Time travel Mount Vernon

LAUREN KRAMER

Next time you find yourself on the I-5 highway headed to Seattle, consider stopping in Mount Vernon and spending a few hours in this historic, often overlooked city of 30,000.

Surrounded by the Cascade Mountains and dotted with farmlands, Mount Vernon has been shielded from the forces of modernity. Whether you’re exploring local farms or strolling along First Street, walking around Mount Vernon feels like stepping back in time. Take your kids, pack the passports and lace up those hiking boots to check out a few of the city’s highlights.

Farm frenzy: If there’s one place to explore the farm-to-fork theme with city kids, it’s Mount Vernon. With dozens of farms producing everything from blueberries to butter, the city’s stretches of agricultural land offer plenty of opportunities from April through November to pick your own fruit and vegetables, or shop for produce direct from the farm.

In September, we visited Schuh Farms, a few miles from the city centre, where matriarch Susan Schuh showed us around the fields, which were filled to capacity with pumpkins. The family’s fertile land yields abundant rhubarb, asparagus, tulips, berries, gourds, corn and many other vegetables. In the fall, a corn maze and barrel train offer additional fun for the kids, while adults can get their caffeine shots at the farm’s latte and ice cream shack. The farm store is laden with local treats like honey, Golden Glen Cheese, pies, pickles and jam. Packed full of fresh produce, it’s the kind of place that inspires the planning of a great meal, even for the most reluctant chef. For information to help plan your trip, visit skagitfarmmap.com or call 1-360-424-6982.

Memorable meal: Likely the most memorable store on Mount Vernon’s First Street is the Skagit Valley Food Co-Op, a store rich with local produce and products and one that significantly overshadows large chains like Whole Foods. The 39-year-old co-op works with a dozen local farms in Skagit County and 24 farms statewide, with most of its produce certified organic. This is the place to find locally grown, hard-to-find items like Taylor’s gold pears and some 26 varieties of apples. Come for lunch or dinner and you’ll be hard-pressed to select an item from the deli, where fantastic salads compete for attention with flavored ice creams, such as grilled peach and strawberry balsamic. Browse the co-op’s aisles for locally made herring, fig and date mustard, and hundreds of other gourmet products. And don’t leave without an espresso or fresh smoothie from the deli’s new juice bar. More information on the co-op can be found at skagitfoodcoop.com.

Street treats: Anyone who loves browsing will relish the gift shops, antique stores, art galleries and book shops that line First Street and peek out from Pine Square, Myrtle Street, Gates and Montgomery, the roads that intersect Mount Vernon’s main drag. No chain stores here – just mom-and-pop shops located in historic buildings. Look out for natural-fibre clothing, home-décor accessories, pottery studios and specialty gift shops. Lose yourself in crowded aisles of collectible and out-of-print books at hole-in-the-wall shops from a bygone era. This is the place for one-of-a-kind treasures and brands you’ll never find at Macy’s. For more information, visit mountvernondowntown.org.

Theatrical delights: Built in 1926 and in continuous operation ever since, the Lincoln Theatre is a grand, 500-seat theatre with gorgeous hand-stenciled murals on the walls and an original Wurlitzer organ in front of the stage – one of only two remaining in the United States. Boasting Moorish revival architecture, the Lincoln was created for silent movies and vaudeville shows. Its main purpose now is for art house films, local theatre and concerts. Check out the schedule for upcoming shows at lincolntheatre.org.

Boating Deception: One of the most dramatic sights in the county is Deception Pass, the strait that separates Whidbey from Fidalgo Island. Instead of risking too long a look at the scenery while driving across Deception Pass Bridge, park the car and join a Deception Pass Boat Tour. The hour-long tour features narration about the area’s history, including the smuggling that occurred in these waters. In the 1880s, Ben Ure and Lawrence “Pirate” Kelly smuggled illegal Chinese immigrants through the channels of Deception Pass for labor, wrapping them in burlap bags for the journey and simply hurling them over the side of their boats if customs agents approached. The bodies of these hapless victims would wash up on San Juan Island, at a cove now known as Dead Man’s Bay. The boat ride is peppered with these and many other stories, but also gives visitors a chance to see porpoises, seals and several species of birdlife. The tours are $21-$29 and can be booked at deceptionpasstours.com.

If you go: There’s a smattering of small motels and a Best Western in Mount Vernon, but for more charming inns, boutique hotels and B&Bs, head to Anacortes or Seattle. For more information, call the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce at 1-360-428-8547 or visit visitmountvernon.com.

Lauren Kramer is an award-winning writer in Richmond. Read her work at laurenkramer.net.

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