Day 66 - Pendleton OR - 7738 Miles

We've officially started toward home. We're in no hurry so it will take us another two weeks or so. It will probably take Mick and Linda that long to become convinced we are not going to show up at their door in Olympia again. Then their happy dance will begin. These are a couple shots from our last days in Olympia.

Washington State Capital

In a National Forest

In a National Forest

The national forest shots were from High Steel Bridge. It was originally a rail bridge for logging but was converted to part of a logging road. We tried following our GPS to get there but it selected a route through an indian reservation. When they don't want you on their land, they make it very clear so we had to find an alternate route. I'm going to let Garmin know they need to make "avoid indian reservations" an option just like avoiding toll roads or ferries.

Today we headed south to Portland and then turned east along the Columbia River.

Columbia River

It was the usual cool, wet, fir forests you would expect in Oregon or Washington but within 30 miles of taking this picture the trees were nearly gone and the temperature had risen over 20 degrees. It hit 93 during our drive today. I was hoping to delay hitting the 90's for another couple of days but it wasn't to be. Although it will only be a couple of more days until we'll be saying, "Remember when it was only 93."

We're staying in Pendleton for two nights before continuing on.

Hotel View

Day 63 - Olympia WA - 7295 Miles

On Thursday, our last day in Port Angeles, we didn't have any plans so we picked up a Subway sandwich and hiked up to Hurricane Ridge (by car) and had lunch at one of the most perfectly situated picnic tables imaginable. I think the $15 fee for Olympic National park put me over the top for breaking even on my annual park pass.

Friday we drove back to Olympia. We're spending the time here in a hotel under consideration for next summer. It's high priced and not particularly impressive so the likelihood isn't very high. Saturday morning Terry did laundry while I drove back to Port Angeles to pick up the my camera battery and charger that I left at the hotel. Sometimes there's a price to pay for stupidity.

Saturday afternoon we stumbled upon another festival, this time in downtown Olympia. Last weekend was the lavender festival in Sequim. This was slightly different. It was the 10th Annual Hempfest. Hemp seems to attract a slightly different crowd than lavender. Lots of people were offered weed to buy, but for some reason no one approached us. In fact people seemed to avoid us in general. It wasn't age, although the other people our age had a somewhat different look to them. Terry's theory was people were suspicious of her "Jesuit Mom" t-shirt from when Chris was in high school. I did learn 100% feminized marijuana is best, but I don't know why. I also know where to go should I ever need a large assortment of bongs.

We also saw what I can only assume was an upscale food booth. I must be pretty trendy stuff since I can buy a bag of sunflower seeds for a buck, but there were selling five seeds for $50! Also I can buy a whole box of girl scout cookies for $4, but they were selling just three cookies for $50. I can' believe feminized girl scout cookies are that much better.

Day 60 - Port Angeles WA - 6910 Miles

Another sighting that just made me shake my head. These two photos show the actual process for using a particular crosswalk in downtown Port Angeles. Who came up with this idea? Were there public hearings? Did they seek competitive bids for the signs and flags? All that effort and I haven't seen the process followed by anyone. People simply wait for a decent opening and head into the crosswalk. Drivers see people in the crosswalk and stop (as they are required to do by law). It seems to work well.

Crosswalk Flags and Instructions

Detailed Instructions for Crossing the Street

Yesterday we took the ferry to Victoria, BC. It's amazing that such a narrow body of water can be the difference between a dump (Port Angeles) and a beautiful, vibrant city (Victoria). It's kind of like Niagara Falls, Ontario vs Niagara Falls, New York. In any case we spent about 5 hours wandering the harbor area and downtown.

Victoria Harbor

Victoria Harbor Houseboats

The Empress (Hotel) - Circa 1906 (Again, the Hotel)

Empress Hotel

British Columbia Parliament Building

It was pointed out to us when we arrived that Victoria was in the middle of its International Buskers Festival. I had no idea what a busker was, but I'm (almost) always up for a good festival. It turns out a busker is a street performer. You know. The people who, for the most part, range from boring to annoying and then expect you give them money for successfully wasting your time. Since we were there on a Wednesday afternoon rather than the weekend, we were treated to the particularly boring and annoying. We managed to avoid most of them.

We stopped in an Irish pub for a beer and some poutine - my favorite Canadian heart-healthy food. You start with french fries, cover them with cheese and bacon, and then douse the whole thing with brown gravy. I could feel my arteries closing up as I ate.

Poutine

We left a bustling Victoria and after a 90 minute ferry ride returned to a near-deserted Port Angeles. There must be some way to fix that but I'll just add it to the growing list of world problems I'll let someone else deal with.

