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May 31, 2018

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I Ate the State – Mason County

Greetings!

In this latest installment of I Ate the State, I visit the lovely and scenic, Mason County. Situated in the northwestern part of the state, Mason County is a relatively accessible area to most of Western Washington. Olympic National Park /Olympic National Forest withstanding, there are several routes in and out of the area, all involving very breathtaking countryside. (Olympic National Park/Forest accounts for a large part of the northwestern corner of the county and has limited accessibility and thoroughfares.) Because Mason County contains a sizable portion of the Olympics, the county itself seems expansive, but the population is only around 63k. The Hood Canal and Lake Cushman areas can get crowded in the summer months, but my springtime travels presented me with miles and miles of wide open, uncrowded roads. Couple that with an unexpected sunny day and it was truly a beautiful outing.

For this particular journey, I chose to hop the Bremerton ferry from the Alaskan Way Pier in downtown Seattle. It was a little foggy that morning, but things were just starting to clear as I boarded. Once underway, I enjoyed my coffee and the glassy calm of the Puget Sound as the ferry glided through the water. The calm perfection of the morning added an extra bit of magic as I stared out from the deck, daydreaming about owning one of the swanky mansions dotting the shores. For the money and time, taking the ferry is always a great way to start any adventure and the 60-minute crossing to the Bremerton terminal allows for the additional fueling of caffeine and formulating of travel plans. A fine way to spend an hour, in my opinion.

SeattleEye

Pulling out on the ferry from the Alaskan Way Pier. The start of a beautiful morning!

After disembarking from the ferry, I headed towards Belfair, gateway to the Hood Canal area. I’d initially thought of heading towards the county seat of Shelton and nearby costal inlets, but instead decided to go north and follow the coastline of Hood Canal, back around to the Kingston area. I’d heard great things about the route as well as the Lake Cushman and Staircase areas of Olympic National Park, so towards Belfair I did go.

While driving down Highway 3 outside of Bremerton, I was very excited to spot a drive-in movie theatre just off the road. It’s been ages since I’ve enjoyed a movie in the car – while wearing pajamas and eating popcorn. (That’s some old-skool glory, right there!) As it looks like they show first-run movies, I think I might need to make a pilgrimage back to the area and revisit those by-gone days of the mobile cinema experience. (Rodeo Drive-in, between Bremerton and Belfair)

Once past Belfair – a good place to fuel up, by the way – I turned off towards SR 106 and Union. Hood Canal begins at the tip of 106 and the road hugs the shore as you wind along the 2-lane highway. There are beautiful homes and cottages gracing the shoreline all along the drive and great views of the water to behold. This road was great from the driver’s seat of my trusty Sportage, but I think it’d be even better in a convertible or on a motorcycle.  I’m sure the road gets a little slow-going during the busy summer months, but as there’s such an abundance of great scenery, it can’t be all that bad.

Nearing Union, I came upon the Alderbrook Resort and Spa. Set along the shores of Hood Canal, this is definitely a destination-location sort of affair. Beautifully manicured grounds, spacious lodging, dining and recreational areas as well as a nice spa, adjoining golf course and good moorage on their docks. I could have easily spent the entire day there, wandering around the grounds, enjoying brunch and a mimosa in the restaurant and maybe renting a kayak (or a PARTY BARGE PONTOON BOAT) and tooling around the canal. (Or maybe just enjoying another mimosa on the deck… or on the PARTY BARGE PONTOON BOAT) I fully intend to return to the Alderbrook for a nice weekend getaway in the near future.  (With my friends, so we can rent the PARTY BARGE PONTOON BOAT.)

A nice day for a stroll around the grounds of Alderbrook Resort…
Beautiful grounds at the Alderbrook Resort
A fine plan, indeed.
Not a bad place to sit and relax.
Looking back at the resort from the dock.
Plenty of moorage available – and plenty of room to launch the PARTY BARGE PONTOON BOAT.
Oh, look – my sail boat got in the pic!
Gorgeous views from every angle!

Just past the Alderbrook Resort, heading west on 106, keep your eye out on the left for the Dalby Waterwheel. It’s definitely worth pulling over to check out and you can do so just past the Alderbrook Resort. It’s a still-functioning water wheel brought over from Seattle in 1924 and creates quite a mesmerizing, idyllic scene. I could spent hours just hanging out beside the little cabin, listening to and watching the water fall over the wheel. It was a scene right out of Little House on the Prairie, ala the Northwest. Quite charming. (Although, maybe not as peaceful during the busy summer months as it is right off the road.)

 

Just around the bend from the Dalby Waterwheel, I happened upon the very cute, Cameo Boutique and Wine Shop. Stopping in for a quick browse, I found a few tasty treats to take home with me and some lovely soap. There is also a nice selection of gifts and resort wear to tide you over during your local stay, along with a great selection of wine. Before I left the parking lot, I walked around the side of the shop and back towards the small cove directly behind. There’s a camping area and a couple of cottages, but also an incredibly interesting, old paddlewheel boat beached on the shore.  I’d love to know more of the story behind the boat and learn what brought it to its lonely beach home.  On my next visit, I’ll have to check in with the locals and see if anyone has the scoop.

Front of the beached paddlewheel boat, complete with very weathered wooden bust.
The lovely Cameo Boutique & Wine Shop
I’d love to know the story of this paddlewheel boat and when it was in use.

Perhaps they might know something across the way at the Robin Hood Village Resort. The restaurant and front cottages were built in 1934 by Hollywood set designer, Don Beckman, who also designed the set for the classic, Errol Flynn Robin Hood epic.  Over the years, cottages have been added and it is now a cheerful, village-style resort set back amongst the trees. I took a lovely walk by the creek which flows along the backside of the restaurant and it looked like they also host weddings and events in the area. It definitely seems like a fun and whimsical place for an outdoor summer soiree.

Entrance to the Robin Hood Restaurant
Behind the restaurant and along the creek
One of the original 1934 cabins

By this point in the morning, I was becoming pretty peckish. I thought about heading back to the Alderbrook Resort, but decided to keep heading further into Union, on what then becomes US Route 101. A few miles down the road, the Union City Market (at the Hood Canal Marina) popped up on my right and I pulled over to take a look.  I’m very glad I did as it was chock full of wonderful local foods, gifts and specialty items. They also have a great coffee bar and a freezer full of some very tasty, handmade popsicles. Granted, popsicles aren’t really the first thing I think of upon waking up, but the carrot, ginger and turmeric one I purchased seemed the perfect way to start the day. It was particularly enjoyable while sitting at a picnic table on the shore, watching a boat crew load oysters out of the canal directly to the back of the store. Fresh!

Great cookbook, signed by local author!
Open front entrance – great on a sunny day!
Great local food, gifts and beverages at the Union City Market. I love this place!
Loading those fresh oysters off the boat and into the store!
Fresh oysters for the shucking – right at the entrance!

While chatting with the very amiable staff at the Union City Market, I learned of some tasty breakfast selections across the way at the Union Country Store. I’m glad I took their advice as the Crab Eggs Benedict I ordered was absolutely delicious. Set in a small grocery store, the diner-style setup offers home-style meals, great coffee and local ice cream. It’s a quirky, welcoming spot and I’m very happy I stopped in to fuel my adventures.

A most delicious breakfast dish: Crab Eggs Benedict
A great place to stop for breakfast, lunch, ice cream, coffee, supplies, etc.
Old waterskis hanging over the front door inside the store. Cool!

After finishing all of my breakfast and feeling ridiculously (and unrepentantly) full, I took off down the road for the Hoodsport area. I’d heard about the Hardware Distillery and wanted to check it out. Along the way, I also noticed the Hoodsport Winery and decided to give it a whirl. Admittedly, I almost didn’t stop as it looked a little questionable with the bars on the windows, but I’d heard good things about the wine, so I decided to go in. It was a good decision as the wine was lovely and I had a great conversation with the woman running the shop and tastings. After walking out with a couple of nice bottles, I continued my path into Hoodsport and the Hardware Distillery.

Set within a cute row of shops in the middle of Hoodsport (still on US 101), the Hardware Distillery was well worth the stop. Not only was the shop cozy and welcoming, the owner was completely knowledgeable and I had quite a great time discussing recipes and drink ideas with him. I also walked away with a very entertaining gift for my dad and a much-coveted dill aquavit. (I’d been looking for one! Now I just need a turmeric vodka and I’m on my way to hopefully recreating the delicious Hanoi Rocks from Capitol Hill’s, dreamy Foreign National.)

My delicious haul from the Hardware Distillery. Very excited to try out the Dill Aquavit!
A lovely red blend from the Hoodsport Winery.
Right off 101 in a cute row of shops. Stop in for a delicious tasting!
Cozy atmosphere and displays at the Hardware Distillery.
ForeignNat

The most delicious drink ever made, The Hanoi Rocks from Foreign National on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. Granted, not from Mason County, but I’m going to use my newly acquired Dill Aquavit to give it a whirl.

