Port Townsend and heading back east

Up early again on Tuesday, as we had some mileage to cover and a few sights to see.  Utilized the dump station at sol duc before driving over to Lake Crescent to enjoy coffee and breakfast with a view.

Afterwards we drove east along the 101 towards Port Townsend.  Arrived around lunchtime and had a few spots picked out to visit.  First stop was a farm stand for some fresh veggies.  Noticed a taco truck on the corner, so we enjoyed a lunch first.  We split a bean burrito and fish burrito, with enough leftover for another serving tomorrow.  Satiated, we walked to the farm stand.  Not a lot to choose from, but picked up some nice looking salad mix and mini potatoes.  It’s a honesty box, where you pay on your own.  Hadn’t seen one of those since we were in New Zealand.

Next stop was a parking lot near the waterfront, where we could unload the bikes to explore downtown area further.  Lots of little shops in the waterfront area utilizing the buildings with cool, old architecture.  Meandered down to the point to see Puget Sound and the San Juan islands.  Checked that the water was still frigid and watched some passing sailboats.

Mount Baker in the background

Clouds had moved in a bit, making it muggy and warm but never rained on us.  Walked then biked back towards the trailer.  Stopping along the way at a local co-op grocery store.  Final stop was at a seafood market, but noticed a brewery across the street.  Hard to pass up a cold one on a warm afternoon.  Bartender also recommended the same seafood market, which we visited after our brews.  Nice store and we picked up a bunch of local delights: bacon, smoked oysters, grass-fed ground beef and the best looking piece of sockeye salmon which I have ever gazed upon. 

12 beers in the full flight sampler

Got to be around 4:30, so we rode back to the trailer to store our foodstuffs and pack up the bikes.  Had booked us on the 5:15 ferry across the sound to Whidbey Island.  Decided it would be more economical and a lot more fun to travel that way, rather than driving down to Seattle, then back up to cascades park.  About 40 boats stacked up in one area, assume they were onto some salmon in that spot.

Front row seating for the ferry ride!

Land Ho!

Arrived on the island about 6pm, still having another couple hours of driving to get into the cascades park.  Said our goodbyes to the ocean, which we won’t see again for a couple months..

Finally ran into some rain on the way into the mountains.  First rain we have seen in a few weeks.  Pulled into the Newhalem campground around 9pm.  Plenty of spots to be had and found an easy pull-thru that was nicely level.  Enjoyed a most delicious dinner of a salad, smoked oysters with crackers and the main course of salmon and potatoes.  We both agreed it was likely the best salmon we ever had.  Excited to check out the park the next 2 days…