Day 58 - Port Angeles WA - 6864 Miles

Sometimes you just step in it. On the way to Port Angeles we encountered signs warning of traffic congestion and delays due to crowds at "the event." About 30 miles east of Port Angeles we could see the event. It was the annual lavender festival in Sequim (pronounced SQUIM). Sequim bills itself as the lavender capital of the US. I don't know of anyplace that could challenge their ranking, but since they have made "lavender capital of the US" a registered trademark no other place could use it whether it's true or not. I haven't heard of any legal challenges to the claim so maybe it's true. The festival is billed as the largest lavender event in North America. It's the only one I've ever heard of so I'll take their word for it. It was big, but it was a collection of tents housing the same crafts, bags of soup and salsa mixes, and all the sorts of doodads you see at any street fair. Added to that were food stands, a music stage, and a whole lot of lavender for sale.

 

A lot of the foods used lavender as a seasoning. At a coffee shop I got a lavender latte. Unfortunately I never order lattes so I don't know if it made it taste any different or not. I should have gotten the lavender ice cream. I know what ice cream tastes like.

Lavender Latte

We pulled into Port Angeles and spent about 2 hours walking the town. Before we were done we had already ruled the town out as a summer home. Basically the whole commercial district is a dump. There's just no other way to put it. Limited dining and coffee shop options, not much in the way of shopping. Nothing worth visiting. The only redeeming quality is its proximity to Olympic National Park and the ferry to Victoria, BC. You just can't build the whole summer on that, though.

While here we went into the park and hiked nearly 20 miles up to Hurricane Ridge. About 19 of the miles were from behind the steering wheel of the car, but I still count it. Pretty impressive views.

Mountain (Old) Goats

"Heidi"  Guenther

Day 54 - Olympia WA - 6585 Miles

We finished out our week in Port Townsend. Wednesday we went to Fort Worden, another coastal artillery fortification from around 1900 that was turned into a state park. We were here four years ago and wandered through the whole place without spending a penny. Since then the state of Washington has figured out how to "monetize"  the operation. It is now $10 to enter. We figured that wasn't too bad until we went in to the museum. That turned out to be another $4/person. We were going to tour the camp commander's house, but that was also $4/person. We drew the line at that point. We ended up wandering through the 100 year old gun emplacements instead.

"Officers Row" Across the Parade Grounds

NCO Houses

Gun Emplacements

Gun Emplacements

Thursday we went to the weekly free "Concert on the Dock." I need to insert a little Port Townsend history here. In the early '60s the town was dying fast with its numerous vacant and crumbling Victorian-era homes and commercial buildings. This created the perfect hippie environment. They came in droves filling the cheaply rented space with art studios, alternative medicine, and your assorted craft crap. They stayed and flourished while keeping the town alive. Now in their 60's and 70's, they're still there. That explains all the gray (and blue) haired people around town in sandals carrying backpacks. I can't imagine what kind of stuff they need to carry with them at all times that requires a backpack. It also explains why the weekly free rock concert starts at 4:30 and wraps up by 7:30.

In the first picture notice the white-haired guy dancing in front of the band. I'm guessing it's the same dance he perfected at Woodstock. Possibly the fringed buckskin he is wearing was there with him.

Also notice the amount of gray hair in the crowd. I'm sure they are all "rockers" but I'm not sure which interpretation of the word applies.

We made it back to Olympia today. It turns out Mick and Linda have developed a new method to deal with our ongoing intrusion. They packed up the horses and left town before we got here. Gus went to Chicago. Only Maggie remains to endure us, but we shall not be deterred. Sunday we head to Port Angeles for our final stop in our search for a northern summer home.

Day 51 - Port Townsend WA - 6464 Miles

Not many new miles. They beauty of Port Townsend is you don't need to drive a lot.

Yesterday we determined Port Townsend isn't the place we'll be spending summers. It's not that the location is undesirable. The problem is they know how desirable it is. There are plenty of places that rent short term, both in hotels and private rentals. Unfortunately (for us) the demand is so high they have no interest in discounting their rates for someone looking for a place for the entire season. The weather is possibly the best in the state, the town is small and compact making it very walkable, there are places to go for day trips by car or ferry, but they recognize they need to make the bulk of their income in three months. We'll spend the rest of our time here simply enjoying the area.

We've been able to watch the submarine races from our balcony.

Today we took the ferry to Whidbey Island. The plan was to just take the ride over and take the next ferry back since the ferry doesn't dock anywhere near a town. As it turned out it does dock next to a state park that was once a fort from the early 1900's. It was a part of the coastal artillery network set up to protect from attack. As a result we spent several hours on the island.

