Karen did some online research and found us the perfect local breakfast spot: The Spruce Goose Cafe, at Jefferson County International Airport. Located just south of Port Townsend, the airfield caters to small planes, and the cafe serves as a fueling station for hungry pilots. On a Saturday morning, it was a busy place with customers flying and driving in to grab a bite to eat. The food was great and the price was right.
Every Saturday morning, April through October, Port Townsend has a farmer’s market in the historic uptown section of town. Perched on top of a hill overlooking Port Townsend Bay, in a neighborhood full of old Victorian-era homes, it’s a friendly affair. The stalls were full of outstanding produce brought in from farms located a few miles south of town. Karen was quite impressed by the vivid colors of the vegetables. We bought some homemade cookies and hopped back in the car to see Fort Worden Historic State Park.
Fort Worden sits at the top of what’s called the Quimper Peninsula in Port Townsend. It was built as an Army artillery base back at the beginning of the 20th century to serve as protection from any hostile enemy naval attack via the Strait of Juan de Fuca into Puget Sound. It’s now a Washington State Park, with hiking and biking trails that traverse the grounds.
We walked along the beaches, watched sea lions cavorting just offshore, saw the historic Point Wilson lighthouse, and climbed on the remains of the huge concrete gun emplacements and bunkers that still exist up on the bluffs.
The state parks require day use fees of $10. We bought an annual pass for $30 since we expect to visit several more state parks during our trip. With that in mind, we headed west over to Indian Island and Marrowstone Island to visit a couple more state parks.
Fort Flagler State Park, like Fort Worden, was an early 20th century artillery base designed to work in concert with Fort Worden to protect against enemy invasion. Located at the far northern tip of Marrowstone Island, it’s now a destination for campers, hikers and bikers. It also uses the old military buildings for vacation rentals and business conferences. Wildlife freely roams the grounds.
We also stopped briefly at Mystery Bay State Park on Indian Island. This is a quiet little inlet that seems popular with kayakers and small boats.
Passing back through Port Hadlock, we saw a promising burger joint, but it was too late in the day for lunch. We stopped at a local grocery store to get stuff for picnic lunches, and went across the street to an equipment rental/Stihl Tool retailer/sporting goods shop to get a styrofoam cooler to store our road trip snacks.
For dinner, Karen found us a local eatery in the Port Hadlock marina. The Ajax Cafe supposedly had a reputation as a rowdy hangout in the pre-COVID days. We found it to now be a quiet place. The vibe was sort of mild-hipster-meets-old-hippie-parental-types-for-al fresco dining. It was a nice way to wind down after a day in the fresh northwest air.
Having seen ‘Finnriver Cider’ for sale at the farmer’s market, and after having a bottle of it with dinner, I had to see if I could get some to have on hand for our next couple of weeks of travel. As it turns out, the cidery was located less than 2 miles away in nearby Chimacum.
We got there and showed our proof of vaccination and identification (all the bars and restaurants up here require this for admitance to indoor dining) and reviewed the sizeable collection of ciders that are made on site. The place was hopping tonight with lots of people dining, and families with small children running around the sprawling cider gardens. Now we have a supply of cider (Black Currant, Ginger, and Black Currant/Lavender) to keep in our mobile cooler for evening refreshments.
Our route back to Port Ludlow tonight took us along Egg and I Road for several miles. For those of you old enough to remember (or, for those of you who like to watch old-time movies) you may remember Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert in the movie loosely based on a memoir by Betty MacDonald. MacDonald based her book on her experiences living on a chicken farm in Chimacum. The book and film also led to the spin-off series of Ma and Pa Kettle movies. There’s nothing like country living!
NEXT: Port Angeles and Introduction to Olympic National Park
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