Chimacum, WA - Back to Regular Time

The ferry ride was just as much fun on the way back as it was on the way over to the island. I just love ferry rides and we’ve got another one coming on Friday when we head back to Whidbey Island but then drive north to Blaine, WA, our jumping off point for Alaska.

Again, the views were spectacular, Mt. Baker on one side and Mt. Rainier on the other. Which way should I look? How about at the shipping through the channel? That’s pretty cool too.

Coming into the ferry dock. Gee, I hope we don't hit it. Oh, wait a minute, we WANT to hit it.

Back in Port Townsend, we wandered over to the campground where we had stayed 2 years ago. Beautiful campground right on the water, we could watch shipping all day long there. Why aren’t we there this year? Well, it’s $45 a night while the campground where we are staying is only $20 a night. Since we’re only prepping for our Alaska adventure we didn’t think we needed to pay the extra to camp on the water. Besides, we can use the savings in Alaska.

Then we went into the office and asked what a week might cost. $450. Holy Cow, we could spend a week in a cool town like Port Townsend camping on the waterfront with mountains to climb a few miles down the coast, a ferry trip to Victoria, BC a few miles down the other coast, cute coffee shops to sit in, historical forts to explore, a wooden ship building next to the campground - well, why not spend next May in Port Townsend for $450? And, we made our reservation.

Besides, we can cancel 1 month in advance if something should prevent our being there.

We walked over to a coffeeshop where we had sipped a nice cup of coffee 2 years ago - but inside near the fire. Today, we sat outside, right on the water and got to watch this dog fetch this piece of driftwood several times. Having a ball.

And, proudly bringing it to shore for someone to toss again.

I could sit here all day.

Nah - we’re Type A’s - we have some walking’ to do. Fun town to talk in. Lots of shops. In fact, the ferry was filled with people from the island coming over to shop in the tourist shops. Lots of old buildings carefully restored.

But, we walked up the hill that you can see in the ferry dock picture above, through the community and enjoyed the gardens along the way. Notice that this person incorporated the sidewalk right through the gardens.

This homeowner had whimsical fences on two sides of the corner property.

Each fence had its own theme. This one was wooden spoons.

This one was wooden toys.

The park at the end of the road was lovingly cared for and the rhododendrons were in full bloom.

And, we have a month to stay here next year. Should be fun. Luckily we got the last monthly reservation available.