I would’ve liked to have sampled more of the offerings at Hardware Distillery, but as I was driving, I needed to be responsible and move on to the next destination. (A drawback about doing solo adventures and stopping in for any type of tastings…) Additionally, as my next stop was Lake Cushman and the Staircase area of Olympic National Park, I needed my bearings and wits about me. And score one for responsibility as I did indeed end up needing my navigational skills further up the road…

From Hoodsport, I turned onto SR 119 and followed the signs towards Lake Cushman. I hadn’t visited the Park from this direction before, so I was excited to explore the scene. Suffice it to say, I was in no way disappointed with the area. Lake Cushman is a beautiful lake with deep blue water and expansive shorelines. Most of the campgrounds and lodging areas were still closed for the season on this visit, but I’ll definitely be back to explore in the summer months. That said, even just pulling over and taking in the vistas from the viewpoints along the way was worth the drive. Such stunning scenery we have in Washington State…

Cushman1

View from one of the roadside stops along Lake Cushman

A little further up, I pulled over at Big Creek Campground to take a look around. It was also still closed for the season, but you could park in the lot just off the road and head in to access the local hiking trails. Since it was a beautiful spring day and I really wanted to stretch my legs and check out the scenery, I happily donned my backpack and head off into the woods. Score another one for always taking the 10 Essentials as I did actually end up needing some extra resources that afternoon…

After walking around the campsite area a little, I noticed a trailhead and decided to investigate. It was a beautiful trail, flanked by moss-draped trees and mysterious thickets with an ambling creek off to the side. (Fun fact: It’s pronounced “crEEk”, not “crick” – Dad and Skoczen, I’m lookin’ at you…) About a quarter-mile in, I noticed a detour sign and thought I’d taken the correct fork, but apparently, I did not. It wasn’t until I’d gone another half-mile or so that I realized I’d taken a wrong turn (a couple by that point, in fact) and was completely turned around. AND I had no cell service, so the GPS on my phone was no longer an option – and no one was around in the closed-for-the-season campsite. Dun-dun-dunnnnnn – Time to take out the ol’ compass and map.

Big Creek Campground in Olympic National Forest
Beautiful big creek – Hence the name of the campground…
Creepy tree fingers! I’ve got a bad feeling about this…

Granted, even if I didn’t have a compass and map, I could’ve likely just followed along the creek (not crick) and it would’ve eventually led to or close to a road. Luckily, however, I didn’t have to investigate that option and was able to get back on track. It did serve as a reminder on how quickly things can escalate in the woods and if you’re not prepared, how quickly things can go horribly wrong. It was also a reminder to always tell someone where you’re going when solo traveling – especially if you plan on traipsing off into closed areas with no cell reception…

Just before I realized I’d taken a wrong turn…
But hey, what a lovely bridge – guess I can follow the creek back…

As the Staircase area was closed for the season and there were road issues up into the area – and I’d wasted at least a good half hour being lost in the woods – I decided to head back down towards Hoodsport and off to my next destination: The Hama Hama Oyster Saloon.  Mmmmm…

Hama Hama, located in the Lilliwaup area, is a family-run shellfish farm, restaurant and store and has been serving the area for nearly 100 years. This experience is greatly showcased in the quality and presentation of the shellfish as well as through a devoted customer base, both in and out of Washington State. (They ship nationally to chefs and shellfish-craving consumers.)  It is truly one of the most enjoyable culinary experiences I’ve had in the Northwest and I don’t think I’d ever get tired of hanging out and taking in the scene. Even if you’re not a fan of oysters or clams, there’s something to enjoy. (Try the grilled cheese!) You won’t regret your visit to Hama Hama. (Also, please pick up a bag of oysters and a tub of the Chipotle Bourbon Butter for me. Thanks!)

A beautiful sunny day at the Hama Hama Oyster Saloon.
Great outdoor seating and cookout feel.
So, SOOO delicious. I would eat this every day.
Very cool firepits made out of oyster shells. They had oyster shell fences surrounding the seating area as well.

After stuffing myself with oysters and delicious bread, it was time to consider meandering back towards Seattle. (After a quick stop into the Hama Hama store to pick up some smoked oysters and some of that delicious Chipotle Bourbon Butter… Sigh…) Since I’d already enjoyed the Bremerton ferry route, I decided to make a grand loop of things and return home via the Kingston Ferry. There was a bit of traffic in the ferry queue once I arrived near the terminal and I just missed the ferry crossing I wanted, but it wasn’t too bad a wait. I took a nice walk around the marina area and enjoyed some of my earlier-procured treats – not too shabby an end to my Mason County adventure…

I have to say, while I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the counties I’ve visited so far, Mason County has definitely gone to the top of the list. Just this short daytrip was full of varied and excellent scenery, food, conversations, etc. I can’t wait to spend a little more time in the area and explore things more deeply. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. And maybe rent one of those PARTY BARGE PONTOON BOATS!!

Until next time –

Cheers!

Kingston

Checking out the marina while waiting for the Kingston ferry. Sigh…

 

Mason County Playlist

I was on a bit of a musical binge that weekend, so my playlist pretty much reflects only that… MUSICALS!

  • My Shot – Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  • You’ll Be Back – Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  • Wait For It – Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  • Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) – Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  • What Comes Next – Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  • Fame – Fame (The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
  • Out Here On My Own – Fame (The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
  • Never Alone – Fame (The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)
  • Dentist! – Little Shop of Horrors (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Feed Me (Git It) – Little Shop of Horrors (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Suddenly Seymour – Little Shop of Horrors (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Dammit Janet – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Original Soundtrack)
  • Time Warp – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Original Soundtrack)
  • Cabaret – Cabaret (Original Soundtrack)
  • I Dreamed A Dream – Les Miserables (Original London Cast Recording)
  • One Day More – Les Miserables (Original London Cast Recording)
  • Pure Imagination – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Original Soundtrack Recording – 1971)
  • Consider Yourself – Oliver! (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
  • God, That’s Good! – Sweeny Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Original Broadway Cast)
  • Think of Me – The Phantom of the Opera (Original London Cast)
  • Music of the Night – The Phantom of the Opera (Original London Cast)
  • Nessum Dorma – Turandot, ACT III (*Luciano Pavarotti, The Three Tenors in Concert – Rome 1990) *This particular recording slays me every time. And it’s embarrassing to be crying alone in the Sportage while in the ferry line, but whatever…
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March 18, 2018

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I Ate the State – Jefferson County

Greetings!

In my recent travels for I Ate the State, I took a visit to Jefferson County in NW Washington. Home to beautiful Pacific Ocean coastlines, towering mountain peaks and a UNESCO designated rain-forest, Jefferson County is not only one of the most stunning areas in the state, it is a defining jewel in the North American crown. (I’ll also add it is one of my favorite places in the world…) It is incredibly diverse in its offerings and well worth the exploration.

As I am currently based in North Seattle, I took the Edmonds/Kingston ferry and made my way up Highway 104, across the Hood Canal Bridge. (For more info on local ferry travel, check out my previous entry for Kitsap County.) I was ultimately headed towards the largest town in Jefferson County, Port Townsend, but planned on taking several detours along the way. Jefferson County boasts many tucked-away inlets, tiny hamlets and areas of rolling farmland and I wanted to explore as much as possible. That said, not too long after crossing the bridge, I headed up Highway 19 towards Port Ludlow and Marrowstone Island.

I’d never actually visited this area of the state before and I’m glad I finally did! Not only was it a beautiful, crisp sunny day, but it had recently snowed and there was still a bit on the ground – including the shorelines. Absolutely breathtaking! It is also a much lesser-traveled part of the state, so I felt very much at my leisure to casually peruse the surroundings as I drove through. My first detour from said perusal was to check out the Port Ludlow Resort and Marina area.  (Take a right off of Highway 19 onto Oak Bay Road.  OR – take the first right after crossing the Hood Canal Bridge onto Paradise Bay Road.)

Port Ludlow

Port Ludlow Resort

Port Ludlow Marina

Lovely Port Ludlow Marina

While driving down towards the resort area, I noticed many homes tucked away by the water and mused at how lovely it would be to have a home near the water. Sigh… Especially in such a nice little inlet like Port Ludlow. The 37-room inn/resort is perched on a small spit of land next to the marina and features a nice restaurant (The Fireside), spa services and adjoining golf course. It would be the perfect base for exploring the surrounding areas as well as a great place to spend a relaxing weekend.

A little further up the very scenic Oak Bay Road, I took a right onto Highway 19 to head further north towards Marrowstone Island and Fort Flagler State Park. Along the way, I noted a sign for wine tasting at the Marrowstone Vineyards and took a quick turn in that direction. Just a short way up a very quaint road, I came upon the vineyard proper. Adding to the beauty of the sunny winter settings, the main building sits aside a lovely vineyard, sprawling its way down towards the water. There’s a charming deck and outdoor fire pit as you head towards the winery entrance which I’m told plays host to many events in the summer, both public and private. (Weddings, concerts, etc.) Inside, you can view areas of the winemaking process as well as enjoy a tasting in their cozy tasting room. The staff is incredibly friendly and well-versed in their wines and gave me a very detailed and tasty walk through a few of their offerings. Additionally, unbeknownst to me, I happened to be there on the Olympic Peninsula Red Wine, Cider and Chocolate tour and was also treated to various chocolate pairings. Score! I would’ve loved to have walked away with a case that day, but was conservative and took home a bottle of their delicious Island Blend. No matter, I’ll be returning soon to further exploit their catalog.

Beautiful day looking out over the Vineyards
Lovely patio overlooking the vineyards

Before I continued on my journey, I took a trip upstairs to visit their gallery. It’s a beautiful, wood-planked loft featuring local artists and craftspeople and had the most peaceful feeling about it. I would absolutely love to have an event in that room, drinking wine and chatting with guests as we look out over the water.  Something about that gallery was just magical. I will definitely be back soon and hope to check out some of their summer events.

Upstairs gallery at Marrowstone Vineyards
I could sit in here for hours… With a nice glass or two of their wine.

Back on Highway 19, I continued further up the island towards Fort Flagler State Park. It was a very pretty trek and I even stopped along the way to allow a few deer to saunter across the road. (On a general note, there are a lot of deer in Jefferson County. Be aware as you’re driving along the winding roads as they often meander about.) The sun was beautiful as it streamed onto the tree-lined road and quite awe-inspiring as the road opened up onto the Fort Flagler grounds and the coastal tip of the county.

