I am not so naive as to think my love affair with Port Townsend wasn’t tinted through sky-blue glasses. The weather was nothing short of perfect by my standards. Waking up to chilly mornings under the down comforter, looking out across the Sound blanketed in a soft, willowy layer of fog. Long before the alarm starts to shriek, I am awakened by the haunting sound of laughing gulls echoing across the Point. By noon, the sun is out with rarely a cloud in the sky, warming me up to “short pants weather.” Then as the light starts to slant toward horizontal, lighting up the beautiful Victorian buildings, the evenings turn to sweater weather. How could it get any better?
Victorian era architecture has tugged at my heartstrings since I was a young girl doing volunteer work as a docent dressed in period costume for the local summer “Gingerbread Trail.” Port Townsend enjoyed a heyday back in the late 19th century as the harbor was well on its way to becoming one of the busiest in the PNW…so much so that the town was dubbed “The City of Dreams.” So Victorian architecture runs rampant here, with office buildings and historic plaques all reflecting late 1800’s. The entire downtown area is a National Historic Landmark.
As for ambiance, well, that is the stuff that love affairs are made of, as there is ample music, dancing, and merrymaking enough to suit the most romantic of courtships. Walk the main street and find guitarists and fiddle players busking on the corner, or just serenading friends along the waterfront.
I am not typically the type to strike up conversations with the locals, but at the Thursday evening “Concerts on the Dock” event it was unavoidable, as it was like a street party where no one is a stranger. Since the median age is 47, there were a lot of gray pony tails and Hawaiian shirts in the crowd. They cordon off a section with a plastic rope, and stick up a paper sign that says “No Minors,” while $4 beer and wine flow freely! Locals are friendly and eager to talk about their town. It feels like a scene straight out of the movie “Cocoon,” as my geezer tribe-mates bust a move on the lawn. It truly feels like “a community that plays together.”
If I have not yet conveyed that the Arts are big in Port Townsend, the little town of 9,000 has the Centrum organization dedicated to creativity who’s “mission is to promote creative experiences that change lives.” They sponsor monthly Arts walks, the “Fiddle Tunes” fiddle festival, Ukulele Festival, Jazz Fest, Blues Fest, and a Film Festival in the historic turn-of the-century Rose Theatre, just to name a few.
Even the bi-weekly Farmer’s Market has a festival feel to it. Many Farmer’s Markets have live music, but where do you see one with seating where people actually stop to listen to the music, rather than just giving a passing nod between perusing the booths of local produce?
And lastly, as if that were not enough??? There is a lighthouse! Nearby Fort Worden, one of the three forts established in the “triangle of fire” to guard Puget Sound during WW1 is home to the Point Wilson Lighthouse, built in 1914. This lighthouse will forever stand out in my mind as the first time I was allowed to touch the Fresnel lens. The Coast Guard volunteer staffing the lantern room had to be at least 80. The pretty little Fourth Order red and white Fresnel lens still rotates, so she sat there spinning it like a roulette wheel at the Golden Nugget. So right or wrong, only thinking makes it so….I have to ask, “May I turn it?”
If the barracks of Fort Worden look familiar, it was the location for the filming of “An Officer and a Gentleman,” and if there is not enough romantic ambiance present during my Port Townsend Love Affair, there is a wedding taking place overlooking Point Wilson Lighthouse. I would like to think, had the movie continued, this would have been exactly how Richard Gere and Debra Winger tied the knot. 😉
Three posts for one town, but I had a lot to say. No doubt, I will return. Who knew a little known stopover destination for the work week would steal my ever-lovin’ heart? “Cest la Vie, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell…”
They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records,
all rock, rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down,
the rapid tempo of the music fell
“C’est la vie”, say the old folks,
it goes to show you never can tell
~Chuck Berry
I’m all teared up! Wanna’ go back. From now on into Fall . . . well, you just wouldn’t believe how beautiful this whole area is up there. Once November hits, though . . . well, not so much. It gets too cold for this Arizona gal! ;->
Your photos just blow me away!
