day two sunday, may 4, 2008
we had another busy day planned and it started early. we'd all slept well, but got ready early, checked out of the hotel and drove back to the Market. our goal was to buy a few things, jump on the ferry and ride over to the olympic peninsula. the skies were clear, dry and blue, with the sun starting to pop out and warm up the day
we split up to conserve time; mona heading into the Market to buy some veggies, fruit and pasta; sherri and I heading for coffee...and we hit the jackpot! we, unknowingly, went into the VERY FIRST STARBUCKS STORE....did you get that? THE VERY FIRST STARBUCKS STORE! I was soooo excited....and the "flying fish" had nothing on this store. after I placed my order, my paper cup was pitched across the store to the barrista, who caught it one-handed and proceeded to fill it with espresso and water...ummmm...fun and yummy
a wonderful cinnamon-bakery smell was wafting down the street as we left Starbucks.....a walk-by introduced us to a "Piroshky Bakery"....russian pastries. it's a flaky wonderful dough, with many different choices as to fillings. we had to go find mona...we'd be back later for our first piroshky
yesterday, we'd spotted a little tiny cafe, called "the three sisters", so that's where we'd decided to go for breakfast...not a great choice...we were starting to feel like our "eat great local food good luck" had run out. I wouldn't recommend this place for my dog! I left most of my food and looked forward to my russian-delight
one last stop in the Market....we couldn't head out to our wilderness cabin without a bouquet of those beautiful flowers...this was the lady who designed our bouquet
we weren't too hungry, so we decided to split one piroshky between the three us and choose an apple (fresh, juicy and tart) and cinnamon one...it was hot from the oven and absolutely wonderful
we were running a little later than we'd hoped, but headed for the ferry docks....and we got there just in time to drive onto the big boat. the crossing to Bremerton took about an hour. the weather was still beautiful, so the the trip over was easy sailing. looking back towards the seattle skyline
sherri doesn't "LOVE" the ferry and has had bad motion sickness issues in the past...she was in her "just survive this trip and get it over" state of mind......but she made it fine and managed to keep down all of her breakfast
mona doesn't like bridges and when sherri, reading the map and ignoring the gps jabbering, told mona she'd have to drive over a floating bridge. mona was a little nervous, so I offered to drive over the bridge for her . with a bold determination and a willing spirit to overcome any size obstacle, she boldly declared that she would take this challenge on herself....(we love it when one of us does that)....about that time we realized this was no scary high arching bridge....but just a simple, not very long, barely above the water bridge. all that bravery and no need for it...but wait...what's that in the middle of the bridge? is it a round-a-bout? well sort of....kind of weird but no big deal after all
the drive over to port townsend was so beautiful. the two lane highway gently rolled up and down, with great views all around of lakes and snow capped mountains
we veered off the highway and drove up towards the mountains on a quiet, deserted little road to the edge of olympic national park. most of the scenery was beautiful, but the clear-cut areas were horrible and looked like giant scars on the sides of the mountains. the drive was an unexpected little adventure and all three of us really enjoyed it.....but the route change made "minne" go nuts...but sherri and I were beginning to feel she had vengence for us in her system anyway...so we turned on the "mute" button...that fixed her!
the drive from the ferry to port townsend took about an hour, but it was worth it...the town is really fun. lots of old buildings, funky shopping, and on the waterfront. it didn't take us long to find a local brewpub, so with our fingers crossed, we headed in for lunch and a beer. it's the "Water Street Brew House and Pub" and it was great. the inside was decorated with a wonderful old bar, a funky stage for live music, a backroom and a back porch near the water. the beer was good and food excellent!
we each ordered a beer, but shared the hummus plate and a tuna nicoise salad...yummy...our good luck was back! the ceiling of this brew pub was filled with waded up dollar bills...I questioned the decor, but sherri, all knowing about brew pubs...educated me on the fine skill of "throwing the bill (with push pin attached) up in the air and watching it stick to the ceiling....way cool I thought...how interesting....could I ever possess such a talent?
the sights of port townsend
the day was really nice...much warmer than yesterday and the sunshine was so bright. .after a lot more shopping and touring the town, we decided to go to "Nifty Fifty" an old fashioned soda shop. it was a riot....took us right back to being 16 again...at least in our minds. we sat at the counter, popping quarters in the table-top juke box, singing and swaying to "Leader of the Pack", "Duke of Earl", "Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Under the Boardwalk" mona passed on the treats but sherri and I excitedly placed and order for a chocolate soda and cherry soda, respectively....they were great!
