Westport Wall Art (Murals of the Marina)

One of the most peculiar things about this little town is how common murals are on buildings. I am not sure if it is because of the haphazard way the town grew, or the "bootstrap" manner in which many businesses around here established themselves, requiring them to be resourceful in advertising, or maybe just an unexplainable eccentricity. But there is some very cool wall art in town.

So cool that I encourage any visitors to take the time to drive around and find these gems around town. Here are a few of my favorites:

On the Inn at the Westwind (also a great diner, especially for breakfast):



On the gift shop at Float 10 (in honor of the annual kite festival):




On the walls of the Ferry Office (this was painted in honor of the Washington Bicentennial
:

On the Mermaid Deli (just one sea creature on this building):




On the side of the Washington Crab processing building:


There are also murals on both surf shops in town (Steepwater and The Surf Shop), as well as other random buildings as you drive in on Montesano. Just another one of those things that make my new hometown special.

A note about where Westport came from

When we moved to Westport, almost 2 years ago, we didn't realize what a curiosity our little town would have among our "city" friends. People rarely know where Westport is, they usually think its near Ocean Shores (which its not) or that its a fishing ghost town (which it once was).

As the locals tell it, Westport was the Charter Fishing Capital of the World up until about the early 1980's. At that time, a Federal judge entered a decision (the Boelt Decision) which basically killed the fishing industry. It had something to do with fishing quotas, but I can't find the actual case reference (I haven't looked very hard) to verify this story. What I do know is that the Westport business community used to be completely fishing-centric, and it was hit hard in the early 80's: going from over 325+ charter boats to about 35.

So anyone who has visited Westport prior to maybe 2003 always has a pretty negative view of it as a vacation getaway. However, I can vouch for the fact that the economy in this town is diversifying, and the atmosphere of this town continues to morph as it grows.

It is still very fishing centric. Everyone that I work with is either neighbors with, married to, or used to be a fisherman. The charter offices still dominate the Marina district, selling bottom fishing, salmon, tuna, and the occasional whale watching trips alongside their hats and t-shirts and dramamine. But there is also a vibrant art community, as well as some other interesting retail spots in and near town.

Overall, its a small town that is blessed with some amazing natural resources (where else will you find a sandy beach and a full working marina within walking distance from one another) that is struggling to establish its identity. We have found a nice community here and are looking forward to having baby in a public school where his class size is 45 rather than 400. I do miss the anonymity of Downtown Seattle, where I could actually be in the grocery store without someone I work with inspecting my nutritional habits, but from a big picture point of view, we're glad to be here.

Crab Races?

I have never been one for unusual treatment of animals, but I do admit to partaking in turtle races at Brennan's Pub in my early 20's in Marina del Rey. For a nominal fee you could "race" a turtle in the back courtyard of this classy joint off of Lincoln Avenue. Basically a bunch of drunks would place their rented turtles in the center of a circle. If your turtle won, you could pick your prize out of a large garbage bag - perhaps a pack of gum, some sort of contraceptive or alternate penny prize that only 20-somethings with too little responsibility would find entertaining.

But my point here wasn't to relive my glorious 20's, but rather to talk about a similar event, albeit quite a bit more family oriented, that takes place right here in my back yard annually. Yes, I'm talking about the World Famous Westport Crab Races. 2007 was the year I was finally going to attend these oft-talked-about races and see what all the fuss is about.

I bundled up the baby, and the out of town friends and dragged everyone down to the Marina District just before lunch. It was cold, even for Westport in April, and I was amazed at the crowds that show up for this event. It's held in a huge tent on the Port parking lots just between the Coho Motel and the Marina area. There must have been hundreds of people crowded into that tent, hiding from rain, and munching on the locally caught and prepared crab feed.

The crab races? A tilted table, maybe the size of a dining room table, at about a 30 degree slope. Participants place their crab at the top and then pound on the table to get their crab to slide down to the finish line. I did not elbow my way to the front to see the actual spectacle take place, but the pounding and cheering could be heard from the other end of the tent.

This is one of those "only in Westport" events that you just have to see to believe. Shellfish lovers bedecked in crab headbands, crab t shirts, crab hats, spattered in crab flesh, chowing down on the fresh steamed (or boiled?) crabs, that may well have been just pulled in from the local waters.

As an added bonus, the commercial crab fishermen "seed" the marina with marked crabs for a fun and playful "crab derby". People can drop their crab pots off the fishermans boardwalk or one of the piers and if they catch the marked crab they can win cash and other prizes.

Overall, it was a fun "coming out of the winter closet" event, and I recommend it, particularly if you're one of those crab lovers that love to get down and dirty with your lunch.