While out with friends on Whidbey Island one evening, I talked to a lady who had never been to Port Townsend. I was somewhat surprised but my initial thought was that maybe she hadn’t lived on the island for long. After all, Port Townsend is just a 35 minute ferry ride from Coupeville, which lies at about the island’s midpoint. And given that Port Townsend is the gateway to the Olympic Peninsula for folks on the island, I kinda figured that alone meant at least a pass through visit was the norm for folks here. To say I was astounded when she told me she grew up in Oak Harbor, about 15 minutes north of the ferry, would be an understatement. It can’t be just me that feels the pull of the open road, the need to see what’s lies over the water or the hill or the mountain???
I thought of her the next day as we were making a day trip to Port Townsend, something we do whenever we get the chance. It’s just a perfect destination for a day out. and our petsitting buddy was happy to go for a ride – in his favorite spot on my lap.
As I said, the ferry is about 35 minutes and normally there are two ferries heading back and forth. If you want to walk on the ferry, just arrive a little before the ferry is supposed to leave and you’re good. But if you’re driving, it has gotten a little more congested, reservations are now recommended and need to be made more than two hours ahead of time, and they want you checked in at least 30 minutes ahead.
Leaving from the Coupeville side, the Keystone ferry as it’s called, you can spend your waiting time walking the small beach nearby or just watching the people come and go.
Once on the ferry, you can ride in your vehicle or head upstairs with the walk on passengers. There’s a good view from the upper deck and there is our traditional cup of Ivar’s clam chowder waiting. Really, we’ve been sharing a cup of chowder on most ferry rides since we before we were married oh so long ago.
The Port Townsend ferry terminal is a just a couple blocks from the downtown area so it’s walkable or there is a shuttle. Once there, you’ll see so many beautiful older buildings, well preserved and filled with shops and restaurants.
Since we were house/pet sitting, we took our buddy for a walk first and found that Port Townsend is quite dog friendly – every few stores there would be a bowl of water waiting for the thirsty pooches.
Some of our stops this trip included:
The Clothes Horse – a lovely women’s clothing shop where I’m always sure to find something I must have.
Tickled Pink – filled with unique gift and home items with just enough nautical/coastal items mixed in to keep hubby coming back.
The Spice and Tea Exchange – full of the good smell of tea and spice. We usually pick up a bit of Earl Grey tea and find some new spice blend we have to try. And of course, there are the refills of some of our favorites – flavored sugars and salts for baking and popcorn seasonings to name a few.
Lively Olive Tasting Bar – right next to the Spice and Tea Exchange, this shop was new to us and had a great selection of oils and vinegars to restock my dwindling collection at home. I will admit a couple new items made their way into my cart – the dark cherry balsamic was particularly enticing.
Conservatory Coastal Home – great selection of home décor items from rugs to bits of furniture to a great bag for the beach.
These are just a few of the places we stopped into this visit but there are so many more shops and galleries to visit and this just the downtown portion of Port Townsend. We headed back to give our charge another walk, thinking he’d be glad to get out of the truck. Turns out he was just as happy snoozing but was coaxed out for a stroll before settling back in for another nap.
It was a warm fall day so all this wandering was making us thirsty and we found just the place – Port Townsend Vineyards Tasting Room. We didn’t remember this place from earlier visits – come to find out, they’d opened just a few weeks earlier, a sister to their tasting room farther out of town. Their space is beautiful with high ceilings and brickwork. They serve wine by the bottle, the glass or as a tasting which is what we opted for. It wasn’t too long before we had a couple bottles to add to our collection and a bottle of their Discovery Red, a mixed varietal they don’t bottle but rather dispense from a tap in their tasting rooms into your glass or into a bottle to go. We were also armed with information on Girl’s Night Out happening the following Thursday where businesses have snacks and beverages to tempt folks into their stores for shopping. How I wish my girl tribe was here – they would love that!
After a lovely tasting and some conversation, we were feeling peckish (isn’t that a great word??) and headed back out to the sidewalk. We were immediately distracted by Jane Dough, a lovely little bakery, ice cream, and tea shop. While we weren’t up for afternoon tea, we did try some shortbread and tarts, the second being made from the owner’s grandmother’s recipe. Both were excellent and a box of assorted shortbreads and tarts quickly joined the wine in our growing armful of shopping bags. We would have returned here for ice cream but they close at 5pm.
We’ve enjoyed many a meal in Port Townsend and were about to return to one of our usual haunts but a quick Yelp search turned up Alchemy, a Mediterranean bistro a block off of Water Street next to the mermaid fountain. We sat in the bar and were thumbing through the wine and cocktail menu when I spied a Ramos Gin Fizz. This older cocktail is a favorite of ours and it is rare to find them, likely because they take a little bit of mixology. We ordered two and were delighted!
They have a good selection of small plates and entrees and I had trouble deciding if I wanted a half Croque Monsieur and salad, the daily Risotto, or Paella. But then I spied the Duck served in a fruity gastrique. Hubby had no trouble immediately settling on Lapin Ivre – Drunken Rabbit in a fabulous sauce. Both were wonderful but we agreed we needed a bit of red wine to go with them so we chatted with the bartendress who said she would make us a Sommeliers Choice flight to share. She took care to match the three wines to our meals and the result was outstanding.
After our meal, we hustled back to the truck and down to the ferry terminal just in time to make the 30 minute cutoff for the 6:45 ferry. The sun was just setting and the sailboats in the calm water looked absolutely lovely as we walked the dog and waited for our turn to head back across the water.
A side note…..
If you are a fan of the movie, An Office and a Gentlemen, you may or may not know that much of it was filmed in Port Townsend, much of it at nearby Fort Worden, where you can book a room in one of the officers quarters. You can also visit the Tides Inn where they’ve marked the hotel room used in the movie and you can stay there if you wish.
There are many great places to stay in Port Townsend. On another trip, we stayed at the Swan Hotel at the end of town near the boat harbor. They have both a three story small hotel as well as cute little cabins, our choice for that particular trip.
Our morning meal at the Point Hudson Cafe was amazing – they are just up from the Swan in the harbor area.
And if you’re looking for something other than town wandering to keep you busy, the beach past Fort Worden is absolutely beautiful, complete with a lighthouse. Or you can make the long hike to Seaglass Beach to find some treasures but beware – you need to start this hike on a low tide early in the day as it’s a long one and of course you’ll want time to find treasures.
All in all, Port Townsend has earned a spot in our regular travel wanderings and rightly so. I’m certain we’ll be returning in the not to distant future.
And a final postscript….this little guy passed on earlier this year. We consider ourselves lucky to have been able to be his “second parents” and miss his smooshy little face!
Alaskan RED 