I was hoping I would be able to work on the pergola some more, but it was cold damp today. Tomorrow is supposed to be better, so I may get a chance then. After that, from looking at the extended forecast, I think I will be bringing it home for the winter.
I dread that, because I don't want to break anything!
Do you guys close the shop in winter? I'll be crossing my fingers for you that you get it home safely in one piece!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's in a huge wooden barn like structure over the water, and can't be heated. It used to be a factory that canned lobsters, mackerel and clams from the mid 1800's until 1929.
DeleteIt's a really neat building, one of the only factories of that age that are still standing, but it's really bad in there in the winter. When you look down through the floorboards, you can see the water under you, and sometimes during an astronomical tide, the ocean actually comes into the building!
There are photos here: https://www.google.com/search?q=%22clam+factory+gifts%22 when you click a photo, it will give you an album.
Sorry, I see you have to copy and paste the URL.
DeleteNo worries! If you highlight the address and right click in Google Chrome, it will take you to the site.
DeleteThe clam house is amazing! I loved the photos, and the inside of the shop, too! I was happy to see the new pilings in the background, but the old ones are fantastic! You should make a replica of the building in miniature one day! Maybe you can display it at the courthouse or city hall!
Russ and I dream of running a little seasonal tourist shop one day. We'd like to buy some property on the south side of Mt. Adams and operate the shop and campground there. The weather there is much better than the west side of the Cascades, but is still beautifully forested. That would leave the fall and winter for us to travel to nicer climates and explore places in the Jeep!
Good luck getting everything home safely! I bet you're looking forward to some time spent at home!
Yeah, that building is pretty amazing, but so difficult to keep repaired on a limited budget. Until a few years ago, there was a wharf the full length of the building. It was so nice, but it was cribwork, which means that it was criss crossing logs holding lots of rocks and stuff with a planked surface. The logs inside finally rotted away, and the whole thing collapsed. We kept repairing it until there was nothing left to hold it together. It would cost over $1 million to rebuild it. I worry more about the building now, because the wharf kept huge ice cakes from banging against the pilings under the building all winter.
DeleteYeah, a replica would be kind of fun to make, but we don't have a courthouse or city hall here, we are on a tiny island!
I do enjoy having the shop, and I get really depressed when we have to close up. Not only is there no chance of making extra money, but the shop is a gathering place, and we have lots of people visiting us every day. We have a picnic table with an umbrella outside, and a bunch of lawn chairs we bring out. There are a few elderly people who miss it as well, because they like to stop and see people there. A lot of our friends leave for the winter, and when the weather goes downhill, the ones who remain pretty much hole up in their houses until the following May or June.
It's funny, because I get more done when the shop is open. During the winter, I have housework and stuff, then a few hours up helping my mother at her house, then it's time for my husband to come home, and dinner. I really only work on crafts in the evening, where I work on them all day at work. Even with all that company, I still work on things while I'm talking, and the company likes watching me. (There aren't huge amounts of customers, because we are on a side road, so we depend on regular customers and people who actually drive around the island while they are here).