Local Flagler resident
Flagler grounds
Flagler gift shop
Flagler bunker

Similar to nearby Forts Worden and Casey, Flagler was constructed in the early 1900s to help protect the coastlines and was in use until the 1950s. Today it is a state park and the old barracks, officer’s quarters and surrounding buildings are open to the public. You can rent them as vacation homes or for event/retreat sites or pitch a tent or trailer in the campgrounds. There are also many beautiful trails and coastline areas to explore, complete with remaining defense bunkers and battlements. I love walking around the old bunkers and exploring inside, but it’s important to bring a good flashlight or headlamp. Some of them are quite dark inside and there are many narrow, twisting corridors. Spooky!

In a continuing vein, the next stop on my journey was Fort Worden, just past nearby Port Townsend. The Fort Worden area is quite large and is still largely in use today. (Albeit not militarily – the area was decommissioned in the 60s and opened in the 70s as a state park with lodging, museums and a large arts community.) Like Flagler, you can rent vacation homes, host events and participate in the ongoing events offered by local Worden residents such as the Centrum Foundation and Copper Canyon Press. Several years ago, I was lucky enough to win a scholarship to participate in the week-long Centrum Jazz Workshop and have been a huge fan of the area ever since. Bring a camper or tent and set up in the beach campground to explore the expansive coastline and 100 year old bunkers. (Bring flashlights!) Even better, be sure to head for the large trail network found atop the bluffs overlooking the beach. It’s completely amazing – and chilling – to be hiking through old growth forest and suddenly come upon a perfectly disguised defense bunker overlooking the water.

Officers Row at Fort Worden
Fort Worden Museum and Gift Shop
Point Wilson Lighthouse, circa 1914

Since I fully intended on hiking through some of the bunkers and had again forgotten to purchase a new WA State Parks Discover Pass, I headed to the Coast Artillery Museum to buy a new one.  (Very convenient!) And since I love museums and hadn’t visited this one yet, I did a quick tour through the military history of the area. The museum name is slightly misleading as it features much more than artillery and shares quite a bit about life in the fort throughout its military history. Definitely worth checking out and well worth the $4 admission fee.

Delicious K-Rations. (Coast Artillery Museum)
Fallout rations ala 1963. (Coast Artillery Museum)

After I became versed in the history of the fort, it was time to head down to the beach and check out the bunkers and do a little beach hiking. It was starting to get cloudy and rain seemed imminent, so mucking around in the bunkers seemed like a good idea. As many times as I’ve visited Fort Worden and hiked around the area, I still seem to find a new perspective and discover new (to me) areas tucked away along the shore. This day was no exception and I stumbled upon a few bunker areas I hadn’t previously explored. And with the greyness rolling in, the relatively deserted beach and the still in the air, it reminded me of the look of the movie, The Road.  (Part of which was filmed in WA state near Mount St. Helens.) Eeesh. 

Stairs out of the bunker
Inside the lower front section of the beach bunker
Old access road near the main beach bunker. Spooky.
Doors in lower section of bunker
Main beach bunker
Top of bunker looking towards bluff

In need of a feel-good pick-me-up, I abandoned the bunker scene and headed back to the main grounds in search of Fort Worden restaurant, Taps at the Guardhouse. However, since this is a former military installation, I shouldn’t have been surprised to go from bunker to brig. Set inside the former guardhouse and jail, the restaurant hosts a nice bar and dining area where you can actually eat in jail! Granted, you can enjoy a nice ploughman’s plate and a glass of Domaine Vetriccie IGP Ile de Beauté White 2015 while you do it, but it certainly makes for an entertainingly foreboding dining experience. Since I successfully made bail/paid my tab, I’m looking forward to further exploring their food and drink offerings on my next visit.

Delicious Ploughman’s Plate
Enjoy your meal in jail!

For more information on artistic partnerships Fort Worden hosts, visit HERE. It truly is an amazing area and a great asset to the artistic communities of the Pacific NW.

Since Fort Worden is located just past Port Townsend, I headed back towards town to investigate the area. Port Townsend, founded in 1851, is the only incorporated city in Jefferson County as well as being its county seat. It is filled with a beautiful array of Victorian architecture and style and is a must visit for any fan of the era. (It is one of only three Victorian Seaports on the National Register of Historic Places.) The Arts community thrives in the area, there is a bevy of shops, antiquing opportunities, restaurants, galleries, wine, cider and beer tasting – the list goes on. It also has a ferry terminal which connects to Whidbey Island, making travel around the Sound more convenient. I always find something lovely in Port Townsend and this visit was no exception.  Here are a few of my top picks for the downtown area:

  • Waterfront Pizza
    • When I told my friend, Joe what town I was going to visit, he INSISTED I check out Waterfront Pizza. He also said, and I quote, “God rolls the dough and makes the sauce…” Well, with such heavenly reviews, I had no choice but to check it out. Turns out Joe was right! Their pizza is AMAZING! And as anyone who knows me will confirm, I’m not actually a big pizza fan. For the record, this place pretty much turned me around and put me back on the pizza-loving track. The sauce and dough were indeed god-like, the toppings tasty and plentiful and the place was packed the entire time I was there – in the middle of the day. NOTE: There is a very small walk-in section of the restaurant with an entrance off the street. Go there if you want slices or something to go. Head up the staircase to the right of that entrance if you want to sit down and order a whole pie and drink a glass of wine. I almost missed the experience as I didn’t initially notice the staircase to the upstairs section – and the street-entrance portion of the restaurant was continually standing room only.
  • Bubble n Squeak
    • This is one of new favorite stores! Quirky and eclectic selections of British antiques as well as current goods and sundries. There were sooooo many things I would’ve loved to have taken home, but I settled for some toffees and Turkish Delight. I’ll be back – possibly to purchase the amazing antique whisky dispenser they had. ($500! Eeek!) (But I want it…)
  • Mad Hatter & Co
    • Great hat store with ‘lots of options. Scarves, too! They even had some terribly (in a good way) British top hats and tweed golf caps which made me want to sprint to the nearest polo match or putting green. (And I play neither sport. Details.)
  • About Time
    • Super cool clothing and shoe store that happens to carry a brand of Israeli-made Jafa brand boots I absolutely covet. I will be back.
  • Wandering Angus
    • Quaint shop covering all things Irish, English and Scottish. Perfect shop to visit around St. Patrick’s Day.
  • What’s Cookin’
    • Local kitchen supply store, jam-packed with wonderful books, gadgets, cookware, tea and coffee making supplies, knives, bar supplies, etc. I only allowed myself a brief visit as I would’ve walked out with a giant box of goods otherwise. As it was, I made it out with only a respectably sized shopping bag. Respectable, I say!
  • Rose Theatre
    • An absolute gem of a classic movie house showing current-run films on their main screen with the addition of current-run and classic films in their upstairs 21+ Starlight Room. (Serving food and cocktails from the Silverwater Café)
  • Port Townsend Antique Mall
    • Antiques galore! They were just closing as I drove up for this visit, but I’ll hit them up next time. I could browse through that place for hours!
  • Vintage Hardware & Lighting
    • Ditto with this place! A very cool mix of items and if you happen to be looking for old lighting fixtures…
  • Port Townsend Vineyards
    • Lovely vineyard and winery just outside of Port Townsend. I much enjoy their Gewürztraminer and Cabernet Sauvignon.
    • Downtown Tasting Room
      • Just next door to the Rose Theatre. Small plates and a cozy setting make for a nice wine tasting outing.
    • Port Townsend Brewing Co
      • They have a great selection of ales and it’s a cool place to hang out and have a beer. They do close somewhat early, but they’re open ‘till 9pm on Fridays. (7pm all other days) I’m particularly happy they make an ale called Red Barchetta Red Ale. It’s made with a “power trio of hops!”  Insert major air-drum solo <HERE>
    • And scores of other great shops, bookstores, restaurants, etc.!
Lovely Victorian Architecture
Cool “Undertown” shopping area
I need this in my life. (at Bubble n Squeak)
Cool antique pewter mugs at Bubble n Squeak
The beautiful Rose Theatre
My new favorite shop – Bubble n Squeak
Delicious pizza Waterfront Pizza

 Looking for a place to stay in Port Townsend?

Check out one of Port Townsend’s lovely Victorian era hotels located in the old town area:

And for lodging closer to the beach:

FW_Beach

Camp near the beaches at Fort Worden

FW_Deer

Commune with local wildlife while staying at Fort Worden

Festivals and Events to Check Out in Port Townsend: 

Throughout the year, Port Townsend features many cool festivals, concerts and art shows.  A few worthy of note:

  • Port Townsend Jazz Festival (July)
    • The whole town as well as Fort Worden takes a week to celebrate America’s original art form, Jazz. Local, national and international artists participate – it’s a great time to visit the area!
  • Strange Brewfest (January)
    • Enjoy beer? Enjoy weird beers and exotic beer concoctions? This is the event for you! Sample eclectic brews from around the NW while enjoying unique entertainment – You can’t go wrong! And while it’s a little chilly, it’s fun to get a bunch of people together to camp over at Fort Worden. All you need is a solid tent, a good coat and a toasty campfire. And more beer.
  • Steampunk Hootenanny (June)
    • I haven’t actually been to this one, but I’m intrigued! I definitely plan on checking this one out as they advertise the following very titillating features:
      • A “Den of Iniquity!” (Who doesn’t love some good ol’ fashion iniquity??)
      • An absinthe bar! (Yes, please.)

Next stop on my Jefferson County tour brought me to the Chimacum area. It’s not far from Port Townsend and features some of the most idyllic landscapes and farmland in the state. Over the course of my two days around the area, I was lucky enough to see it both blanketed in snow and alive with green hills and sunshine. There are so many stops to make throughout the area and it would be very easy to spend a quiet weekend just exploring this small area of the county.

