Port Townsend

Small in size, but big on variety and quality.  Always worth a visit.

Ferries are to a community the way folks think about bridges when you are surrounded by water, they're just part of life in the islands.  On this first day of September, Laura and I decided to head to Port Townsend to enjoy their statewide acknowledged Farmers Market.  Once again, we'd be traveling south across Fidalgo Island, and Whidbey Island to pick up the Keystone ferry at Fort Casey, just south of Coupeville.

Laura checking out the stalls.

We reached the Farmers Market by 11:40 am., and for the next two hours, we managed to entertain ourselves with the music, window shopping nearby shops that turned into buying, exploring locally produced products from meats and cheeses to fruits and vegetables.  The market has a wonderful buzz to it that leaves you with a sense that locals really enjoy what they have created.

Being the end of summer, we saw lots of locally grown tomatoes and peppers.

While the colors of the market are somewhat muted colors due to the gray skies, I could tell the overcast was burning off and we were in store for some sunshine.

Peppers of every heat range.

The Port Townsend Farmers Market has a great balance of crafts, produce, meat & cheeses, wines, food stalls, art, music, and flowers.

Located on Tyler St, between Clay St. and Lawrence St.

Apples.

Carrots.

Crapes from a converted RV trailer.

Much to Laura's delight, the southeast end of the farmers market was anchored by Mo Chilli BBQ.  We enjoyed an awesome standup BBQ lunch, before continuing our stroll around uptown Port Townsend.

The www.mo-chillibbq.com mobile food trailer.

More tomatoes as the sun starts to break through just after noon.

Sunlit flowers on the first day of September.

Bread is one of the downsides of being low-carb.  While I'm not as low-carb as Laura, I've still greatly reduced my intake, and that includes breads.  Most of my bread comes from dining out, and we don't do much of that.

Should have brought a stick of butter.

While she no longer eats them, Laura still loves looking at the bakery goods.

Designed to be towed behind a bicycle.

Fort Worden State Park

Whether it's a day trip or a camping trip, we never miss an opportunity to visit Fort Worden when we are in Port Townsend.  Situated on the shores of Admiralty Inlet and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the park provides breathtaking views, hiking and bicycle trails, and lots of beachcombing.

Looking north into Fort Worden.

The east beach at Fort Worden.

Point Wilson Lighthouse.

By 2:15 pm, we had made our way to Fort Worden, and the beach at the north end.  At low tide, you can walk the shoreline below the bluffs that house the fort's old gun emplacement.

The beach facing the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Point Wilson Lighthouse.

Laura Mack on the beach.

Point Wilson Lighthouse to the left and Battery Kinzie in the center.

Dale Mack at Fort Worden, Port Townsend, WA.

Laura Mack at Point Wilson Lighthouse.

As the clouds burned off, the day just got more beautiful.  The air smelled clean and crisp, and the temperature as very comfortable.

Dale and Laura Mack out and about in Port Townsend, WA.

My postcard shot of Point Wilson Lighthouse.

Port Townsend Boat Haven

A longtime lover of wooden boats, I find the urge to visit the boatyard irresistible when in Port Townsend.  With Laura comfortably situated at Pippa's Tea Shop in downtown, I walked around the yard and docks in search of artworks expressed in wood.

Pacific Pioneer was launched in 1951 as the P&T Pioneer into the service of the mill at Port Gamble.  The vessel was designed by Frank Prothero.  In 2017, the Pacific Pioneer attended the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, and at that time the vessel was undergoing conversion into a cruising tug so that it's owner Robert Grant could enjoy local waters.

The tugboat Pacific Pioneer

S/V Maran Atha of Sitka, Alaska.

Launched in 1981, Nevermore was built by Canadian shipwright Ralph Eastland and his wife Debbie from a set of Smithsonian Institute plans of Howard Chapelle’s Chesapeake Bay schooner “Little Cod.”  Ralph selected wood from Quadra and Vancouver Island, as he constructed the vessel on the shore of British Columbia’s Quadra Island, near the village of Herriot Bay.  For six years the Eastlands raised their two daughters about Nevermore until it became evident that the family needed more room.  Billy Wolf purchased the schooner in 1990, and brought it to Port Townsend in 1993.

S/V Nevermore

Details of Nevermore.

Belaying pins aboard Nevermore.

Meeting Extraordinary People

We ended our day back in old town as we waited for the ferry.  On this evening, Port Townsend was featuring an open house with several of the art galleries stay open after hours.  It was in one of these shops that Laura spied a watercolor of the Port Townsend waterfront that she just had to have. Making the moment even more special was that we got to meet the artist Sandra Smith-Poling.

Sandra has paintings in galleries and private collections worldwide, and now has a studio in Port Townsend.  Her father is the renowned Southern California artist, Craig Smith, who told her the only permanent things in the universe were the arts.  Since graduating from medical school, she has balanced a medical practice while pursuing her interest in painting.

Historic wooden ships are favorite subjects. An avid sailor, she was the artist, doctor and a member of the Youth Adventures sail training crew aboard the 101’ schooner Adventuress in Puget Sound. The Baltic Sea Tall Ship race aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Tall Ship, the barque Eagle was also an inspiration for her paintings. She was the Eagle ship surgeon in 1996 and ship's artist in 1997. Her painting of the Eagle is on display in the officer’s wardroom on board the ship and prints are given to visiting dignitaries on this America’s Ambassador Tall ship.

She retired as a Colonel from the Air Force in August 2009, after serving more than twenty years.  At the time of her retirement, she was the Medical Squadron Commander of the 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron at McChord Air Force Base. As a Flight Surgeon, she had deployed to many parts of the world.

Laura Mack with artist Sandra Smith-Poling.

The art gallery where we met Sandra Smith-Poling.

Walking the waterfront waiting for our ferry departure time.

Magically is the feeling that most expresses the sense of wonder after a visit to Port Townsend.  It had been a busy day filled with walks, food, beautiful scenery, and shops to tempt even the most thrifty amongst us.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much