Port Townsend, Fort Worden and …. Joe

One thing you notice when arriving  at Port Townsend is there are boats.  There are boats and more boats.  It is an epicenter of traditional-boat building and sailing.  Boats are everywhere.  In the water,  out of the water, being built, being repaired.  You name it and they are there.

However, it’s not just the boats and the scenic waterfront areas that bring people to this beautifully preserved Victorian small town.  Port Townsend actually has a lot going for it. It has vintage buildings that are home to good restaurants, quirky shops, comfortable hotels and fancy B&Bs  Best of all, there are many RV parks and a couple may give you the best waterfront views you’ve ever had.

This Bell Tower was built in 1890 and is thought to be the last working bell tower in the United States.  Ringing the bell would bring volunteers to their posts for fighting fires.

     Woodworking shop

 

Fort Worden State Park is also in Port Townsend and only about a half hour walk along the beach to the center of town.  It used to be an active army base.  Many of the buildings were built before WWI.  They were used then and built up during WWII.  The function was to protect the coastline.   It is a sprawling base with many buildings from times past which are now used as vacation rentals. 

You can rent a room in one of the  big-porched Officer’s Quarters or in many of the other buildings.  Several of the buildings are open to the public as a church, a woodworking shop and even as an extension to Peninsula College.

So, how old do you think these gas pumps are?

One unique rental facility at Fort Worden is Alexander’s Castle.  The view is breathtaking and the facility unique.  The home was built to house Alexander’s new bride.  When he went to retrieve her, he discovered she had just gotten married to someone else.   Thus, his castle really became his home.  You can stay here too for about $230 a night.  With that you even get breakfast.

I love Fort Worden.  I love visiting.  After all, Uncle Sam brought my father from Kerrville, Texas to Port Townsend during WWII.  That’s where he met my mother.   He fell in love with her first and then salmon fishing.  He returned to Texas after that only on vacation.

It seems we can’t visit here without stopping off at the Point Wilson Lighthouse.  So, we did that too.  We also walked over to Battery Kinzies.  Construction was started on this battery in 1908, completed in 1912 and in use until after WWII.  The battery sits on the edge of the waterfront with amazing views. 

Viewing the town and Fort Worden is what we did on Monday.  Much more of the day was spent trying to get laundry done.  The park’s laundry room is also the laundry room for those staying in boats in the marina.  One person tied up the five washers and dryers for most of the day. Aargh!

Once laundry was done we walked down to the end of the point and had dinner at Doc’s Marina Grill.  What an awesome place to eat.  It’s not often we luck out with fantastic views, good service and great food …. but we did!

  

What do you think of this unique camper? It comes quipped with solar panels and a barbecue.

 Saturday we saw Joe and Sharon …. again.  They grabbed the 9:30 ferry from Whidbey Island.

View from Siren’s Restaurant    

We had a great time visiting and checking out all the shops in Port Townsend and then stopped for lunch.  It’s not really a big deal to check out all the shops.  It’s not a big downtown area.  Joe had a favorite place to eat so there we went.  We climbed up a long set of stairs and ended up at Siren’s Restaurant.  It’s an amazing place with an amazing view.  Our outside seats were just over the water.  We watched the otters swim around, boats and even the ferry. The food was great but the service a little slow.  However, in this case slow service wasn’t a real bad thing. 

   Remember the Bull Durham Signs? 

After we finished with lunch and finished with checking out the rest of the stores in town, we headed back to our RV park.  There we soaked up some beautiful sunshine while enjoying the view.  Late afternoon both of them were beat and headed off to their condo at Discovery Bay.

I was planning to add the activities and views from Wednesday outing.  However, there were too many to add to this blog … so next time.  Washington is definitely a gorgeous state.

‘Tis life on the road.

Before I got married old people at weddings used to poke me  and say, “You’re next”.  So, I started saying the same thing to them at funerals.