Departing Port Townsend - Anticipating the Next Visit

It's Labor Day and time for us to be heading south.  Our adventure started six weeks earlier as a way to celebrate our thirtieth wedding anniversary.  The time has flown by as we discovered new places, to hike, bike, and kayak.

Thirty years ago, Port Townsend was one of the stops on our honeymoon.  We stayed at the Heritage House B&B at the corner of Washington and Pierce St., today it is a private residence.

On honeymoon in 1986

As it looks today in 2016

As a lifelong gardener and tree planter, I'm always amazed how little folks understand landscaping.  Over the past thirty years the landscaping of Heritage House has changed little, and yet in that same amount of time Laura and I have landscaped three different homes from scratch.  Below is our current home's backyard when we purchased it, basically fence to fence grass.

Backyard when we move in

Less than fifteen years later we had transformed our blank canvas into a private urban park with a pond, running stream, and our own forest.

Fifteen years later the backyard is an oasis.

Point Hudson Marina and RV Park

We've had the pleasure of staying at Point Hudson both in the harbor aboard our former boat and in the RV Park in our motorhome.  When we visited in 2008, we got to enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks from the beach as we looked in the direction of the Point Wilson lighthouse.

Bayliner 3870, Celtic Myst visiting on July 4, 2008

Much has changed near the harbor since our 2008 visit.  Back then there was a large vacant waterfront lot that had once been home to oil storage tanks that were still there in 1986 when we visited the town on our honeymoon.

In 2008 the Northwest Maritime Center was still just a dream

The Northwest Maritime Center overlooks the marina

The harbor remains a wonderful place to view wooden boats.

Looking Ahead

We've already booked our next trip to Port Townsend.  This time we will be trying out one of the waterfront sites looking north.

The tree marks site #328, our spot reserved for our next visit. 

The view from #328 back to our current site

The waterfront sites have picnic tables.

The view toward Point Wilson Lighthouse and Fort Worden State Park.

While our trip ended on an overcast day, our spirits we lightened with the thought of returning in a few months.  The six weeks working from the road had been awesome.  I could not have picked better-looking office views.  Between the work, there had been a great deal of exploration by boat, foot, bike, and car.  We had met some new folks, introduced family to a region of the country we love and reaffirmed that one can balance work and life.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much

Fort Worden - Port Townsend

Departing the Northwest Maritime Center at the east end of Water St., the entrance to Fort Worden State Park is an easy 1.6 miles away by car.  While Point Hudson Marina and RV Park makes up for its lack of resort-style amenities with views, walkability, and the closeness to the old town waterfront, Fort Worden grabs your attention with beaches, exploration worthily ruins, awesome walks, and lots of opportunities to get on your bike and check out the local sights.

Point Wilson Lighthouse at Fort Worden (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Wilson_Light)

Port Townsend Marine Science Center in the foreground (ptmsc.org)

During our stay, the Fort Worden State Park was hosting military reenactors ranging from the Revolutionary War to WWII.  They were set up on the Parade Field in front of Officer's Row and at Ash Battery on Artillery Hill.

We rode our bikes to the top of Artillery Hill, explored around, and then coasted down the west side of the hill back to our car parked near the Upper Forest Campground.  While the trip to the top is steep (we walked the bikes for part of it), the coasting down is awesome.

Military hospital reenactors

Civil War reenactors

Free Army truck rides

Battery Benson

Pit 2, west side of Battery Ash

On the path from Battery Ash down to Battery Tolles

On the beach heading to Point Wilson Lighthouse

The beach is a great place to find shells, driftwood, and other flotsam.

Today the auxiliary buildings surrounding the lighthouse are no longer made available for vacation rental.  As a result, they are unfortunately deteriorating due to lack of use and maintenance.

On the north beach near the Beach Campground

Laura Mack

The bluffs of Artillery Hill

The beaches of the state park see a lot of stacked stones.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much

The Art of Wooden Boats

I grabbed my camera and headed over to Boat Haven where I walked the docks and captured some of the beauty expressed in wood.  Many of the boats in the harbor have websites.  For example, the Wells Gray is a 1927 ex-BC Forest Service vessel (www.wells-gray.com).








































Here's a video titled "Sailing Theia in the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Parade":

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVqKnspyGyY

After seeing the Cape Cleare ashore, I got to watch it launched and moved into its berth.  I love the story behind the Cape Cleare fish company (www.capecleare.com) converting this onetime recreational vessel into a sail-based commercial fisherman.

The restoration of Pax is a fascinating story, and one captured in the book "Finding Pax" (www.findingpax.com).

I never get bored looking at the variety of boats in Port Townsend.  Being a haven for wooden boat building and repair, it's not a surprise that the harbors have so many well maintained wooden craft.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much