Here There and Everywhere

Lunch at Las Maracas in Ocean Shores

“I’ve never been to Ocean Shores!” my Mom says brightly. (I know what is coming.) “Have you ever been to Ocean Shores?”

Yes. oh yes. When I was at university, we would all rent a big chalet during Spring Vacation.

“Yeh . . . I don’t remember it being that great,” I reply.

She didn’t mention it again, but I knew she wanted to go, so yesterday we decided to take an excursion to go to Ocean Shores.

I remember back when there seemed to be a lot of (generated) excitement about Ocean Shores. It’s like someone had bought this big hunk of land and wanted to develop it and started making it sound like if you don’t buy a vacation lot at Ocean Shores, you are going to be really really sorry because ALL YOUR FRIENDS ARE GOING TO BE THERE!

I think mostly it was cold and rainy when we were there during Spring Break. What I remember the best was my friends taught me how to make a casserole out of taco chips and ground beef and taco sauce, with grated cheddar cheese. It tastes really good (all that salt) and it probably has zero redeeming nutritional value.

Holding that memory dear, after Mom and I toured the big nothing that is most of Ocean Shores (the entire “north beach” coast is pretty undeveloped, very old timey, honestly, I love it) and visited a schlock-shop, oops, tourist shop, so Mom could spend a little money, we found Las Maracas, which actually served very decent Mexican chow.

No, I didn’t drink beer – I’m driving, remember? And Mom would just fall asleep if she had a beer at noon.

I put my camera on the table so I would remember to take food photos, but not before I had taken a couple ‘location’ shots:

Someone had a ball with the upholstery:

And then the nacho chips came:

The servers yell “Salsa, por favor!” into the kitchen, and determinedly call us “Senyora” or “Senyoras,” out on this remote Washington State coastal resort area.

And then I totally forgot the camera on the table because my seafood tostada came, and it was so unbelievably delicious – shrimp, crab, fish – that I ate it all and then said “oh no! I forgot to take photos!”

Mom was still picking through her Camarones al mojo de ajo, so I got a shot of that:

This restaurant was worth the drive to Ocean Shores.

September 5, 2009 - Posted by intlxpatr | Cross Cultural, Cultural, Customer Service, Eating Out, Entertainment, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Food, Living Conditions, Local Lore, Marketing