Lunch Time

In which Mike gets schooled on the fineries of an afternoon repast.

Suquamish, WA - 26 Apr 2026

Today my wife wanted a treat. She wanted to have lunch out, but in a somewhat glamorous way. She wanted high tea. And, it just so happens, that in the nearby town of Port Gamble there is a tea house that could accommodate her wishes. In truth, she has been to this place before on several occasions with friends and with her sister when she comes to visit. For me it would be a new experience.

For the record, I am a Reuben sandwich kind of guy so I was going in blind not really knowing what to expect. In my mind, reflecting on the British TV programs I have seen, I was expecting rooms with people in fine dress sipping tea whilst eating tiny sandwiches. I was mistaken. I didn’t dress up, but I wore my best flannel shirt, in dark colors of course and my finest pair of Levis - they were new and not in tatters.

I didn’t have to worry about selections. The high tea is all laid out so I only had to choose the tea we would have and whether I wanted soup or salad. I figured minestrone was not the soup to go with a fancy tea so I opted for a salad. It had asparagus in it and I thought that might be interesting. It was. Following the salad the server brought out a three tiered tray with savory foods on the bottom, scones on the middle tier and sweets on top. My first thought was that I could eat that all up by myself. I had to set my consumption governor on low so that I wouldn’t inhale my portion leaving my wife to finish on her own.

As we waited for the sandwiches to arrive, I enjoyed the tea - Earl Grey. It was served from a teapot that interestingly enough did not start to talk sounding like Angela Lansbury. Whilst sipping a family came in. Mom all nicely dressed and wearing a modest hat. The two kids wearing nice collared shirts and dad bringing up the rear in jeans and a heavy duty shirt looking like he just came in from a day logging in the forest. I hope he removed his ball cap at the table.

I was surprised at how comfortable I felt eating my little sandwiches slowly, savoring each bite. Though I only had two, and they were small, the slow pace had me full before I even got to the scones. That was fine by me. I had a single scone, they weren’t big, a little bigger than a golf ball. I managed one, and dessert was definitely out. I did have three cups of tea and was satisfied that I had a nice lunch and my wife was especially happy.

We had a sunny day and watched folks out the window as they wandering the street while we chatted about this that and other things. A good date by any standard. I am not so sure I would go back by my own choice though I was informed we would be returning together. That’s okay too. It was nice to slow down and not wolf down lunch and rush out to visit the shops.

We finished off the dinner with a gelato treat from a shop down the street. They have a traditional European delivery vehicle parked outside the shop. I will guess it is more for show than actual use. I can’t see the shop owner arriving in my hilly area with it.

Keep on truckin’
-Mike