In the summer, there are numerous farm stands to visit and a few great farmers markets. The Chimacum Corner Farmstand is a particularly cool one. As it operates officially between June and October, it wasn’t open, but it’s a great place to stop by during the summer and early harvest months. There is also a great fall Chimacum farm tour and even a cider tour you can take in and around the area.

On the topic of cider, I took a visit to one of the coolest places ever, Finnriver Farm & Cidery. This is one of my very favorite stops in the area! The cider is delicious, the staff is knowledgeable and friendly, they have great food onsite (local bratwurst, wood-fired pizza and crepes!), regular live music and great tasting events. It’s an impressive, fully-working farm, but has a great cozy, intimate feel throughout their tasting room, gift shop and public grounds. I’m also now a member of their cider club, so I’ll be going back a few times a year to pick up featured ciders and goods. What a burden!

I also had the pleasure of picking up a bag of peanut brittle from Sugar Hill Old Fashion Confections while browsing the Finnriver gift shop. This is a local favorite which has very recently opened a shop in the Chimacum area. Great family-run candy company using great local ingredients. (Including recently visited CB Nuts!) I will admit to being a bit of a peanut brittle snob as my grandmother made an AMAZING version. That said – and please don’t be mad at me, Grandma – the Sugar Hill recipe is simply outstanding and some of the best I’ve ever had.

Perfect mix of form, function and style all around the grounds
They have cocktails as well!
Featured tasting menu during my visit. They were all lovely, but I really enjoyed the Skipping Gin. Yum!
Lovely Finnriver Cidery
The butter sugar crepe was sublime!
So many cool things to see while exploring the grounds

Rounding out my Jefferson County adventure is one of the most stunning areas in the country, the Olympic National Park and the drive along the Pacific Ocean on Highway 101. For this visit, I came up Highway 104 and connected to Highway 101 around the Discovery Bay area. As there is no direct route through the park to get to the ocean, you’ll need to drive around the park boundaries and up through neighboring Clallam County before dropping back into Jefferson. (Or alternately, up through Olympia, and Aberdeen and up the coast from the South.) Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest are enormous areas and comprise not only a huge chunk of Jefferson County, but reach into surrounding counties, Grays Harbor and Mason as well.

One of my favorite areas to visit in the park is the Hoh Rainforest and the Hall of Mosses trail. To say it’s like walking into a fantasy-land is a complete understatement. It’s right out of a Tolkien adventure with lush moss dripping off towering trees, hidden ponds and streams, moss covered rocks and stumps and an easily managed rambling trail. The hiking and backpacking opportunities are near limitless in the park, but if you’re down a quick shot of majesty, this is a great pick. And don’t forget to pack your rain gear – it is one of the most rain-drenched areas in the United States. There are certainly beautiful, sunny days to be enjoyed during the summer, but the area receives between 100-170 inches of rain a year and is always somewhat damp. Be prepared for weather conditions to change on a dime and always pack extra supplies when hiking in any wilderness area. (The 10 Essentials)

Gorgeous Ruby Beach
So many cool haystack rocks to check out
Stunning beach and rock formations
Build your own haystack!

Back out on Highway 101, heading south, I made a stop at the very beautiful Ruby Beach. A fairly easy hike down from the (sometimes crowded) parking area leads to long stretches of sandy beach, amazing driftwood displays and gorgeous haystack rock formations along the shoreline.  Bring a picnic, sit on the beach and just take some time to relax and watch the ocean – and some of the most exquisite sunsets you’ll ever see.

Just a little further south on Highway 101, you’ll come to another must-see stop in the area, Kalaloch Lodge and beach area. There are a few nice campgrounds in the area as well as a beautiful, classic lodge and surrounding cabins, but definitely plan in advance as everything books up quickly – especially in the summer months.  That said, I love to come to the area in the winter months when tourism is a little quieter. Granted, there are quite a few rainy, gusty days, but the storm-watching opportunities are amazing and there’s nothing like trying to walk against the winds down on Kalaloch beach. Good luck! It’s also especially cozy if you’re lucky enough to score one of the cabins perched on the bluff overlooking the beach. Put a few logs in the fireplace, fix yourself a hot toddy and stare out into the blustery seas. Another nice option is to head over from your campsite or cabin to the main lodge and grab a nice meal in the The Creekside dining room.  Adjacent to the lodge is the Kalaloch Mercantile, which is a great place to grab extra supplies, a good cup of coffee or some soft-serve ice cream.

Amazing driftwood on the beach and all around the Kalaloch inlets
So many huge pieces of driftwood everywhere!
Kalaloch Lodge as it overlooks the ocean

After visiting Kalaloch, it was time to return home. Rather than going back towards the Kingston ferry, I headed south down Highway 101, up through Aberdeen, into Olympia and onto I-5 North. A lovely roundtrip tour and a few hours later, I arrived back in Seattle. My adventure was certainly action-packed, but I still only got to see a portion of what I’d planned. I fully plan on returning to Jefferson County again and again and I’m quite positive there will always be something new to check out and a gorgeous vista to behold.

I hope you enjoyed the ride and are inspired to check out all Jefferson County has to offer. It truly is one of my favorite parts of the state.

Until next time!

My Jefferson County Playlist 

I was going for an Americana sort of feel to accompany the rolling farmland and quiet, winding roads.

  • Last of My Kind – Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit (Formerly of The Drive-by Truckers – Jason Isbell is one of my favorites)
  • If We Were Vampires – Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
  • Something to Love – Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
  • Flagship – Jason Isbell (solo)
  • Look At Miss Ohio – Gillian Welch (Also happened to be playing in the Finnriver tasting room!)
  • Wayside/Back in Time – Gillian Welch
  • One Little Song – Gillian Welch
  • Oh My Sweet Carolina – Ryan Adams (w/Emmylou Harris)
  • To Be Without You – Ryan Adams
  • All Your Favorite Bands – Dawes
  • To Be Completely Honest – Dawes
  • Beyond This Moment – Patrick O’Hearn (Lovely w/the snowy shorelines and pastures)
  • Northwest Passage – Patrick O’Hearn
  • My Shot – Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording (I’d recently gotten to see Hamilton and was binging on the soundtrack. Come on – Thomas Jefferson was a big part of it. Seemed appropriate enough.)
  • You’ll Be Back – Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording
  • Wait for It – Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording
  • Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) – Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording
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February 7, 2018

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Food, Music, Travel, Washington State, Writing

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I Ate the State – Kitsap County

Greetings!

For this installment of I Ate the State, I’ll be featuring the coastal areas of Kitsap County and Kitsap Peninsula.  Home to beautiful shorelines, towering forestland and ridiculously quaint towns and attractions, Kitsap County is definitely worth the trip.

There are few ways to get to the Kitsap Peninsula and all involve some impressive views of the Puget Sound and inland waterways. While I’d love to have my own boat and cruise into the various harbors and marinas at my own leisure, it will probably be a few more years before that’s an option. (I am getting a boat. #Goals.) In the meantime, I’m content to either travel from the Tacoma area over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and WA-16/WA-3 or via the Edmonds/Kingston Ferry route. Another popular option is to take the Seattle/Bremerton Ferry from the Seattle Waterfront ferry terminal.

A note about the Washington State Ferry system:  It’s the largest ferry system in the country and third largest in the world! (I also mention this in an earlier I Ate the State – Clallum County post.  After traveling through Kitsap County’s neighbor, Jefferson County, Clallum County is next and is the westernmost county and point in the United States.) I love taking the ferry anytime I can. You can head to Vancouver Island, B.C. and Victoria, B.C., Bremerton and Bainbridge Island (also in Kitsap County), Whidbey Island, the San Juan Islands, etc. The routes are extensive and beautiful.  When I was a kid, my family would take mini-breaks over in the Seattle area and we’d always take a round-trip ferry trip to Bremerton and back – just to ride the boat. I have so many fond memories of riding the Washington State Ferries.

For this jaunt, I chose to take the Edmonds/Kingston ferry route both to and from Kitsap County.  As I’d formulated my travel plans very last minute, I didn’t really take into account the ferry schedule. Suffice it to say, I got ready very quickly that morning and made a mad dash out the door. I’m happy and impressed to report I was the second-to-last car to make it on the ferry both departing and returning. It prompted an earworm courtesy of The Beatles to play through my brain for a good portion of the day.

Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.

Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat…

Excerpt from A Day in the Life – by The Beatles

Regarding music, it is my opinion that a good road trip must always be accompanied by a good soundtrack. The music helps set the mood of the journey – and the journey can help set the mood of the music. I can’t imagine traveling anywhere without music playing a part. It helps me slip into the surroundings and add my own little stories to the scenery as it passes. It sparks my imagination and inspires me to push a little further to see what’s up around the next bend. There are so many songs indelibly etched in my memory, reminding me of specific road trips and amazing adventures through the years. I’ve always been grateful for the easy recall of those adventures at just the mention of a song or from hearing a few notes in passing.

That said, there’s also something to be said for a quiet journey down a lonely back road.  I do absolutely understand the allure. And sometimes, maybe you never want music while traveling. For instance, my grandfather was a musician and actually took the stereos out of his vehicles because he used driving as a break from the music. He heard and played music all day, every day – very understandable he might want to take a break. But I digress…

After just making it onto the ferry, I felt it necessary to finally get that cup of coffee I’d neglected to grab as I raced out the door.  A quick visit to the ferry galley did the trick and I spent the next 20 minutes staring blissfully out the window onto the grey waters and rainy morning shorelines. No whale sightings this time, but they’re definitely something to watch out for during ferry crossings in and around the Puget Sound.