Port Townsend from the Ferry

Mountains Beyond Port Townsend

Coastal Battery at Fort Casey State Park

Ghost of a Coast Watcher

Lighthouse at Fort Casey State Park

While walking to the park from the ferry I saw a bald eagle soar over us and into the trees. When we got into the trees I spotted the nest with an adult and two juvenile eagles. OK, I didn't really spot the nest. I spotted two locals pointing and looking up at a specific tree. I asked what we were missing and they pointed out the nest. They had been coming by on a near daily basis since the young ones were eggs. The babies were now flapping their wings and about ready to leave the nest. You'll need to use your imagination to fill in the blanks and make out the birds, but they are there.

Eagle flapping it's wings (just above and to the right of center.)

Eagle perched on the edge of the nest (just above the center of the picture.)

Day 49 - Port Townsend WA - 6457 Miles

We spent the weekend in Olympia again testing the limits of in-law hospitality. We haven't been thrown out yet, but they have to be getting close. Today we drove north along the Hood Canal and on into Port Townsend. The town has an interesting history. In the 1880's Port Townsend was a busy shipping port poised to become the primary port of the northwest. In the late 1880's the town underwent a downtown building spree resulting in a Victorian business district about the size of Seattle at the time. A rail terminal was coming to town sealing its dominance in area shipping. In the 1890's the US was in a depression, the rail line stopped at Seattle, and the rest is history. The result is a small town with a good-sized downtown of large, underutilized Victorian buildings.

The town has reinvented itself as a tourist draw with its boutiques, galleries, restaurants, coffee shops, and a variety of summer events. Coming in on a Sunday afternoon, the town was packed. I'm hoping things thin out to a level more to my liking during the week.

View From Our Room

Tomorrow we start our search for a place in the area for next summer.

Day 46 - Ocean Shores - 6245 Miles

Today was a day of simple pleasures. We finished checking out places here for next summer so we had nothing pressing on the agenda. We started by buying breakfast and parking on the beach to eat and watch the waves roll in.

We followed that up with a trip to the local Indian casino. Unlike the one near Olympia, this casino was fairly similar to a Las Vegas casino. You could actually play for a significant amount of time before losing your money. Also on the two days we visited I only saw one walker and no oxygen tanks. After we collectively spent 3-4 hours on machines, we walked away with a $2 profit - enough for a 20oz Diet Pepsi and fifty cents in my pocket.

I forgot to mention that yesterday we stopped in a candy store that carried all your old-time favorite brands I didn't know still existed. It took me back to my days in elementary school when, on the way home, I would stop at Elsie's Variety store where I would spend 15 minutes making candy selections to maximize the flavor sensation I could create with my nickle. In this store my best find was candy cigarettes. I hadn't seen these in decades. The clerk said they were still good despite now being politically incorrect. They also had bubble gum cigars to top off the effect.

Spokesmodel

We then drove a little way up the coast to drive onto another beach.

 

On drives like this I enjoy spending a little time in the small towns to get a sense of local life. We were able to stop in two towns. One was Pacific Beach. In it's heyday the economy was powered by lumber and a naval base. The base is gone and lumber is weak so they are trying to survive on tourism. Much of the former base housing has been converted to vacation rentals. Survival still seems tenuous. We heard the story from the woman behind the counter at Emily's, a place we stopped at for coffee and a cookie. Emily's was also the local post office and served as the Farmer's Insurance office. Much of your life could be handled within the four walls of Emily's.

The second town was Seabrook. It can only be described as upscale creepy. It was established on the coast in 2004 as a master-planned community. I'm not sure who the master is. It came across as a mix between a New England village, Stepford (of wives fame), and the village from The Prisoner, a 60's spy TV show. The whole thing seemed like a movie where, as the viewer, you're trying to figure out why it is taking the stars so long to figure out the whole thing is a front being run by a cult leader, or the devil, or an alien. We passed an area that was obviously a children's playground. Despite this, they felt the need to hang a simple sign on the fence with 3' letters saying "PLAY." It was more of a command than an invitation. We passed a dog park with a similar sign saying "WOOF." The last few minutes we were followed by a guy in a golf cart and a walkie-talkie. Coincidence? Maybe, but as we drove away I kept checking the mirror to see if we were being followed by a black Escalade with blacked-out windows. I never saw one.

We finished off the day driving back onto the beach to watch the sunset.

 

 

Tomorrow we head back to Mick and Linda's house in Olympia, whether they like it or not.