Anacortes is a scenic 107-year-old town spread along the north shores of Fidalgo Island. It is small, easy, not too fancy and friendly in a low-key way. Founded with expectations of becoming the western terminus of the Great Northern Railroad, Anacortes had to settle for logging, ship building and fishing. Shipbuilding and repair is still important, but so too is tourism. Geologically Fidalgo Island is an eastern extension of the San Juan Islands and it hosts the terminal for the Washington State Ferries that service the San Juan Islands and Victoria, BC. Quoting from the Seattle PI:
New entrepreneurs, many of them young families, have fixed up crumbly, old buildings and installed art galleries, brewhouses with handmade ales, bead shops, garden shops, antique stores, restaurants and bookstores where discussions of John Steinbeck or Robertson Davies can stretch out over long afternoons.
Art galleries abound in Old Town featuring the work of very talented, local artists. Fidalgo Island Fiber Art is located in the midst of this thriving renaissance community. Some photos are courtesy of Anacortes Chamber of Commerce.
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