Back on land in Kingston, I headed towards Port Gamble. (Head west on Hwy 104 NE) The town of Kingston is a nice little harbor town and there are definitely some good spots to stop and get a meal or snack (or beer) as you’re waiting to get back on the ferry. The lines can definitely get long – be sure to check the ferry schedule and plan accordingly. Or just wing it… It’s all good. Even though I was just passing through Kingston this trip, there are a couple of spots I’d like to check out in the future. The Grub Hut and Downpour Brewing are two places I was particularly intrigued by. Next time!

Water towers as you enter Port Gamble.
A little bit about the area..

Port Gamble is a fairly short drive from Kingston, so it was only a few songs into my road trip soundtrack before I arrived in town. (Check out the album Red Bird, by Jeffrey Foucault, Kris Delmhorst and Peter Mulvey – 2005. ‘Lots of moody, seafaring Americana for a rainy-day, coastal jaunt.) As it was a relatively gloomy day in January and mostly out of the typical range of tourism, there were plenty of parking spots right in the main street area. (Okay, there’s really only one main street in Port Gamble, other than the highway; which does actually slow down to 25 mph through the town…) Rockstar parking all around! (It does get pretty crowded in the summer months, but there are a few parking lots in and around the general area to accommodate visitors.)

GenStore

The Port Gamble General Store

Since I’d only had a cup of coffee for sustenance, I was indeed a little peckish. However, as I wasn’t quite yet to the hangry stage, I thought I should at least do a little sightseeing before I settled down for lunch. As I was parked just in front of the rather enchanting, Port Gamble General Store, I decided to start there. I’m glad I did. It provides an excellent peek into the past of Port Gamble and the vibrant milling community it supported as well as its modern day incarnation. (Founded in 1853 by William Talbot and Andrew Pope, the Puget Mill Company was the longest continually operating mill in the United States up until its closure in 1995. The town has been a national historic landmark since 1966.)

Inside, the General Store was chock full of interesting gift items, sundries, novelties, home goods, etc. and in the back was a very  quaint sandwich and coffee shop. They also have a fairly nice selection of beer, wine and sodas should you feel like packing up an impromptu picnic to enjoy while looking out over the water. (There are various picnic tables and nice vistas just past the General Store.) In the upstairs area, there was a very unexpected and excellent “Sea and Shore” museum. Not only were there a wide variety of seashells and sea creatures from the Pacific NW, there were examples of all sorts of sea life from around the world. It was definitely worth a small donation into the donation box atop the stairs as you walk in. It also provided a great view down onto the main floor of the shop. I love older buildings that have a walkway all around the upper floor which looks down onto the ground floor. You don’t see as much of that design in modern buildings and homes… What I loved even more was seeing the pictures of the same building earlier in the last century and how much of the store layout remained similar. And on that note…

GenStoreCafe

Nice little sandwich and coffee shop at the back of the General Store

Head upstairs to the Sea and Shore Museum!
Inside of the General Store in the early 1900s

The Port Gamble Historic Museum is downstairs and around the back of the General Store. It is absolutely worth the four dollar admission fee. Even more so if the lovely Pat is working at the front desk. She gave me a very knowledgeable, personal breakdown of the area’s history and was completely charming and helpful. The displays were very well put together, informative and gave a great glimpse into life in the earlier days of Washington State, highlighting both settlers to the area and the local Native American tribes. There were full-size dioramas of shop, home and ship interiors along with a well-preserved array of period pieces and photographs; including a great photo of the General Store in the early 1900s.

Recreation of the Puget Hotel lobby
Puget Hotel lobby and parlor
Recreation of Pope and Talbot mill office
Victorian style bedroom
No gambling in Port Gamble :-}

As I am a bit of a museum nerd, I try to visit every museum, big or small, in all the towns I explore; especially towards the beginning of my visit. I love getting the back story and learning about the (possible) seedy underbelly of a town’s upbringing. And since I often do my adventuring solo, it serves to give me a sense of belonging and family to the area I’m exploring – as if maybe I’m not such an outsider after all. Visiting the Port Gamble Historic Museum indeed gave me a good understanding of the area and a nice sense of belonging. (Thanks, Pat!)

Looks like a great house for an adventure!
Old Port Gamble fire house
Port Gamble Theatre

After immersing myself in the town’s history, I visited a few more shops on my way to find something tasty for lunch.  Along my path, I visited the intriguing Mrs. Muir’s Tea House where they have a great selection of British goods, including a room dedicated to Harry Potter novelties and a very nice tea menu. (Formerly known as Mrs. Muir’s House of Ghosts and Magic, purported to be haunted and host to séances and tarot readings. Spooky!) I picked up a bottle of one of favorite beverages, Irn-Bru and a nice packet of Licorice Allsorts for the ride home. And I may have snapped a picture of the dreamy Outlander, Jamie Fraser cutout they had in the main room. Don’t judge.

Jamie Fraser visits Mrs. Muir’s Tea House
And so does Snape!

Next up, it was high time for lunch. Across the street/highway from the main part of town sits the old gas station and repair shop. These days they offer a different type of fuel, as provided by Butcher & Baker Provisions. Stepping inside, there’s an open-air feeling complete with long, communal style tables and tidy displays of local area specialty foods and beverages. The entire back area of the restaurant boasts a long counter and display cases where you can peruse the delicious house-cured meats and decadent dessert selections. The menu had many interesting offerings, including Bibimbap and a Roasted Cauliflower Agnolotti, but since they are a butcher shop which cures their own meats, I decided to give the charcuterie board a try. And a nice glass of wine to go with it… Several very tasty meat selections later along with perfectly grilled bread and a nice side of olives and pickled veggies, I felt any hangry feelings float merrily off into the distance. Since I was really quite full, I didn’t get a chance to sample any of the desserts. I’ll be back…

ButcherBaker

Old Port Gamble Automotive Repair – Now Butcher & Baker Provisions

Charcuterie

All the meats!

In order to avoid slipping into a blissful food coma, I headed out towards my next destination. Where that was exactly, I hadn’t actually planned, but since there was a rare break in the clouds, I figured it was a good sign something cool was around the corner.  Sure enough, I literally turned the corner and there was a sign for the Hood Canal Brewery.  Why not?? I’d heard good things about it, so I followed the sign and drove off in that direction.  Did I make it? Did I enjoy some beerly delights? NO. I somehow got turned around and ended up in… Poulsbo! And that’s quite alright as I’d visited there recently and had planned on stopping by again soon. No better time like the present, I guess! (But I will be back over to visit that brewery soon! And will pay closer attention to the road signs…)

Stunning skies against the colorful Port Gamble buildings
I love this tree.
Such great contrast!

Velkommen til Poulsbo! (Sign greeting guests as they enter Poulsbo, AKA “Little Norway”) I guess I didn’t think of visiting Poulsbo from this direction as I’ve only approached from the Tacoma area, but there I was heading into downtown Poulsbo, driving past a giant Viking statue known as ‘The Norseman.’ Even though it had started to rain again, I couldn’t help but be cheerful about my surroundings. In any weather, Poulsbo is warm and welcoming with a wealth of shops and restaurants to enjoy. The old town area of Poulsbo has quite a Scandinavian flair and is great to visit any time of the year, but becomes especially festive during the winter holidays. (And during the yearly Viking Festival) During my recent visits, I’ve gotten the chance to visit several great spots.  A few of my favorites:

Valhöll Brewing – Very cool little brewery and tasting room on the hill overlooking Front Street. They have a good variety of brews, the staff is cool and it’s a great place to take a quick break from the bustle of Front Street. And beer is always a good idea.

Valholl

Tasty brews for all!

Sluys’ Bakery – There’s been a bakery in this building since the early 1900s. The Sluys’ took over in 1966 and it’s been in the family ever since. They are the original creators of the famous, ‘Poulsbo Bread.’ I love that bread, but even more I love their amazing Viking Cups. They were OUT of them on this particular visit (the horror!), but I was able to pick up a few other tasty treats in their place. This place gets insanely busy, so be prepared to wait. It’s worth it.

VikingCups

Insanely delicious Viking Cups from Sluys’ Bakery

Marina Market – One of the coolest, quirkiest little markets I’ve ever visited with a totally unassuming storefront. The first time I noticed it, I genuinely thought it was a marine market – as in it catered to boating needs. I’m very glad I investigated further as I was pretty impressed to see the sheer amount of international foods, beverages, gifts, etc. packed into such a small place. (With an obvious focus on Scandinavian items) And the freakish amount and variety of black licorice they carried was amazing! (Black licorice beats red licorice ANY day. True story.) They also have a great website, so if you can’t make it to the store, order online!

MarinaMkt

Has an amazing selection of licorice, but does *not* sell boating items.

Truelux Candles – I love candles, but I never thought I’d add a candle store to my list of destination locations. This place is great! They of course have a lovely selection of the Truelux lotion candles (dreamy!), but they also feature many unique home décor items and more. In addition, they have a baby grand piano in the front and regularly feature music and the first time I visited the shop, they had a champagne bucket on the front counter, chillin’ some tall boy PBRs. Hilarious! (And much appreciated) The shop owners and their very sweet dog are also very cool.

