Dirty Dan Days Seafood Festival & April Brews Day

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Today turned into the warmest day in Bellingham since September, somewhere in the mid-60s. Once the sun came out we made our way over to the Dirty Dan Days Seafood Festival, which celebrates the founding of the Fairhaven community. It’s a free event that takes place at the Village Green. There was food, games, live music, 1800s dress-up contest, Dirty Dan Look-a-Like contest, salmon toss contest for the kids, Chuckanut Chowder Cook-Off, cupcake eating contest, and the world’s only piano race. 

We decided to grab some lunch from Fairhaven Fish n’ Chips. The kitchen is located in an old red double-decker bus. We ate 3 pieces of halibut, fried potatoes and a bowl of clam chowder in the patio garden out front which was dog-friendly. The batter is light and crispy and they had good tartar sauce. The chowder had good size chucks of clam, potatoes and vegetables.  

We walked the South Bay Trail again, this time from Fairhaven to Boulevard Park. Chance did better, but noises still seemed to bother her whether it was bikers, skateboarders or kids throwing rocks in the water on the shoreline near the raised boardwalk. 

We then walked around Fairhaven for awhile. We went back to Fairhaven Fish and Chips to get a cone of soft-serve espresso ice cream. Here we ran into Andy, Joe’s new co-worker from Cummins joining him at Paccar. We talked for awhile.

We went home to drop off Chance and take a cat nap before a night at the 10^th Annual April Brews Day, a microbrew affair. It benefits Max Higbee Center, a nonprofit which funds quality recreational opportunities in Whatcom County for those with developmental disabilities. The event was held in the Depot Market Square, home of the Bellingham Farmer’s Market. The block of Railroad Avenue here was blocked off for more mingling area. We paid $16 in advance for tickets. We were given 5 scrip tickets for beer and a collectable 4oz tasting glass. Each ticket equals a beer and you could buy additional scrip for $1 a piece. There was live music and cute men breaking it down dancing. It made me think how much my little brother would have enjoyed this event. There were 35 regional brewers at the event.

We tried most of the breweries that were not as close to where we live now or in the future and could personally visit. The booths were not arranged alphabetically so it wasn’t easy to find the brews you wanted to try next. Since most brewers had 2 beers, Joe would get one and I would get the other so we got to try twice as many. We first went to Kona for a pale ale and longboard lager. We had an organic blonde ale and another beer I can’t recall from Fish Brewing Co, out of Olympia. We enjoyed Port Townsend Brewing Company’s Hop Diggity IPA (possibly our favorite IPA of the night) and Peeping Peater Scotch Ale. We both really enjoyed our beers from Old Schoolhouse. Their Ruud Awakening IPA won the Peoples Choice Award at the 2010 Anacortes Brew Fest. Their Hooligan Stout was also a Gold Metal winner. We ate a wonderful baguette sandwich from Brandywine Kitchen. I tried the Howe Sound Imperial Hefeweizen in Squamish, BC, just north of Vancouver while Joe tried Mac & Jack’s Two Tun IPA. We were upset they ran out of Redmond’s Mac & Jack’s C-U-Later Barley Wine. Joe ate a Man Pie. Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company’s Triskaidekaphobia, or Triska for short, was a great Belgain tripel and the Wildcat IPA was good as well. Clallam Bay’s Slip Point’s Spicy Fish Wife Jalepeno Ale was horrible and the Beach Fire Smoked Scotch didn’t even taste like beer.  After those we had to go with a longtime favorite, Stone’s IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale. I had one more brew of Portland, OR’s Widmer Brother’s IPA, which had a smooth finish. It was a great night getting to know Andy and try great local microbrews. It had cooled off quite a bit with the sun down.

Lake Padden & Padden Creek Falls

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

It was so nice out today that as soon as Joe got home from work we went to Lake Padden. If you remember my post from a few weeks ago, by the time I was at this part of the lake, it was really overcast and you could barely see the mountains. Totally different today.

We took a gravel trail to see the 2 Padden Creek Falls. There was a huge tree trunk on the path that I just had to climb. There were ducks swimming in the creek. Chance couldn’t figure out how to get over to them and get them.

We then took some higher trails on the hill on the south side of the lake. Once we were on the east side, we took Chance to the fenced in off-leash dog park. She usually pretty good with dogs her size, until they try to sniff her butt. She doesn’t seem to understand that she can’t smell their butts and then not let them sniff hers. I guess she wants the cake and to eat it too. 

We walked out on the floating dock. Joe tried to convince Chance to get in the water. She seemed like she really wanted to. She would lean over the edge as far as she felt comfortable. She just couldn’t get the nerve to jump into the water a foot and a half below. Finally it happened. Her front foot slipped on the dock edge and she slid into the cold lake. She didn’t panic too much. She wasn’t sure where to swim to. She tried to get back on the dock, until she heard me calling her from the shoreline. I’m proud of my little swimmer.

Joe then tried multiple times to get her to go back in the water. She was close several times, making squealing noises with both excitement and nervousness at the same time. We tried again on the other floating dock by the boat ramp. There were many kayakers out on the lake. If we were the ones in the kayak, she would be in there swimming. It was a fun late afternoon hike. I could really get used to this.