Pretty Port Townsend

After our night of beer in Bellingham, we headed south with no particular destination in mind other than 'the Olympic Peninsula'.  Rather than go all the way south via Olympia to get there (as recommended by many of the websites I had looked at), we decided to go via Whidbey Island - a much shorter route, though at about 50 miles in length Whidbey is apparently the longest island in the continental US.  (Note from Chad: but this 'fact' is from the same guidebook that said the Olympic Peninsula was home to the "only temperate rainforest in North America."  I'm sure that's news to the temperate rainforests in BC.)

The north of Whidbey Island has the very lovely Deception Pass, but since we were there a couple years ago and took a bunch of pictures then we didn't stop this time.  But you should go check it out yourself (come on, the McFrothys can't do it all!) 

We stopped for lunch at Oak Harbour.  Sounds nice, right?  The guidebook wasn't so complimentary - calling it Whidbey's largest (and most drab) town.  This turned out to be a fairly accurate assessment.  (Note from Chad: though to be fair, the waterfront park was OK.)

Oak Harbour is home to a large naval base, and these planes greet you alongside the road on your way into town.  

Nice view from the town's park.  The fighter jets (hopefully just practicing!) roared overhead while we ate.

Chad gave some tips to the locals - this guy was doing an okay job but had missed a spot.

The ferry to the Olympic Peninsula runs from the Coupeville terminal on Whidbey Island to Port Townsend.  Despite warning signs all along the road that we should make a reservation, we pulled up with half an hour to spare until the next ferry and got on it just fine.  These are the pleasures of travelling in September!

Chad investigates potential destinations.

It might just be a ferry terminal, but there's still beautiful clear water and sandy beaches to be had.

The ferry ride is about half an hour, and for car, driver, and two passengers was only about $15.  Ahem - I'm looking at you, BC Ferries.

Note from Chad: that throw bag looks to have about 15 feet of rope in it.  And this deck is at least 20 feet above the water.  Not sure how much use a life buoy will be when dangling 5 feet above the water... :-)

Port Townsend from the water.

Okay, so we were technically on a camping trip.  But after checking out the RV-friendly, expensive, near-full state park near Port Townsend we decided perhaps a hotel would be a better idea for the night.  We ended up in a relatively cheap room at the lovely Palace Hotel, a Victorian building that used to be a brothel.  Port Townsend is full of Victorian buildings.  In the 1890s, a bunch of rich settlers were confident that the railway would be built to reach Port Townsend and built a ton of fancy homes and businesses.  Sadly for them, that didn't happen and they ended up with a bunch of fancy buildings but no way to make the income to keep them up.  The town fell into disrepair until a revival in the 1960s when many of the buildings were restored.  Now Port Townsend is a great little town - nice to look at, lots of restaurants, and... wait for it... a brewery!

Our room.

I'm pretty sure I saw a ghost in this hallway when I went out to use the washroom in the middle of the night, and a note in the guestbook claims that a previous visitor had their own ghostly experience.

This parlour looks ripe for the haunting to me.

Port Townsend Brewing.

The taproom where we sampled their wares.  There's also a nice garden out back where they regularly host live music.

I just loved this name for a coffee shop!

Dinner on the patio at 'Sirens'.

Chad versus the ice cream.  I think the ice cream won this one. (Note from Chad: no, I clearly defeated my old nemesis.)

The buildings feature lots of old painted signs;  I'm guessing that this one for Bull Durham wouldn't be allowed today. 

I highly recommend Port Townsend for a weekend visit from Vancouver - it's closer than Seattle and really great!  Of course, the sunny weather didn't hurt, and that would continue the next day as we made our way into the wilds of the Olympic Peninsula...