Slippery Pig Brewery – Tasty pub and brewery down by the marina. They regularly feature live music, have a decent arcade and game room and a very friendly staff. They’re also family friendly. All I know is I want to try their ‘Loaded Bloody Mary’ the next time I visit. And someone else needs to drive…

Tizley’s Euro Pub – Cool restaurant located upstairs and next door to Sluys’ Bakery. They have a pretty interesting Scandinavian and Bavarian menu and I can guarantee you they pound out their own schnitzel. How and why do I know this? On my last visit, I was sitting in the bar with my family, which was in good range of the kitchen. The food was good and the beer selection was on point, but the entire time we were there, the chef was in the kitchen pounding away on the day’s schnitzel offerings. Pounding, pounding, pounding! It was a bit distracting, but I suppose it’s good to know the schnitzel was definitely house-made. Maybe visit later in the day when the schnitzel prep is finished… (Bonus tip: If you go out the back entrance, take the little walkway out to the road behind the building. BAM! You’re at Valhöll Brewing and you don’t have to walk all the way around. You’re welcome.)

Sluys

Tizley’s Euro Pub and Sluys’ Bakery

Boehm’s Chocolates – I usually visit the original Boehm’s Chocolates in Issaquah, but I was happy to find a shop in Poulsbo as well. My family has been visiting Boehm’s as long as I can remember and it was always a special treat to stop on the way home from one of our ‘Seattle weekends’ while growing up. Their sea-salt caramels are absolutely deeeee-licious.

Boehms

MORA Ice Cream – Uhhh, if you are at all a fan of ice cream, VISIT MORA.  Amazing flavors with unique ingredients and delicious combinations. GO THERE NOW! (Oh wow. I just noticed on their website they’ll ship right to your doorstep. DANGER!)

Poulsbo Maritime and Poulsbo Heritage Museums – Two very nice museums featuring the local maritime and heritage histories of the area. Friendly staff, interesting displays and a good overview of the area in general. Definitely worth investigating.

While I could’ve spent much longer in Poulsbo, there were still some areas I wanted to check out before heading back to the ferry. So, with some delicious Sluys’ baked goods and Boehm’s chocolates in tow, I drove back towards Kingston. There was one more area I wanted to check out…

On the ferry ride over, I’d grabbed a few travel brochures from the local tourism cubbies. I always feel like a dork grabbing tourism brochures from my own state, but do I usually learn something new every time, so what the heck! Today was no exception as I learned of a cool lighthouse out on a little tip of the peninsula called, Point No Point Light House. It’s located in a little town called Hansville and was established in 1879. Hansville isn’t very far from Kingston and is a nice drive through farmlands, forest and finally out to the Puget Sound. I was thwarted from my path, however, by large areas of water over the light house access road and had to turn around. There was no one around and I didn’t think cruising the Sportage into waters unknown by myself was a great idea.  I guess I’ll have to visit the light house another day. Glass half full (and road), I did get to see a house made out of the front half of an old ferry along the road to the light house. Very cool!

Looking out towards Point No Point Light House
Super cool ferry house!

Since my light house dreams had been crushed, I decided to head in the opposite direction down Twin Spits Road to see if I could maybe find a beach to watch the sunset. (Sidebar – I’m very curious how Twin Spits got its name…) After driving by many enchanting beach front homes and side roads leading off towards what I’m sure were equally enchanting beach cabins and cottages, I came to the end of the road. It was a private cul-de-sac, but there were a few public parking spots along the sides. (With a sign noting to be courteous of local homes and residents) I took the small path leading out onto a beach next to a private pier and got there just in time to see the beginnings of a pretty sunset. I walked around the beach for a few minutes taking it all in and enjoyed the fresh breeze off the water. Ahhh…

TwinSpits

Lovely start to the sunset on a beach at the end of Twin Spits Road

As it was getting dark and I still had a few things to take care of at home, I decided to head back towards Kingston – And with any luck, make the 5:30pm ferry. After a quick visit to the delicious CB’s Nuts shop on the way back (Soooo good!), fast-forward to 5:29pm and I was the second-to-last car to make it on the ferry back to Seattle. Victory!  Back on the ferry, enjoying a piece of Boehm’s sea-salt caramel, I looked out towards the advancing lights of Seattle and thought about all the Kitsap County goodness I’d packed into a few hours. (Full disclosure: In the spirit of packing a lot into a little bit of time, maybe I had two caramels… or three…) I’m already looking forward to my next visit to the Kitsap County area.

CBsNuts

The sign says it all…

 

Join me next time when I visit… Jefferson County. Hopefully I’ll get to see some good winter beach storms!

Cheers!

A quick Playlist from my Kitsap County journey:

  • A Day in the Life – The Beatles
  • Ships – Redbird
  • Buckets of Rain – Redbird
  • The Whole World Round – Redbird
  • Moonshiner – Redbird
  • Lullaby 101 – Redbird
  • Lighthouse Light – Redbird
  • Hold On – Redbird
  • A Day in the Life – The Beatles

Other great places to visit in Kitsap County:

Bainbridge Island

Blake Island and Tillicum Village

Port Orchard

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January 24, 2018

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Food, Music, Travel, Washington State, Writing

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I Ate the State 2.0: The Reboot

With the boon of a new year, a return to Seattle and a newly rejuvenated back, I want to return my focus to music, travel, food and writing. In tribute, I bring you, I Ate the State 2.0: The Reboot.

For a while now, my dream has been to bring together my love of music, travel, food and writing into one project. When I used to tour musically, I often wrote of my adventures along the way, but never really put them together in any organized fashion.  I thought about music quite a bit during my journeys and many of my escapades definitely inspired songs, but I never really combined those into any semblance of order either. I think it’s high time to finally remedy this oversight and put everything together in one, conveniently located place.

I Ate the State is a travelmusicfoodwriting project that will take me all around the great state of Washington – All 39 counties!  As I’m a native Washingtonian and have always enjoyed telling people all about my favorite local spots, I figure there is no better place for me to start. The plan is to visit each county in Washington State and have an adventure inspired by music and food. I’ll initially write of my adventures, but plan to write music to go along with these adventures as well. I’m going to create a road trip soundtrack out of my road trips!

I did embark upon this project a little while ago, but a few things got in the way. Since those items are no longer a factor, it’s time to get things moving again and put the band back together. Washington State, let’s go on an adventure!

washingstate

To begin, I think I’ll start with counties that don’t require a large amount of winter travel.  I don’t really mind driving in snow if a ski hill is ultimately involved, but I generally prefer to avoid dodgy winter weather. That said, how ‘bout I start with… Kitsap County! Home to the lovely Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island and Port Gamble, it’s always a good time of the year to visit. And I always love a good ferry ride! Stay tuned and see how it all unfolds. I have a pretty good feeling about this project.  And if you happen to be local, I’m always looking for tips and suggestions – please hit me up!

Cheers – And happy travels!

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August 25, 2016

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Family, Food, Travel, Washington State

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Glamping, Birthdays & Back Pain

Greetings!

Another trip around the sun, another birthday camping trip with my family and friends… AKA, another year I sucker everyone into pitching tents and making me birthday food in the woods! (It’s been working since I was a kid! If it ain’t broke, I ain’t gonna fix it. Moowhwhahahaahahahahahh!) And while one might not equate fine dining with a camp stove and fire pit, my brothers never cease to amaze me with what they’re able to whip up. This year was no different.

During

My brother Ryan and his campground delivery service.

The exception, however, to the overall Smith family camping awesomeness, was the addition of my unexpected and unwelcome return to searing back pain. YES!! And lemme tell ya – it’s definitely not what you want when facing your next couple of nights on the forest floor. (Or in the back of a KIA Sportage – I mean, come on – there was a pack of WOLVES in the area! True story.) Yep – rather than hiking around one of my favorite places in the world, the campground of my youth, I spent the entire trip reclined in my little brother’s swanky zero-gravity lounge chair, which I ruthlessly occupied he generously let me commandeer the entire time.

Long story, short – seems the back surgery I had a few years ago didn’t quite take care of business. I visited the doctor after returning from camping and it appears I have a bone-rubbing-bone situation in the same area as my old surgery – Who needs cartilage?! I’ve always found it overrated… ANYway – I anticipate more surgery in the near future… But who wants to talk about that? NOT ME. I’ll just proactively ignore it while taking pain pills and burning through my DVR queue… And finishing my family camping story.

Ryan and Eli – Ready to ride!
Emily and Belle – new bikes!

 

Since we’ve all been having a fairly busy summer, there wasn’t as much planning and prep that went into the trip. My brothers usually bust out some ridiculously elaborate campsite feasts – ones I wouldn’t attempt even in my own kitchen. As mentioned, this year wasn’t any different, but we did simplify things a tiny bit. For instance, we did make more than a few meals on sticks – Team Food on Sticks ™ for the win!! Nothing like meat cooked on a stick over an open fire… Granted, open fires were banned due to an incredibly dry forest, but my brother’s gas fire pit did just as good a job. (Legally, thank you.) It didn’t put out quite the same heat as a campfire, but it certainly did justice to those wily hotdogs… Mmmmm… Food on sticks!

