. They had a great selection of beers on tap, but my husband's favorite part of the meal was the peanut butter cake. 

The Hubs and I at Anelia's

Polish food is not a go-to cuisine of mine, but the food was surprisingly satisfying and the service was great! Another must-try place is the Calico Cupboard Old Town Cafe and Bakery for the legendary cinnamon rolls. I had heard of this place from a friend, but totally forgot about it until we came across the cute little restaurant while we were walking the strip. We took some cinnamon rolls home to eat the next morning and let me tell you they did not disappoint.

Our final stop in town was a cute shop called Handmade. All of their products are made by hand with all natural ingredients and we picked up some lovely peppermint hand lotion (at 50% off!). They have men and women's products as well as some all natural household items.

On our way out we stopped to take some pictures by a field of daffodils (and got yelled in the process). I guess having your car stick out in the road while you're trying to take pictures with the "do not trespass" sign is not the best idea. But at least we got some cute pictures out of it :)

What are some of your favorite Pacific Northwest Day Trip Destinations?