The days are getting warmer and longer, and restless energy, pent up from months of dark wet winter, is in need of spending.
Got the desire, but not the know-how, to get out and about outside?
Are you willing, but not quite ready, to hit the coast road?
Want to see someplace new, but have no idea how to get there?
Never fear, would-be rovers.
Author Nancy Blakey, a Bainbridge resident, will visit Eagle Harbor Book Company to talk about her new guide, “By the Shore: Explore the Pacific Northwest Coast Like a Local,” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17 — and she’s bringing tips and tricks aplenty.
From whale watching to squid jigging to making your own sea salt, this adventure tome, half reference book and half cook book, will assist you in finding fun along the iconic Pacific Northwest coast. It has suggestions for vacationers and locals alike: Celebrate the wild beauty of the Northwest Coast as you learn how to catch and cook seasonal seafood (the book includes recipes that can be prepared over a driftwood fire); enjoy beach activities for adults and kids; learn the basics of water sports including kayaking and paddleboarding; and get ideas for outdoor adventure opportunities and travel itineraries from camping to beach hikes to road trips.
The book also includes wildlife identification guides and a list of seasonal natural events, like meteor showers and the solstice, and ocean-side festivals.
Covering the coastal areas of Oregon (from Astoria to Florence), Washington (including Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula) and British Columbia, Canada (including Vancouver Island), and gorgeously illustrated with line drawings and color photographs, this book is a visual treat for the armchair adventurer as well as a practical guide to take with you on your next outing.
Blakey recently chatted with the Review about her book, NW adventures, and which of her chosen recipes you should try first.
BIR: I understand you were born on Bainbridge, but in the book’s introduction you wrote that you were not a particularly outdoorsy person originally, then set out to remedy that with a vengeance. Is this book the sort of guide that then-you wished she had access to?
NB: I moved to Bainbridge Island from Idaho my senior year, so I graduated from high school here and stayed on from 1972. While I have always loved the outdoors, things always seemed to get in the way of spending intentional time outside — work, kids, responsibilities — but something snapped into focus for me one day when I met a woman from the East Coast. She was in awe that I lived on Bainbridge Island.
“It is so gorgeous there! The Olympic Peninsula is in your backyard! You must hike and fish and kayak all the time!”
It took me aback and made me think: Why didn’t I hike and paddle and fish more? I had no good reason, and I always felt better after spending time outside. I was 40 years old and set out to explore my own backyard.
Yes, “By the Shore” is the book I wish I had then! Especially when it came to harvesting the seafood bounty of the Pacific Northwest — salmon fishing, clam digging, collecting oysters, crabbing, squid jigging on a summer night in Port Angeles. It all sounded fun, but how do you do it? Where do you go? What are the seasons? How do I put it all together? “By the Shore” is an invitation and a guide on how to make that happen and more.
BIR: Your book sets out to meet a tall order, as the vast array of ways to enjoy/explore the NW coast are legion. I love the idea of breaking it down by season, but did you also set out with a particular checklist of activities to experience, places to go? How did you narrow it all down?
NB: I had a rough idea of the shape of the book when I started out, but I didn’t want to have a fixed list to lock-step from. I think the best travel and exploration involve dirt roads and detours where the undiscovered lies. I let curiosity and wonder guide me: John’s Beachcombing Museum in Forks is an example. He is a retired plumber who has been collecting the flotsam and jetsam from the coast for decades — a fascinating collection, and it’s on the way to One Square Inch of Silence in the Hoh Rain Forest, another memorable place.
Although there are thousands of ways to enjoy the Pacific Northwest, all the events and activities in the book are set on the shore, which narrowed things down to a more manageable mix to choose from.
Dividing the book by seasons is a reminder that there is always some place beautiful waiting to be explored no matter the weather.
BIR: Did you have an ideal reader for this book in mind when putting it together?
NB: My ideal reader is the restless couch potato who knows something is missing. Maybe it is risk or adventure or fatigue from watching other people’s big lives on a screen. He or she is struck while reading the book, like I was struck all those years ago, that there is a world outside the backdoor, but maybe they need a nudge, an invitation, a how-to-make-it-happen. I love to think I could make that happen for them, but I also wanted to get families out there on the beach digging for clams, newcomers from out of town renting a kayak on a full moon, and Millennials embracing the unique bio-system of the Hoh Rain Forest.
The outdoors is egalitarian. My ideal readers are anyone who wants more in their lives than the same old indoor routine.
BIR: There are many great travel guides in print. What were the main goals you set when beginning work on this book to ensure it was unique and beneficial? (I especially love the mix of maps, diagrams, writing and recipes — it’s very thorough without being too dense or academic.)
NB: I wrote the book I personally wanted to read and use. In my book proposal, I warned that it would be subjective, off the beaten track, and sometimes quirky. I did not want it to be a traditional guide, there are too many of them out there that send people to the same old places. I wanted sections that reflected my interests, that I could get passionate writing about: cooking outdoors over an open fire, citizen science (where ordinary people contribute data to ongoing research), meteorite showers, squid jigging, swimming with bioluminescence on a summer night.
You won’t find many of those activities and events in traditional guide books. Another huge difference is the photographs. I owe a great deal to my son-in-law Nick Hall, an internationally recognized photographer with a full schedule, and my daughter Jenna, his producer, who took the time to travel the Northwest with their kids and get the photos. They are worthy of their own book.
BIR: We all know that time spent outdoors is good for us in many ways. What do you think is the biggest obstacle that might stop would-be adventurers from getting out there?
NB: In the Pacific Northwest? The weather and inertia. The key is to have good rain gear and tell yourself as the Scandinavians do there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. Inertia gets us stuck, but once it gets rolling it is harder to stop than continue on. Think of a bike ride, or a misty walk in the forest. You rarely come back from outside and say I wish I never did that.
BIR: Is there a best time of year to visit the Northwest?
NB: I love August and September, but frankly there isn’t a season that doesn’t have its own cache to pull you in.
BIR: Do you have a personal favorite recipe from the book, maybe one I should try first?
NB: This time of year, definitely “Grilled Spot Prawns with Sesame Oil.” It is an easy and delicious feast — spread paper on the table, and eat with your fingers! Spot prawns are generally available only this time of year.
