Tulip tourists flood La Conner

Last week was more of the same but more, with out-of-town visitors stopping and shopping in La Conner. Except there were more of them through the weekend.

The parking lot below Town Hall was full midafternoon both Saturday and Sunday, with a stream of people, many of them families with children and strollers, making the trek onto First Street and back.

The Vintage La Conner Thrift Skip and La Conner Brewery had people waiting on the sidewalk for their turns.

Car traffic was slow on First Street, with vehicles searching for and taking curbside spaces when they opened up.

A busker sang and played guitar from his perch in the Peace Park on First Street about 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Merchants ought to be singing a happy tune, too.

Dark gray clouds brought a brief snowstorm – maybe sleet – before 4 p.m., but it went while the tourists stayed.

It was also busy on the roads leading to tulip fields as well as to La Conner. The line for ice cream was almost out the door at Snow Goose Produce at 1 p.m. Saturday, and the parking lot at The Rex was nearly full, with lots of motorcycles. Cars heading north on Best Road slowed and parked on the side of the road at the daffodil and tulip fields across the road from Christianson’s Nursery. There was a traffic jam in that full parking lot.

Folks got out of their cars and walked across fields to take closeup photos of themselves in the tulips, undeterred by either the fading daffodils or the farmworkers harvesting just beyond.

There was no line of traffic turning into Tulip Town. Its lots were full of cars and the sign at the gate warned only ticketed customers could enter until 5 p.m.

Venture out, perhaps by bicycle, and you will find art and crafts in a schoolhouse on the grounds of Christianson’s and more in a pickle barn at Schuh Farms on the souths side of Memorial Highway, across from their store and coffee stand.

The tourists are here and most of the tulips are just starting to bloom. The forecast for the weekend is sunny and warm, with more tourists expected everywhere.