Port Townsend - Second Visit

For Spring Break I didn't want to do a big trip that left me exhausted heading back into school, so instead I requested a day trip to Port Townsend and then the boys planned their own separate trip while I stayed home alone for a bit! :)

We've been to Port Townsend as a family before, but I wanted to go back and do the full Sea Glass beach trail to make it to the spot that has the best sea glass selection. 

We turned it into a two day trip and stayed at a really fun (and inexpensive) historic hotel. Day one included exploring the hotel, spending time at Fort Warden, and having dinner at a cool Scottish pub!

I  highly recommend spending time at Fort Warden- it's huge, lots to explore and we had fun seeing the sea otters!

and eagles!

You can walk around the old bunkers with spots for turret guns and prisons and creepy dark corridors

Here's my dish from Tommyknocker's, a skillet mac n' cheese. Alex got a cornish pasty and tried scotch eggs for the first time. It was all SOO good!

The hotel we stayed at is called The Palace Hotel. It's right on the main street of Port Townsend and it has uniquely decorated rooms, as in, each one is a little bit different. Some even have lofts and multiple levels. It was originally built in 1889 and still features some original decor and of course, modern updates. The one downside is NO elevators, so lots of windy stairs to get to your room :)

Little library nook off one of the set of stairs

Lobby

Yes, I played it

After a day of driving, touring Fort Warden and the town of Port Townsend we got some sleep and got ready to hit the beach the next day. 

We timed our visit to Port Townsend so that would could take advantage of favorable tide times. Your start at the North Beach Trailhead, pass the 'end of the world' lookout point (not a way down to the beach!) and then keep going until you get to the bend. This walk in the video below isn't always accessible if you visit at high tide. Folks often get stuck out too far and can't get back safely. It's 2 miles out, two miles back... rocky beach all the way. Some times little pebbles under your feet, other times large boulders!

BUT when you plan it right, then you have a lovely, long walk on the beach and plentiful opportunities to find sea glass! The way the land comes to a point after that two miles is a great collection point for items that have turned into sea glass since it was a common dumping ground between 1905-1967. 

Apparently when you come across this car axle you know you're getting close to 'the spot'

We spent A LOT of time digging through rocks to find our own personal hauls of sea glass. White is the most common, then brown, then green and then blue, especially cobalt blue is the hardest to find. You can sometimes even find worn down pottery as well. 

If you make the visit to Port townsend you can find sea glass by just starting at the trail head and walking around that first beach area. However, the further you go, the more you'll find, and the bigger the pieces you'll find. I watched some videos and at times folks really finds some decent pieces. We took all of ours home, but thought we'd find some bigger pieces than we did. Still totally worth it :)

Here's what we found, sorted by person. We rinsed them all off and then coated them in coconut oil to keep them translucent and smooth, like when they're wet.

Then we sorted them by color into these cool bottles we found at an antique store in Port Townsend on our last trip there! The first multi-colored bottle are our favorites and the last bottle are just cool rocks and pottery we found.

A hike and our furry friend

As winter was ending we were ready to start getting out and exploring a bit more. Dan showed us a trail he'd done with his unit called the Sequalitchew Creek Trail. It's not terribly long, but it is unique in the fact that it is all downhill until you reach the beach, which means it's all uphill on the way back! Slow and steady, lol.

Right before you reach the beach you have to pass through a tunnel with an old train track, so we snapped a fun picture :)

Secondly I just wanted to share a bunch of random cat pictures we take when he's doing weird cat things. Apollo is now a outdoor/indoor cat and it seems to have calmed his crazy tendencies a bit!

This is our neighbor's cat, Kona. They play all the time, but we caught them playing at the door

Animals and laundry, am i right?

We still very much miss Carson, but we do love our Kibby :)