Lummi Island: What to do and see
May brings good things to Lummi Island, Washington. Orcas, for example, start migrating south through Puget Sound, providing a prime show for anyone who happens to be on the deck of the Willows Inn at just the right moment.
May is also the beginning of spot-prawn season and a busy time for Riley Starks, owner of the Willows Inn. Starks buys the giant red prawns locally and serves them on the inn’s deck every Sunday through August. It’s become an island tradition, feasting on spot prawns while trying to glimpse orca fins as the sun dips into the Pacific. “I love cooking them live and head on, because that represents a peak taste experience, and that’s what I live for,” Starks says as he works the stove.
“They’re so ephemeral, and they simply cannot be enjoyed that way except near where they are caught.”
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| Jim Henkens |
| Spot prawns cooked by Riley Starks at the Willows Inn |
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One-of-a-kind taste experiences are the rule on Lummi Island, where organic is in, small farms thrive, and an unusual sustainable fishing practice is being revived. “In the summer, we have meals where everything but the salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar is grown on the island,” says Sharron Antholt, an artist who, with her husband, Chuck, grows lavender at Three Pheasants Farm.“I used to think Pike Place Market was the most divine place,” Sharron says. “But now when I ask, ‘Chuck, when did you pick this?’ and he tells me, ‘This morning,’ I say, ‘Then I’m going to pick my own.’ ”
