Port Townsend Arrival

Do not insult the mother alligator until after you have crossed the river.

Instead of it being a Monday like we had originally planned, we pulled out of the Kelso Elks park to head north to Whidbey Island on Tuesday.  Actually, it was a beautiful day and very little traffic was on the road.  The route traveling north on Hwy 101 around the Hood Canal can be pretty slow over the weekends with all the traffic.  Traffic or no traffic it’s still a beautiful drive as the highway hugs the water’s edge for a good portion of 45 miles.

Our plans had been to spend a couple nights at the Elks RV park in Port Townsend but with the delayed departure we were only going to be in town for the one night.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that we pulled in, set up and rested.  You could have bet that wasn’t going to happen.  It didn’t.

The Hyders were there to greet us and since it was just about lunch time we headed out for a drive through town and to find a place for lunch.

 

Port Townsend is in a fabulous location.  It sits on the edge of the Strait of Juan de Fuca where it turns south into the Puget Sound.  The town is a haven for antique seekers.  Many of the buildings are Victorian in style and the streets are usually flooded with tourists especially on the weekend.  It was busy enough and it wasn’t a weekend.

We actually didn’t do a lot around town this time.  We just walked up and down a couple streets, looked around in a few shops, ate lunch and made a quick stop at Fort Warden.  We didn’t have a lot of time left in the day.  This time this trip wasn’t about spending time in Port Townsend.  We had reservations on the ferry to Whidbey Island the next day.  That’s where we were heading.

You might have guessed that we did eat lunch and then we ate again at the Elks lodge in the evening.  That’s right.  We certainly couldn’t pass up meal times.  At the Lighthouse Café  we had a great meal but we’ve had so many meals out recently I can’t even remember what we had.  Was it fish and chips?  The only thing I do remember is that I thought it was great.  I also thought the clam chowder served there was pretty delicious too.   At the lodge that evening  they were having taco night.  We were pretty happy with our taco salads too.

It sure works out great when we can order something and then find out we really like what we ordered.  If we graded this day on the food we were served and ate, it would definitely get a good grade.

Then, it was off to bed because the next day we needed to get in line for the ferry.  It was going to be a gorgeous day also.  At least that's what the weatherman said and you know they are always right!

-- August 9th