Fort Worden and Port Townsend

  Port Townsend   and Worden

 

Fort Worden became an alternate home for us between stays at Fort Flagler.  At Flagler we look directly across the bay at Port Townsend.  Fort Worden provides the eastern boundary for Port Townsend.  The Fort Worden light house sits on a point of land where Puget Sound flows into San Juan Straits. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruise ships dwarf the lighthouse as they turn toward the ocean. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three cruise ships headed out to sea, one behind the other.

 

 

 

 

 

This ship is called the Norwegian Jewel of the Norwegian Cruise Line. With its colorful decorations we at first thought it was from the Carnival Cruise Line. 

 

Like the trio of forts designed to protect the entrance to Puget Sound, Fort Worden includes trails, bunkers, campgrounds, and its row of officer housing that can be rented.   A marine center and small museum can be found at the beach campground.

 

 

 

 

 Fort Worden also serves as a conference center with several barracks to house conference attendees.

 

 

I appreciate this sign that reminds people to leave baby seals alone.

 

 Kayaks can be rented down by the beach.   While here, the wooden kayak group was gathering for a rendezvous.

 

Fill in the blanks on the sign. I obviously missed it when driving by. Or Derrille didn't slow down enough.  :)

 

This barge stirred our curiosity.  We’d never seen anything quite like this before.  It turned out to be a load of logs heading south toward Seattle. A plethora of seagulls were hitching a ride along with it.

 

Port Townsend offers travelers a quaint destination.  Tours of Victorian homes happen at times throughout the year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The downtown area maintains much of its original look with upscale shops and eateries. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm usually more selective about what I put in the blog....but I thought each of these photos were interesting.  They give you a feel of downtown Port Townsend.

 

We went into town for ice cream one Friday night to find this little town bustling with activity.  Finding a parking place presented a difficult task. 

 

Some people strolled leisurely along the streets.  Other people paused to look out over the water as ferry boats came and went.  People milled around bistro doors listening to the entertainment inside.  Laughter and happy murmurs floated down the streets.

 

An aura of peace and serenity filled the air.  What a great little experience!

 

 Here are a couple of unrelated items....back at Fort Flagler.....a few things that caught my eye as interesting:

 

 

This guy gives people rides around the park on this carriage affair.

 

   This Navy ship caught our interest. We hadn't seen anything like this come through here before. Derrille looked it up. This is the Richard Bird, a dry cargo supply ship.  Hmmm








Check out this trailer with a pop-out at each end.

                                          Then we had the "covered wagon" across the street.                                

 

 Check out these technologically advanced stilts!











This is the last blog before I get my new right shoulder tomorrow.  See you when I get clearance to use my arm for keyboarding.
 

Rest-a-While RV

Rest-a-While RV


Just north of sleepy Hoodsport Washington on the part of Highway 101 that runs north along the west shore of Hood Canal the Rest-A-While RV parks straddles the highway. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had passed by on several trips between Pacific Beach WA and Fort Flagler.  This year we booked a week’s stay.  We passed by again moving to Flagler the first time.  Boy, were we surprised it was located so far to the south.

 

The beach side of the park resembles a parking lot in width size, but the view is worth it.  We also lucked out with an empty site to our left and Lynn and Jay to the right.   

Our site positioned us directly in front of the short flight of stairs down to the beach.  

Behind us Highway 101 zipped by at a shoulder’s width from the white line missing our car parked in back.

A paved boardwalk ran along the beach bulkhead in front of us.  Planters, lights, and a strip of grass made for pleasant views.  Many an afternoon was spent lounging in the sun.

 

The tide flowed in and covered the greenery and the rocky beach.

One day as we sat out enjoying the unusually great weather this eagle flew right over the top of us. Look what photo I captured!  Then he/she went to sit in the tree for a while.

 

 

The seagulls seemed to enjoy perching on the old pilings at the south end of the park.

While watching the incoming tide we noticed air bubbles popping up from under the floor of the beach.  Underground springs must enter the beach here.

This small white jellyfish shows up all around Puget Sound beaches.

 

However, this large flat jellyfish that appears to painted in a Native American design remains new to me. 

 

It appears to be the size of a medium pizza.  I took this shot to help compare its size to the common white jellyfish. I tried looking it up, but was unsuccessful in finding it.

 

 

The full moon rose over Kitsap Peninsula during our stay. The moonbeams on the water fascinate the watcher…..maybe where “moonstruck” comes from.

 

We took a short day trip into Olympic National Park.  The road went to Staircase, which was a hike in only place during Derrille’s youth.   Part way up there the road went to gravel and we turned around. This viewpoint overlooks Lake Cushman and ranks as one of those moments that take your breath away.  This is why I need to return to the Northwest to get my “fix” of mountains, water and the tall evergreens.   We drank in the beauty before returning back down the mountain to the canal.

 

Even from this height, small cabins and docks peeked through the foliage.

 

Cell phone and computer connections couldn’t be trusted.  We went in to Hoodsport 6 miles away to communicate with others.  Texts seem to work.  Also the Tides restaurant across the street provided a very tasty fare.   Although we didn’t try it a BBQ hut on the resort grounds, gave off a tantalizing aroma.    We may return at another time to Rest-a-While along Hood Canal.