Ditto Kim! Love this post – wish I was there too.
Great, final roundup. You captured the town beautifully.
Nina
Now I absolutely have to return…I must have that sushi roll! Any excuse to visit this lovely little town again! You’ve captured it beautifully.
Suzanne, are you sure you don’t work for the Port Townsend Tourism Dept? …just joking 😉 Seriously, your pictures and narrative show the beauty of Port Townsend and I am sure, if you lived there, you would find even more of the eclectic vibe of the city and people. Definitely a place to visit again, but for a longer period of time. Have fun!
PT is one of Corinne’s and my alltime favorite vacation spots. Food, street art, used book stores (my favorite is William James Booksellers) and the best wooden boat event on the west coast. You’re already there, so stay for the festival! Rent a sea kayak, too. BTW, our View beats every B&B we’ve tried in PT.
Cheers, Tom the awning fixer
Again, nothing like travel writing from the heart and I am so glad you shared so much of this little spot of paradise.
Hi Suzanne,
I’ve been following your blog for a while, and enjoy your stories, and admire you’re blogging tenacity. I can only seem to manage one post every few days. We are currently on the northern US coast, but on the other one. We just returned from a few weeks in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island and are now back in Maine.
We were at the West Quoddy Light House today, the easternmost light house in the US. I have read that you kind of like lighthouses and thought of you. Most of the lighthouses we have seen no longer have the Fresnel lenses in use, but this one still had its First Order sitting proudly at the top.
Being from the East you may already know of this lighthouse. I thought I would share it with you, but see there is no way to download pictures.
Keep up the blogging. If you’re interested in my westerner-in-the -eastcoast perspective, my blog is aintdeadyet.net and I will try to download the lighthouse photos there if I ever get a decent internet connection again. We are suffering the consequences of the easternmost internet access.
Happy travels, and maybe our paths will cross someday.
Beautiful shots and some really good examples of Victoriana. I liked the shot of the guy playing the steel guitar. a budding Mark Knoffler? Have you thought of contacting Lonely Planet or something similar and offering your services?
I literally can not stand it. I just can’t.
Judie — Our weather has been so perfect here, but I know come winter, I too would be running for some of that desert heat!
Kim and Swade — Thank you so much for the nice compliments.
Nina — Thanks for the nice note, and for always paving the way with such GREAT recommendations!
Hans and Lisa — Yes, I could easily spend a summer there, between the PT Brewery and the sushi place. Hans, wish they would make me an offer. 😉
Tom the Awning Fixer 😉 Unfortunately, everything was sold out for the festival, or I might have considered it. I will do better planning next time. The marina takes reservations on a 12 month rolling calendar, so I have to think about next year! And I also went into that William James Booksellers. LOVED the smells in that store! They had to run me out at closing time.
Sherry — Thanks again for such nice comments. The writing does indeed come from the heart as I feel inspired by these places, and it means the world to me to know that is palpable.
David — Thanks for following the blog, and for the great comment! I have only explored East Coast lighthouses up through North Carolina, and some around Acadia NP, but I hope to do a “crawl” through Maine one of these days. I did google that West Quoddy Light, and what a beauty!! I will definitely put that one on the list. Thanks for the tips!
Dave — I wallpapered my home office with rejection letters before I started blogging. At least if there is rejection on the blog, I don’t have to open the envelope and see it in print. 😉
Carolyn — The coast is clear. Elvis has left PT. Come on back, now…
One of my favorite posts. Love your love affair with PT. Your posts are always exceptionally well written but this was the creme de la creme. Too bad being a travel writer doesn’t pay much. You would be a billionaire.
Your pictures and writing just make me want to travel right now!!1
Great and unique.I wish once in a lifetime is arriving this place.Thank for sharing.
One of my most loved posts. Love your relationship with PT. Your posts are dependably particularly elegantly composed yet this was the creme de la creme. Too awful being a travel essayist doesn’t pay much. You would be an extremely rich person.
Thank for your nice post. You captured the town beautifully.