A DAY THAT RIPENED TO PERFECTION

We recently noticed a slow loss of air from the front right tire on Scoopy. You can't call AAA to come on over and fix your tire when it weighs a hundred pounds, so we scouted out a Les Schwab shop in Port Townsend where we could get the tire repaired. We folded up Scoopy early Monday morning and headed over. All went smoothly. I even drove Scoopy home (wait a minute... since Scoopy IS home...!), renewing my faith in my ability to drive the big rig.

With that chore kicking off our day, I figured it would not be a particularly memorable one... fix the tire, take a walk, drive over to Costco for some goodies...

Boy, oh boy - did we find goodies! Looking for the wild salmon that they typically carry fresh at the Costcos in the Pacific Northwest, we came upon a 5 pound bag of fresh mussels, locally harvested in Coupeville on Whidby Island. Even though 5 pounds were way more than we could eat, we couldn't (didn't, I should say) resist... we snagged a bag.

Next, cruising the vegetable aisles, the scent of fresh peaches slapped me in the face. It was SO STRONG and delicously sweet that I followed my nose to a stack of flats of white peaches. The regular yellow peaches to the left had no scent at all; the white peaches smelled like ambrosia. TWELVE peaches! Too irresistable. So we left Costco with food for 4-6 people.

I've never cooked mussels, but knew I would steam them in a broth, so we needed sourdough bread for sopping up juices. One last stop at an artisan bakery in Port Townsend and we were set.

As Odel began to wash and clean the mussels, we got a call from our friend Dave from Sacramento. He had been sailing north of here and wanted to stop in to visit us as he began his drive home. Perfect - another willing eater! I mixed up a broth of garlic, tomatoes, wine, and fresh parsley with a bit of homemade pesto stirred in, steamed the mussels, and sliced up the bread. It smelled good, looked good... but the first bite was even better than we anticipated. The mussels were totally, completely, tender - soft, plump seafood pillows.

We picked, slurped and sopped our way through 4 pounds of mussels (I kept one pound for chowder tonight), a loaf of sourdough, and a bottle of wine. Can you believe we even found room for peaches and ice cream for dessert?

Dave hopped back into his Prius to head south, Odel cleaned up the mess... and I made a mental note to do it again, soon!