(but contrary to the rumor going around about me, I can NOT tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue. however, this trip has made me realize that I still have soooo much to learn in life....between learning to throw the dollars bills up high and hard enough to make them stick to a ceiling and this whole stem-into-knot thing with my tongue....I'd better get to studying soon....I don't believe that JCCC has any courses in these subject; these must be what's referred to as an "independent course")
boogying out of the ice cream parlor, we had one more stop to make before leaving for our secluded cabin. a good friend of mona's had told her there was a great natural food store and we needed a few more items for the next three days of cooking and picnicking. the drive was about 2.5 hours to get to the western side of the penninsula...our lodging for the next three nights was in laPush. we all really had enjoyed our time in Seattle, but were ready for the peace and quiet, the national park and surrounding scenery, and of course, as always, the beaches
we'd been on the road for a while, when we came upon the turn off for "Lake Crescent Lodge". This was our first lodging choice, but they close for the winter and wouldn't open until May 10th....we were missing it by just a few days. but we were curious, and for future reference, so we drove off the highway to see the lodge. in just moments, we were in the dark old-growth forests, with long squishy moss hanging from everything....really neat
these are the tiny cabins we would have stayed in if they had been available; the water here is crystal clear; the sun beginning it's evening set with mountains all around
the view of the lodge from the water; a snow capped mountain sets above the lodge; two chilly girls just sitting around
mona saw this unusual "red" tree....anyone know what it is?
we peeked in through the glass on this "enclosed porch" inside the lodge
wildlife....this was another staged marketing ploy by the local convention and visitors bureau...this deer kept strutting back and forth in front of the car like a run-way model...and just like the papparazzi, all three of us just kept clicking the camera over and over
a new addition to my "rear view mirror" photographs
the light of the day was fading and we were excited to get to our little cabin. we made it before the sun totally set and it's a beatiful spot that sits right next to the river. the owner linda and her husband, haven't owned the property long but did do some remodeling. the place got great reviews on TripAdvisor.com, and the owners seem really nice. we visited with linda when we made the inital reservation....she and her husband and been out here on vacation a few years ago, fell in love with the area, and moved out here (see it is possible to start over and follow those dreams!). we instantly fell in love with this cute little place too....the cabin is just perfect....and the biggest hit are the heated floors in the bathroom!
we were ready to be in for the night (there's no place to go around here anyway). mona made sangria and sherri got out the cheese, bread, and hummus for our light dinner; I went to work on this web site
while I messed around on the web site, mona and sherri played "bananagrams"...a new game sherri bought
SHOPPING LOG--FOR DAY TWO
I need to go to "sock-rehab".....the purple pair on the left are mine
the two in the middle are mona's (friends don't let friends wear plain socks)
sherri added to her collection of starbucks mugs, two more postcards and a book that looks wonderful written by the owner of the Piroshky bakery. the book is about his family immigrating to the us....it sounds wonderful and she's offered to let me read it
as I finish up tonight (actually it's about 2:00 am....my fellow travelers are asleep in our cute little wilderness cabin; no one has cell service) and get ready for bed, I'm thinking how special it is have wonderful friends that are flexible travelers too;
friends that always make me laugh;
friends that can take criticism of their new electronic gadgets---over and over;
friends that, in spite of being your good friend, will practically tackle you to beat you to sit in the back seat, so they don't have to deal with "minnie";
friends that will pose and wait for countless photographs to be taken;
and friends that are missed dearly when they're not with you on these so very special trips, but who email you wanting to know all the details anyway.
I'm a very lucky girl