I’ve always thought as Washington State as home, I grew up there then left with my family to the East Coast when I was eighteen. I hadn’t wanted to move from the grey skies and mountain views, but I didn’t really have a lot of choice. For the first few years after leaving I thought about returning, as the years past so did the feeling of moving home. I hadn’t been back to Washington in over ten years, this past weekend I returned with my husband and my parents for our friends wedding on Camano Island.

Joe walking through Seattle

We were all pretty excited to eat the local food. We started our dining experience with a stop at my fathers beloved Taco Time, a Washington fast food joint that turned fifty this year. My dad had been going there since his high school days for their bean burritos. This was no typical fast food dining. First of all, the ingredients are sourced locally and all the plates, wrappers, straws, and utensils are compostable, so instead of seeing garbage cans it was all compost bins. What a great idea!

We made it to the Pike Place Market to pick up clams for dinner. We also scored some gigantic mushroom that where harvested from the mountains in Washington State and garlic and dill to go with the clams. Our friends brought Alaskan salmon that their mother had caught on a fishing trip out to the island and we had a magnificent feast.

Joe’s out to lunch!

Our weekend was memorable. I was happy to show my husband where I had been raised and the sun even came out for a bit. I realized something when I was there, I loved growing up in the Pacific Northwest, but my home and my heart are right here in Wisconsin.