While we were there they were having an oyster festival down south in Shelton,Wash. We found out about it from a guy who was camping in the same park. He went by the name of Hawk Mac Millan a retired WW2 pilot. He was quite a character and had written a book. He had the original manuscript in his motorhome. He had many stories and one of which how he escaped from a POW camp. He met with some refugees who were shipping out the next morning and they had discussed how important he was and how little they met to the Germans. One of them switched clothes with him and he left in the morning with the group. When they came for Hawk, he said his days were numbered, the only thing they found was a refugee in his clothes.
What was more amazing that that, a few years later I saw a post where John & Libby had met him and were discussing the same story. A small world.
At the oyster festival they had a oyster shucking contest and offered the shucked oysters to anyone who wanted some raw oysters for free. Being from the Eastern Shore of Va, I grew up eating raw oysters, so I jumped in. To my amazement they were huge. I mean 4 inches by 3 inches. I knew they couldn't be any good. When I tasted them they had the old saltly taste like the original Eastern Shore oysters used to taste before all the santitation rules went into force.
I asked how they got them so big. They were farm raised there in Washington State. The waters are so cold there they cannot get to oysters to grow spats, small organic oysters which attach to old shells and forms the new oyster. They were buying the spats from Japan and filling large heated steel containers with old used oyster shells and would pour in the seeds from Japan. After a few weeks the new oysters were formed and were moved out in the bay and put on poles in 15 pound wire baskets to grow. On low tide you could see thousands of poles lined up. I wish I had taken a picture. On high tide they were surmerged to feed. They were the best I have ever tasted.
We stayed in that area about two weeks and I had Raw,fried,and otster stew every other day. When I would make a fried oyster it looked like a large piece of steak in the pan.
Farther down the road in Coos Bay Oregon they had an oyster called a cream oyster. I thought I had hit another gold mine but I did like the flavor or texture of those. They had no musle and were very very creamery. Not good at all in my opinion. Didn't buy any there.
When we moved to Florida I saw some oysters in Walmart and studied the container to see where they were from. They came from Willimetta Bay, Wash. I tried them and they had the same flavor as the ones I had tried before in Washinton State. They were not as big but had good flavor. if you like oysters you should try some the next time you go to a Walmart. They are perfect for frying.
Here we are at the festival.
