Along Territory Road

     Oysterville is an ideal setting for ‘walking tours.’  The terrain is flat.  There is a pleasant mix of historic structures and rural vistas.  You can walk along the streets through town in one direction and return to your starting place by walking along the bayshore pathway.  The entire village can be comfortably traversed in an hour or so.
     In recent years, companies who schedule tours from California or Idaho or even Canada have “discovered” us.  I am frequently asked to conduct walking tours of Historic Oysterville.  Sometimes there is a theme involved.  This morning, for instance, I will have an hour and a half with forty-four senior citizens who are on a Food Tour.
     This tour was booked by a Vancouver company several months ago, but the food theme was just pointed out to me last week.  Also, when I asked the Tour Manager, I was told that only ‘most’ of the folks will be able to walk.  And, they will probably not be prepared for rain.  Thank goodness we can shelter in the church!
      The food part is easy.  After all, Oysterville owes its existence to oysters – three kinds.  And then there are steamer clams and goose tongue greens and crabs and pickle weed to talk about.  I can hand out copies of my great grandmother’s baked oyster recipe and talk about the difficulties the pioneers had in clearing enough land to grow potatoes.
     The hour and a half will go quickly, at least for me.  Not so much for those sitting in the church pews.  They are hard and there will be complaints.  There always are.  And there will be grousing about no ‘real bathrooms’ – just the sanican behind the church. 
     I always wonder what people are told when they sign up for these tours.  Is it pointed out, for instance, that we get close to 100 inches of rain a year and that chances are good that they’ll need appropriate shoes and outer wear?  Is the walking part of  ‘walking tour’ emphasized at all – as in, if you need to use a walker, this isn’t the tour for you?  Or would that be discriminatory?  Most of all, does anyone point out that the folks who live here aren’t responsible for weather or for the sensibilities and limitations of the tour group?
     I’m no doubt super sensitive.  It stems from my love of Oysterville.  I want everyone else to love it, too, and to have a good experience while they are here.  Maybe the gods will smile on us today and give us a morning sun break… Maybe next time, I’ll just say no…