In addition to meat prepared on sticks, my brothers also produced quite an excellent fish fry-up. My brother Ryan and sister-in-law, Beth hauled up the iron kettle deep-fryer that Beth’s dad handcrafted. (Beth’s mom and dad also made it up camping – first time camping with the Smiths. Heh. I hope we didn’t scare them off!) They hand-cut and breaded fresh cod and fried it up with freshly cut potato chips. (Beth and I lovingly cut EACH chip ourselves. With questionable knives. On a wobbly camp table. #RoughingIt) Beth’s mom also made her delicious coleslaw and my Stepmom, Marilyn brought up some incredibly tasty macaroni salad. There haven’t been many times I’ve had deep-fried cod and potato chips in the mountains – no other times, actually. However, when cooking in the woods with my brothers, you never know what’s gonna happen. I think they should do a cooking show from the campsite, in fact… (Food Network – are you listening??) I think it should be called, “Cooking with The Glampers.” ™

Dinner2

Delicious hand-breaded fried cod and chips

 

 

On the topic of glamping, I come from a long line of glampers. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some backpacking and can bathe in the creek with the best of them, (with eco-friendly soap substitutes, of course) but I do love my family’s tradition of bringing ALL the comforts of home into the campsite. Before the days of the more conveniently sized generators and such, my family brought big screen TVs (before they were flat screen), all manner of cooking devices and whatever else which could possibly make sitting around the campfire more ‘comfortable.’ I’m pretty sure someone in my family has attempted to bring a hot tub up to the campsite at some point… Because, what’s better after a long, hot day of motorcycling than a nice soak in the hot tub? While roasting some food on sticks…

And to top off the birthday affair, my awesome family and friends helped further distract me from back pain by showering me with lovely gifts and a GINORMOUS birthday cake! Seriously, we’re all still eating that cake – and there were 15 of us up there to tackle it! It was honestly one of the largest cakes I’ve seen in a while… Thanks, Dad! I think there was pretty much enough room in there for someone to jump out. Seriously – can we get on that for next time? Cute guy jumping out of cake. Check.

Well, I guess that’s all I’ve got for this installment. I shall now retire with my pain pills and ice packs back to the couch. And continue blowing through my DVR queue. And some of that cake…

Thanks to Dad, Marilyn, Ryan, Beth, Eli, Josh, Ann, Belle, Emily, Layla, Beth, CJ, Marvin and Ruth for making my birthday awesome!

Until next time – Cheers!

p.s. The aftermath of Ryan’s campsite delivery service

After

I think my brother’s can-smashing expertise and CJ’s jaunty scarf really make the shot.

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August 2, 2016

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30 Days of AWESOME

Greetings!

As an artist, it is important to have inspiration and be motivated to create. Whatever the impetus might be – muse, inspiring situation, location, etc. – it is vital to the process. That said, when working as a professional artist, it can be equally important to develop the skill/ability/tricks to perform creatively when the feeling of creativity is at a minimum. It’s like any other job in that regard – you’ll find some days tougher than others to muster up the enthusiasm.

I’m lucky to work in a creative industry, but this can sometimes backfire when attempting to carve out time for my own artistic endeavors. One can gain a certain complacency in creativity when the job which largely pays your bills demands a high level of creative input and output. It can also be deceptively satisfying when you are indeed contributing artistically, but the artistic vision to which you’re contributing is not your own. This is definitely where I draw on the skills/abilities/tricks I’ve developed over the years to perform effectively as a creative person.

But sometimes a girl just needs a good dose of actual, real-deal artistic inspiration…

It’s been a few years since I’ve experienced that absolute, uninterruptable drive to create something – to actually feel like an artist capable of original expression. It hasn’t been for lack of looking or trying, but the inspiration just hasn’t presented itself. I’ve always loved trekking off to worlds unknown and my wanderlust has certainly led me to great inspiration, but with the trappings of being a somewhat responsible adult, come the trappings of staying in one place for longer periods of time. And having a “real” job. And paying bills. (On time) And actually going to bed at a respectable hour… Bah. So how do I bring my old globe-trotting, creative self into the responsibility of my present day? Hmmm…. There must be a way!

And with that, I present to you the last 30 days of my life. Bottom line, I think I’ve more than succeeded in jumpstarting my creative soul. Because honestly, if I can’t find inspiration in the total awesomeness of the past month of my life, I should probably just hang it up as an artist. Heh. I’ll elaborate more on certain aspects of the month – and I even plan on getting back to my original writing and music projects – but initially I’m simply going to write down a list. (Okay, a list with small descriptions – I just can’t help myself!) To quickly share my adventures, yes, but maybe also for a selfish need to bask in the awesomeness just a little longer …

30 Days of AWESOME

Prelude – I decided to finally use some of my vacation time and take a real vacation this year. Something longer than a 4-day weekend which didn’t involve answering email while on said ‘vacation.’ Hey – why not go to… CHINA! The dojo I belong to was planning a trip to China, so I signed up. YEAH!

  • July 1: After a 12+ hour flight, complete with five in-flight movies and several glasses of wine, arrive in Shanghai, China. OMG IT’S HOT IT CHINA!!! Wall. Of. Heat.
  • July 2: Shanghai city tour – Visit The Bund, Jade Buddha Temple, Yu Yuan Garden – Beautiful! And I’m pretty sure I’d already sweated away 5lbs by this point.
  • July 3: More touring of the ENORMOUS city of Shanghai. Biggest city in the world – the urban sprawl (side by side with the ancient urban sprawl) never seemed to end. Visited the Shanghai Museum and saw real Ming vases! (And made a very cool addition to my ongoing global museum quest.) Went on a very cool Shanghai River boat cruise that night with dinner. Crazy Sci-Fi skyline on one side of the river, beautiful, stately British colonial architecture on the other side. It was like Blade Runner meets Empire of the Sun…
  • July 4: After a very long bus ride, a 2-hr flight and another long bus ride up a CRAZY, winding mountain road, arrive at Wudang Temple. A magical, mystical place – completely awe-inspiring. I’ve always marveled at this scenery in the movies and there I was, right in the middle of it. Worked out that night with dojo-mates in the ancient courtyard under the stars. Amazing.
  • July 5: Enjoyed a package of red, white and blue Skittles to celebrate the 4th. (As it was technically still the 4th back in the US) Bus ride back down crazy road to the Purple Cloud Temple for cultural exchange with the Taoist Monks and Abbot. Turned out we were the largest group to ever visit – in the history of the monastery! It ended up being a major event and was apparently covered by Chinese national TV and newspaper! We then trained for 2 hours in the ancient temple courtyard with the monks. 2 hours learning Tai Chi forms from the masters was INTENSE. Oh, and OMG IT’S HOT IN CHINA!!! We then went back up the mountain to Wudang Temple where we proceeded to trek further up the mountains (and a LOT of steps – A LOT!) to visit the Golden Temple. I can’t begin to describe the beauty… Ancient and breath-taking… And if that weren’t enough hard-core physical activity for the day, we hiked back down the mountain to go get ready for a 2+ hour belt test with the masters in the temple courtyard. (I was going for my purple belt – ACHIEVED!) After a day spent doing martial arts in the cradle of martial arts, we all enjoyed a lovely dinner in the communal dining hall and then consumed several rounds of questionable Chinese liquor. One of the best days of my life…
  • July 6: Very long bus ride through the countryside to Dengfeng City, home of Shaolin Kung Fu. Arrive (finally) at hotel and the entire area is dedicated to the martial arts. KICK ASS. Literally. Students out in courtyards everywhere practicing, “malls” dedicated to selling martial arts goods and weapons – wow! Before we all passed out that night, we attended an excellent exhibition show performed by the Shaolin monks. My mind still cannot comprehend how they are able to perform some of those moves.
  • July 7: We visited the Shaolin Temple and TRAINED WITH THE SHAOLIN KUNG FU MONKS. Still can’t quite process learning forms from the actual monks… Also took a little “hike” up to Dharma Cave – part of the birthplace of Chan Buddhism in China. (Thousands of crazy stone steps! OMG.) Tiny cave on the top of a mountain with a very ancient alter inside – and a monk! I’m not Buddhist, but I kneeled down with the monk and gave offerings anyway. When in Rome.
  • July 8: Travel on bullet train to Beijing. 250 mph – NICE! Tooling about Beijing – total different vibe than Shanghai, but mesmerizing in its own way. Definitely know you’re in the heart of the People’s Republic of China. (It also added to the feeling being our hotel was 3 blocks up from Tiananmen Square. Our guide warned us to not talk about topics such as the Tiananmen Massacre while walking through the square as she didn’t want any of us to ‘get disappeared.’ She was serious.) Attended an insane Chinese acrobatic show – AMAZING!
  • July 9: Visited the insanely beautiful and epic, Summer Palace. Such opulence… With sprawling grounds and a huge man-made lake! But not to be outdone – and one of the reasons I came on the trip in the first place – was our visit to The Forbidden City. I’ve been fascinated by this place since the first time I saw The Last Emperor. To actually walk the grounds on my own and take in the history will forever be one of the highlights of my life. Later that night, my dojo mate, Allen and I took a stroll towards Tiananmen Square and ended up in the 600 yr. old marketplace, Qianmen Street. This particular adventure deserves an entry all its own, but in a nutshell, I thought we were gonna have to throw down in Beijing. True story. Luckily, we eventually made it back to our hotel. Throw down in Beijing evaded.
  • July 10: Last full day in China. OMG IT’S HOT IN CHINA!!! Visited the Badaling portion of the Great Wall of China. Walked along the route that Chairman Mao took to give his big speech from ‘Hero Rock.’ One of my favorite pics from the trip is from this area:(I will be posting more pics in the near future, but this one just keeps cracking me up. You think there’d be better language translations at a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But I’m glad there aren’t!) To walk along the Great Wall of China was pretty epic, to say the least. Again, still processing… Topped off the night with a lovely Beijing duck dinner. Delicious! (On a related note, the food overall was excellent! There indeed some mystery items, but I love a good mystery – More on the food scene later!)HeroStoner
  • July 11: 12+ hour flight back to Seattle. Watched five in-flight movies and enjoyed several glasses of wine. Because that’s what I do on long-ass flights.
  • July 12: Jet-lag like I’ve never experienced! Yowsa. Everything is floaty and surreal… La la la la laaaa…
  • July 13: Return to work. Insert sad trombone: HERE Still in floaty jet-lag land…
  • July 16: Competed in Warrior Dash race! Jet-lag still present, but starting to fade… Fully covered, head to toe in MUD. Jumped through fire, crawled on belly thru mud pit under barbed wire, etc. But there was beer at the end! I’ve been wanting to compete in obstacle course races for quite some time and I finally did it. (And several of my excellent co-workers joined me!) Next up is the Tough Mudder race in September and the SPARTAN race in October. (I’m kinda scared for that one!)
  • July 17: Attended a screening of The Lord of the Rings at Benaroya Hall – with live a live performance of the entire score (including choral!) by the Seattle Symphony. The entire movie! It was amazing – and I was sitting in 10th row!! Phase I of my return to musical inspiration – COMPLETE.
  • July 21: Saw Peter Gabriel and Sting perform as part of their Paper, Rock, Scissors tour at Key Arena. My friends Beth, CJ and I were in the very top row, but the sound was still awesome! Eddie Vedder even joined them for a couple of tunes! (Driven to Tears and Red Rain – badass!) For the tour, they’ve both got their full bands and take turns performing their own tunes along with each other’s! Like a good-natured battle of the bands sort of affair. AWESOME! Part II of return to musical inspiration – ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED.
  • July 23: Went on a crazy road trip with my pal, Patti and caught an AMAZING performance at the Gorge. Dead & Company pulled off two mind-boggling sets of music. Truly one of the best shows I’ve ever seen! I was speculative of the mix of original Dead members along with new additions like John Mayer, but it turned out to be the perfect recipe. And the bassist, Oteil Burbridge blew my mind! I also experienced a similar recipe regarding friends at the show. While Patti and I haven’t known each other for that long, we’ve become fast friends. Add in a very serendipitous reunion with three great guys I hadn’t seen since HIGH SCHOOL and WOW! Good times with new friends and old – amazing! Scott, Corey and Danny – So many great memories with these guys and it was beyond excellent to catch up. I just hope we don’t go that long without hanging out again. :-} Part III of return to musical inspiration – and just my inspiration in general – 100% COMPLETION ACHIEVED!
  • July 24: Trip back to Seattle area. Stopped at two of my favorite places in the world on the way back home – The Thorp Fruit Market and the awesome town of Roslyn. Picked up WAY too many items at the Thorpe Antique market and followed it up with a great lunch at the new Basecamp Books café and bookstore in Roslyn. We also stopped on Snoqualmie Pass on the way back. It’s rare I ever stop there in the summer and it was a particularly beautiful day – brilliant green mountainsides, blue sky and fresh air. Ahhhhhh.
  • July 24: Actually muster the strength to return to my regular dojo training – and it was great! Needed to take a few days to process all of the intense training in China… But glad to be back!
  • July 31: In the midst of a week of crazy overtime, got to meet up for brunch with my dear friend, Emily. At which point I pretty much recanted everything I just wrote out above. And she was kind enough to humor me and listen to the whoooooooooole story. (sucka!) (jk) (sorta.)

