Washington Part 2

August 2024

Back in 2019, Aunt Trudy and I did a month long road trip from Texas to San Diego and back to Kansas hitting 22 national and state parks. Epic. 

She’d been to all those places before so we have a pretty good arrangement: she drives while I work and we stop at all the parks. And churches.

Back then I posted the trip on Facebook and she wouldn't let me take her picture. I'm in luck this time around. Since there are fewer folks following me here, she was onboard for selfies!

Whidbey Island

From Seattle, we ferried to Whidbey Island. The island has cute shops on one end and Fort Casey on the other. 

The lobster roll and carrot cake at Saltwater Cafe is highly recommended. The chef didn’t skimp on the chunks of real lobster. The carrot cake had candied ginger in it. A delightful spicy surprise!

I’ll let you read about Fort Casey here. The main thing to know about it are the disappearing guns (pictured above). These kept our harbors safe during the early days and were state of the art technology back then!

We also toured the historic lighthouse. No longer operable but it was like stepping back in time walking through the doors.

Another ferry takes us to…

Port Townsend 

Ok so I should come up with a rating system for historic towns:

1=drive by as fast as you can

2=Stay forever

This place is a 7.7

Stay for a bit. This is based on a 16 hour impression which came from a trusted recommendation which probably brings it up to an 8.

You do the math.

The downtown buildings are so cool. Old architecture from back when true artisans built the town. And the docks have a dinosaur!

Ok, so it’s actually whale bones. Why do some things look so cool as a skeleton?

We ate at Alchemy. If you visit, look for accommodations close to here. It’s downtown by all the activities! Our hotel was further away and shan’t discuss.

The fire bell tower was cool. Read the photo for history!

Also pictured, some guy on a paddle board. It looks so serene with the still water. The temps were below what I'm willing to take a plunge for, but he was fun to watch for a bit.

Wildlife in town cracks me up. There were deer everywhere!

Hurricane Ridge

This is the park that set us on this route instead of basically going straight to Oregon from Seattle.

It’s about a 30 min drive from Port Angeles then a 30-45min hike depending on how fast you walk. Even though we drove to the top, the hike has an elevation increase so be ready. It was cool to literally drive above the clouds!

I packed for "normal" summer weather. A few jackets and lots of shorts. Incase you’re as clueless as me, The Pacific Coast summers are not like Midwest summers. It’s chilly and humid. That day I layered up in both jackets. I'm not know for setting fashion trends, but I kinda think this one could catch on. Yes?

Sekiu, WA

We found this tiny house outside of Sekiu in northeast Washington right on the water. The patio fire pit was a hit and made for a pleasant happy hour and supper. We strolled down to the beach in the evening. The fog had lifted a bit by then and we could see the outline of Canada across the bay!

Wendell: book this place!!! (You'll learn about Wendell when I get back to Colorado.)

There were dead crabs along the shoreline. Odd. Google is always at the ready to help solve a mystery though! The ocean is low on oxygen which kills the crabs. 🤷🏻‍♀️

There was a seal playing around. See his head? He popped up occasionally to say hello.

A river met the bay and since I was in flip flops I tested out the water temp. The bay is much colder than the river!

The slug was just off our step. I’m still disgusted. Could’ve gone my whole life not knowing I stepped over him but Auntie Trudy had to point him out.

Hear that foghorn blow!

I woke up to foghorns from the boats in the bay. Not in a bad way. More in a glad-I’m-not-on-that-boat-unable-to-see kind of way.

Sunrise on the water. Sigh…

The tide was low and we walked out on sand where the seal was playing the night before!

Forks, WA

No vampire sightings. (This is where Twilight was based. )

(Twilight is a teen romance with vampires.)

(#teamjacob)

St. Anne Catholic Church was our main stop here. They had a noon mass we planned for and got a wonderful gift of adoration and confession immediately following. 

A monstrance resembles a lighthouse glass. Coincidence? 😉

Checkout the architecture! Ruth (a local parishioner) gave me a brief history. A priest painted the huge icon of Jesus that hangs above the tabernacle (middle pic). In the 1960s, a parishioner’s son was into architecture and designed the parish. I wasn’t clear on if it was specifically for the painting so my version of the story is that yes, the church building was designed around the portrait. 

Then we had fry bread with pulled pork and homemade slaw. It was delicious. Make a note to try recreating it. Stop at Longhouse Cafe to try it yourself.

The owner was invited last minute to fill in at an event if he could cook fry bread. He hadn't made it before. He bought a bunch of flour and tested out recipes until he found the one he liked. Now he has a restaurant and it sounds like a food truck!

Heading south, I'm driving and aunt Trudy is looking at the map pointing out different sites. This led us to...

World's Record Sitka Spruce by Lake Quinault.

Next time around, I'd look for a place to stay on the lake. It's very peaceful here. The lodge we popped into reminds me of something from a 1960s movie where families go to a lake resort for the summer.

Ocean Shores

I’m in charge of finding accommodations and thought it would be fun for a themed Airbnb. #fail

I was thinking mid-evil and it was more dungeons and dragons. And this no AC thing is an issue for second floor bedrooms! Shortly after checkin, I messaged our hosts and they let us cancel. We found a lovely little motel down the street instead. It’s been recently remodeled. Thank You, Lord.

Driving on the beach is a first. I don’t have 4 wheel drive so gotta be careful!

And there were more dead crabs. 😟

It’s nice to be on an ocean again. There’s something about hearing the waves that’s calming.

Aberdeen

So we were warned ahead of time that Aberdeen, WA wasn't a good place to spend the night. They do have a Catholic Church though and we were both craving some time with Him.

Sadly, the churches all along the coast stay locked unless there's mass going on. I called ahead and the lady in the office was kind enough to let us in to pray the rosary.

There was a Fatima statue (the white ones with the 3 children) in the courtyard so I knew it was a good sign. We were supposed to stop here. The statue of Mary inside the church caught my eye. It might be one of my favorite images of her.

The town of Aberdeen leaves much to be desired. I wouldn’t walk around by myself here.

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Museum

The last stop in Washington on Cape Disappointment! The museum is built on an old fort with views of the Columbia merging with the Pacific.

The most interesting things to me:

-they started the journey in nice clothes and ended it in leather

-they ate dogs to survive

-they buried caches of food and goods along their route AND it was still there for the return journey!