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Take
a day trip to charming Edmonds, Washington, where
Main Street is lined with diversions from dining
to shopping to learning.
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EDMONDS, Wash. When I
was growing up there circa 1960, Edmonds was a
quintessential American small town. Within about three
blocks we had a bakery, a variety store, a soda fountain,
a hardware store and the Princess movie theater, where a
Saturday double bill cost 10 cents. One of the great
pleasures of returning as an adult is how many of the
historic buildings remain and how protective residents are
of its now charming and largely intact downtown.
True, the place is a little
more upscale than when I was a child. The Buster Brown
shoe store where we disposed of our year-old Keds and left
with stiff new saddle shoes has been replaced by the
decidedly chic Mu Shoe boutique on Main Street, and dozens
of other specialty shops selling everything from
custom-designed jewelry to cookware to books to cheese.
It's not uncommon to see
groups of women out to breakfast, exchanging gift bags and
catching up on the news. Or grown daughters treating their
mother to lunch and then a leisurely poke through the
downtown shops, most of them within a block or two of the
central city fountain at Fifth Avenue and Main.
And where diversity in
Edmonds once meant a choice at the bakery among bear
claws, apple strudel or maple bars, the town is now truly
a jumping-off point for the world. Native son Rick Steves
founded his Europe-focused travel empire here and offers
free seminars most Thursdays and Saturdays at his Europe
Through the Back Door Travel Center, 130 Fourth Ave. N.,
or in the remodeled Princess, now Edmonds Theatre. A block
away, another globe-trotting business, The Savvy Traveler,
offers introductions to destinations such as Bali and
Bhutan.
Just a 20-minute drive from
Seattle, Edmonds may be better known for its summer
attractions: vibrant hanging flower baskets, corner
gardens and a lively Saturday market. But in the gray
months, the downtown offers brightly lit shops, engaging
merchants, more than a score of places to eat, and the
chance to jet off, for an imagined hour or two, to a South
Pacific beach or a warm Parisian cafe.
Here's a timeline for how
you could spend a day:
9 a.m.
We ate breakfast at
Chanterelle, 316 Main St., a light-filled restaurant with
wood wainscoting, high windows and freshly baked pastries.
For a lighter breakfast, try Red Twig, 117 Fifth Ave. S.,
which also has a variety of fresh pastries, or Walnut
Street Coffee Shop, 410 Walnut St., south of downtown,
where the local Sisters Baking Company supplies the
treats.
For more standard American,
kid-friendly breakfast fare, try Claire's Pantry, 310 Main
St., or the Pancake Haus at 530 Fifth Ave. S.
10 a.m.
At the theater, we sat in
on a free Rick Steves seminar on Paris, featuring slides
of the grand city in a wintry light, as well as tips on
where to stay and what to see. Nov. 21 is Steves'
twice-yearly all-day travel festival, which typically
attracts thousands of visitors to downtown Edmonds (at the
theater and the nearby Edmonds Center for the Arts). The
restaurants fill up at lunch time and parking is more
challenging. (For more information on the festival, and a
calendar of other seminars, see www.ricksteves.com/news/classes/class(underscore)menu.htm.)
11:30 a.m.
Almost all the shopping is
concentrated in a three-block radius of Fifth and Main.
Some of the nearby specialty stores include Treasures and
Teas, 102 Fifth Ave. S., with more than 150 loose-tea
varieties as well as beach-house dΘcor; The Wooden Spoon
kitchen shop, 104 Fifth Ave. S.; and The Savvy Traveler,
112 Fifth Ave. S., where you'll find luggage, clothes and
travel guides not carried at Rick Steves' shop.
Across Fifth Avenue is the
inviting Edmonds Bookshop, 111 Fifth Ave. S. Owner Mary
Kay Sneeringer says she fills the store with titles
"you really want to read." The shop also carries
handmade journals, greeting cards and calendars.
12:30 p.m.
Hungry yet? We weren't
after our big breakfast, but there are so many good
restaurants downtown that it would have been a dereliction
of reporterly duty not to have tried at least one place
for lunch. We chose Olives Cafe and Wine Bar, 107 Fifth
Ave. N., with a delicious selection of soups, salads and
sandwiches. Other good choices include The Loft, 515 Main
St., with its Mediterranean-influenced plates, and Thai
Cottage, 417 Main St.
1:30 p.m.
Just across the street from
Olives is the Edmonds Historical Museum, 118 Fifth Ave. N.
Housed in a former Carnegie Library, the handsome
two-story brick and stucco building will celebrate its
centennial next year. The museum has permanent displays of
turn-of-the-19th century Edmonds including a Victorian
parlor, a kitchen before and after the arrival of
electricity, and a room from the once-grand and now
demolished Olympic View Hotel.
For a dime, a replica model
shingle mill lights up and tells the story of Edmonds'
working waterfront around 1910. The docents, mostly
retired residents who have lived much of the town's
history, preside over the permanent and rotating exhibits
with warmth and graciousness. The museum also has a
walking-tour map of downtown historic buildings and homes.
2:30 p.m.
Time for a snack? Grab some
gourmet cheese, salami and crackers from The Resident
Cheesemonger, 405 Main St., and head five blocks west to
the ferry dock or find a picnic table along Sunset Avenue,
weather permitting.
3 p.m.
We happen to love ferry
rides across Puget Sound. If you've lucked into a sunny
day, depart from the Edmonds ferry dock at the foot of
Main Street. There are winter sailings at 3:05 and 4:15
p.m. The ferry to Kingston and back takes about 90 minutes
and costs $6.90 apiece.
If the weather is cold or
socked in and you want to do a little more shopping, or
sample some wine, head south again on Fifth Avenue. Arista
Wine Cellars, 320 Fifth Ave. S., hosts a free wine tasting
on Saturdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Next door is the brightly
colored C'est la Vie shop featuring unique clothing, gifts
and accessories. Just beyond these is Bluefish, 420 Fifth
Ave. S., where local jeweler Barbara McNaughton will
redesign old pieces of jewelry or make a custom piece for
a special occasion.
4:30 p.m.
If you still don't want to
leave, tiny Daphne's, 415 Main St., next to the Edmonds
Theatre, serves wine and snacks until midnight daily. Sort
through your purchases, rest your feet and congratulate
yourself that you chose to shop in downtown Edmonds and
not one of those crowded malls.
IF YOU GO:
PARKING: Edmonds offers
free on-street parking for three hours in the central
business district around Fifth and Main, but on Saturdays
there is all-day free parking one block north of Main
underneath City Hall, 121 Fifth Ave. N., and at the Public
Safety Complex, 250 Fifth Ave. N. There is also free
on-street parking all day once you get more than about two
blocks from downtown.
VISITOR'S TIP: Everything
is an easy walk from the fountain at Fifth Avenue and Main
Street, the center of downtown. Wear walking shoes, and
bring an umbrella in case of rain.
MORE INFORMATION: Greater
Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, www.edmondswa.com,
or a sister site, www.everythingedmonds.com.
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