The 12-foot tall cement Viking (click here for A Striking Viking) should have been a clue. All I knew about Paulsbo, Washington was that it was along the water; that is what had brouht my husband and me here from Port Orchard where we were staying. Who among us is not drawn to a coastal community, at least for the day?
It wasn’t until we drove down the main street that the Norwegian motif became undeniable, especially when we parked next to a giant mural on the side of a building depicting Vikings in their Dragonships on rough seas. This was a Nordic-themed town, known as Little Norway.
It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and when we got out of our car, there was Santa, sitting in his tiny house, greeting people walking by and taking photographs. I asked Santa to put on my Seahawks baseball cap directly on top of his own well-known chapeau so that I could take a picture of him. “Santa” took the hat while informing me, “Santa is a Chiefs fan.” Apparently Santa’s first name is not Kris, but rather Bill, who, before he moved to the North Pole, was from Kansas City.
We wanted to check out an extremely popular bakery I had read about, Sluy’s. There was a line out the door, but we passed the time looking at the many gingerbread houses in the bakery’s window, while receiving a contact sugar high from the mouthwatering aromas coming out of the shop each time other customers opened or closed Sluy’s door.
Once inside, the delicious scents increased by a baker’s dozen. The line moved quickly, we almost didn’t have enough time to survey the many different sweet treats in the display case before it was our turn to order. Everything looked as good as it smelled; it was sensory overload even for a visually impaired person.
We purchased four cinnamon twists and four of their infamous Viking Cups, which is a plain sticky bun with icing on top.
While my husband navigated us out of the parking spot into the busy street, I looked on my phone for a place to eat on the water. The Brass Kracken looked promising. After we had ordered, seafood for me, a burger for Mister Rain, I enjoyed my fall cocktail, a Spiced Apple Pie, made of apple cider, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum and maple syrup.
Noticing a mountain out the window, Mister Rain asked our server what its name was. “Mount Olympus,” she replied. We are not in Pennsylvania anymore.
On the way out of town, my husband and I both noticed a lighthouse. Without either of us saying anything, Mister Rain drove the car around the block to get a closer look. It turned out to be a house with a portion of it looking like a lighthouse. I am a sucker for a home such as this.
When the Seahawks won the Super Bowl two months later (click here for Our Seattle Seahawks Are Super Bowl Champions), I thought about Santa Bill, wondering if he thought about me. It sure would be nice to be on Santa’s mind for once without the word “naughty” being involved.
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