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Published: June 30th 2009
Once upon a time on a small island in the San Juan islands in upper Washington state, the British and the Americans lived very peacefully. One gloomy day (which are apparently common in the area, but we did not experience any), a pig from an American farm snuck into a potato patch of a British farm and ate the potatoes. The inflamed British farmer grabbed his rifle and quickly shot the intruder. Up in 'arms' over the incident, the American and British farmers erupted into words and reinforcements were sent by both countries. The Pig War had begun. The two factions (unbeknown to the parental countries) lived in peace on the island during this war with the two camps being mostly for show. The farcical Pig War lasted 12 years and the only causality was the pig. This war was one in a series of back-and-forth disputes between the Americans and British (Canada) over territory. This year marks the 150 year anniversary of the Pig War. The camps remain intact and the Pig War is still very alive in the traditions of the island inhabitants. Reenactment announcements and farcical flyers permeate the town and its pubs.
San Juan provided a very nice private campground with a rare two nights in one place (allowing us a day off of breaking and setting camp), a nice pub (Front Street Ale House), and a few dorsal fins of Orcas. This trip seems to be centering itself around locally crafted brews and wildlife. This time around we were afforded a bacon beer, a banana hefe-weizen, and the 'whim' (others were also 'sampled', but did not warrant further mention). The bacon beer was an ode to the fallen of the Pig War and was quite yummy. The 'whim', also very yummy, was very interesting. It was a carefully crafted mix of several remaining beers. We were also able to see from shore, several Orcas (well at least their spouts and dorsal fins) as they came fairly close to shore. On our next voyage (perhaps with greater funds), we would love to kayak around the island and get a closer look. After two nights in San Juan Island, WA, we continued southward. Next stop...Oregon!
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Pam
non-member comment
Education today...
How do we not learn this stuff in American History? I like the idea of the 'whim' - it's like recycled beer.