We get an early start today. We are traveling across the top of the Olympic Peninsula to Port Townsend and catching a ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island. First business first, though, is a stop at Mary Clark Rd. with a picture of the aforementioned Mary Clark (now Mary Pilat.) We have no idea who this Mary Clark was but we found this road on our last trip up here and it deserves and updated picture.
The trip along the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula is beautiful with tall trees and sparkling lakes. We arrive at Port Townsend shortly before lunch. We stop at the Visitor’s Center and get another fistful of brochures and maps listing the sights in and around Port Townsend. It seems that most of Port Townsend was originally built around 1890 in the Victorian style. We have a map now describing the most interesting of these structures.
The lady at the Visitor’s Center recommends Doc’s for lunch. It is right on the water.
John has a Port Townsend Stout and we both have salads plus clams and mussels in a white wine sauce. The downside is that there is way too much garlic in the dish but otherwise the shellfish is nicely cooked and delicious.
We have some time to kill before our ferry reservation at 2:45 PM. It’s a good thing that I looked to see whether you needed a reservation because many of the crossings are sold out. In the meantime we look around Port Townsend and take a trip out to Fort Worden to see the lighthouse.
Finally it is time to drive onto the ferry. It is a beautiful day to make the crossing so we sit on the sun deck to enjoy it.
On the other side is Whidbey Island and the land is used for farming. We see lots of signs for blueberries. We are driving from island to island now and there is spectacular scenery at Deception Pass. A group of sailors led by Joseph Whidbey, part of the Vancouver Expedition, found and mapped Deception Pass on June 7, 1792. George Vancouver gave it the name “Deception” because it had misled him into thinking Whidbey Island was a peninsula. (Wikipedia)
We are headed to the Channel Lodge and after a long day’s worth of driving what could be better than having our intrepid GPS, Jack, take us to the wrong place by about 12 miles. But ultimately we find our way and check into the okay but expensive Channel Lodge in La Conner, Washington. The place could do with a facelift.
We wander around downtown a bit and have dinner at Nell Thorn. I have an excellent salad and some calamari which are only rings, no tentacles. John has fried oysters.
Our evening ends with some walking and a friendly encounter with some other tourists.