30 Days of AWESOME, indeed!!

If you’ve made it this far, thank YOU for humoring the sharing of my saga. And a special thanks to the actual saga for pulling me far, far out of the artistic funk in which I was languishing. Like I said earlier, if I can’t get inspired from the past month, I think I’ll just hang up my artistic license…But I’m not really worried of that happening.  🙂

I really didn’t intend on elaborating quite as much as I did, but I honestly feel like I was super condensing things. I shall expand further on some of the highlights in the coming month – with more pictures! Will this month be awesome as well? Let’s just see, shall we. Please join me!

Cheers

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May 27, 2014

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I ATE THE STATE – Camping Edition!

Greetings – And happy Memorial Day!

There’s something magical about a campfire.  Something that draws you in…That pulls you into its dance… OR, maybe that was just the beer and the fact I had my fair share while sitting around the campfire with friends and family over the holiday weekend.  Enh.  Tomato / tomatoe… Campfires and camping are awesome!  And so is beer…

Campfire

Nothing like the smell of a campfire. That you still can’t get out of your clothes several days later…

In keeping with a very enduring family tradition, I joined friends and family in the wilds of Central Washington for a weekend of campfires, food-on-sticks, motorcycles, bugs and various beverage concoctions.  Throw in some very creative – and questionably comfortable – sleeping configurations, a bit of makeshift DJing and me again breaking off a front brake lever on the Honda Trail 90 and it was a pretty well-rounded affair.  (And I wasn’t even riding the Honda 90 this time… I’m clearly a motorcycle menace.)

We had planned on hitting up the awesome Icewater Creek Campground, located not too far past the Cle Elum area in Wenatchee National Forest.  It sits next to Taneum Creek and connects easily to the many motorcycle trails in the area.  It’s also very well-maintained, has decent outhouses and easily accommodates tents to trailers.  That said, it also fills up INCREDIBLY FAST on holiday weekends.  Eeesh!  We thought we’d have no trouble finding a place as we left on Friday, but that was simply not the case.  Campground fail!

After being shut down at Icewater Creek and in the nearby surrounding campground areas, we went for broke and drove further up the road.  As it was getting dark, we had no idea what we’d find – or not find – and since we were a bit of a ragtag caravan, it was getting dicey.  We continued up the rain-gutted, gravel road, only gaining in elevation, hoping desperately for a campsite to magically appear just around the corner… And it finally did!  It seriously couldn’t have come at a better time.  My nephew, Eli and I had maxed out on rehearsing our amazing duet of ‘Love Is an Open Door’ from the FROZEN soundtrack and we were both getting tired, hangry and antsy.  In a twisted coup of road trip madness, Eli even got me to sing some opera for him… We very obviously needed to get OUT of the car.

We really were very lucky to have found the spot we did.  Not only was it one of the last in the area, but it was now fully dark, the entrance to the campsite was very easy to miss on the tree-lined, unlit road and our camping posse wouldn’t easily fit into just any spot.  (Although, by this time we’d seriously begun contemplating pulling over and setting up camp on the side of the road.)  The fact we all fit, there was a fire pit already established and a source of water was close by went far beyond what we thought we’d find at that point in the evening.  SCORE!

Campsite

We’re lucky there weren’t more of us on this trip – we wouldn’t have fit!

After my brother situated his monster camper rig in the site, we all filed in after and situated ourselves for the grand setup.  Our friend, Gabe was setting up his tent and I typically also set up a tent, but I’d decided to try and trick out the Sportage for this particular adventure.  The backseat folds down and makes for a fairly large area – why couldn’t it work as a bed?  Suffice it to say there are still a few details to work out, but my plan was overall a success.  Granted, something slightly cushier than my Thermarest might be in order, but it really was fairly comfortable.  (Considering how comfortable one can actually be on any camping/backpacking expedition…)

However, before any full-on campsite trick-out could truly get underway, drinks were in order.  And some tunes… And the promise of upcoming food-on-sticks.  (Go Team Food-on-Sticks!)  It was also at this point when my 11-year nephew, Eli further illustrated the breadth of his musical interests.  We’d already been rockin’ the FROZEN soundtrack and various operatic arias on the way up and he had additionally professed his deep love of Dubstep, but it wasn’t until I put on BACK IN BLACK and he yelled out, “Now, this is what I came for!”  that I understood how diverse his musical appreciation actually was.  Throw in a conversation about the intricacies of horn lines in Earth Wind & Fire arrangements and various shout-outs to Rush songs and that kid just owns my musical heart… However, he wasn’t too pleased with my foray into salsa music – we’ll have to work on that one…

Snacks and Music

Snacks and music – Two very important items for any camping trip.

With our campsite set up, music playing, drinks in our hands – of both the adult and kid-friendly variety – and food roasting on sticks, we finally relaxed into the prospect of a few, fun-filled days in the mountains.  A few marshmallows might’ve been dropped, a brake lever might’ve seen better days and my back could’ve used a more enduring sleeping pad, but a great time was indeed had by all.  Chalk up another success in the records of Smith family camping adventures.

Some of the glorious highlights:

Dinner

Nothing like meat in the woods. As long as it doesn’t involve an animal chasing you for it.

Coolers

We had a few more of these lying around – I’m pretty sure at least one of them had actual food in it… Beer and ice take up A LOT of room.

Bacon

BACON. Need I say more?

Honda 90

Ryan on wood gathering detail. BEFORE I knocked off the brake lever.

Gear

My brother, Ryan and nephew, Eli back from the trail.

Until next time – Happy trails!

🙂

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May 22, 2014

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I Ate the State – Clallam County Rides Again!

Annnnd we’re back!

Continuing on the winding path through the hills and dales of Clallam County…

After packing up my gear and taking one last sojourn on my deck to enjoy some coffee and waves (much to the chagrin of the ever lurking seagull), I headed out of La Push.  A note regarding the road out of La Push (and the greater Forks area in general) – watch your speed.  At least twice a day I drove by well-placed speed traps on these roads.  Unless, of course, you’re one of the odd few who have actually purposefully gotten a ticket in Forks – in which case, don’t worry about it.  I’ve heard through the local grapevine a few Twilight nuts have done just that… Charlie and his friendly copstache don’t actually live in the area.  Just sayin’.  ;-}

 

Forest above 3rd Beach

Beautiful coastal forest on the hike down to 3rd Beach in La Push. Gorgeous beach!

 

Since I’d neglected to fill up my water bottle before leaving the hotel, I needed to remedy the situation.  And what better place to stop for water and breakfast than The Three Rivers Resort.  We meet again… I was in the mood for a home-style breakfast with possibly a bit of biscuit and gravy action – And that’s exactly what I got!  Complete with Pyrex plate and no-frills presentation, I felt like I was sitting in my grandma’s kitchen or something.  (A compliment of the highest form)  I also had the eavesdropping privilege of catching up on the local gossip being exchanged between the staff.  Seems there are quite a few people “living off the grid” in the area… Interesting…

Biscuits & Gravy

Pyrex plated, stick-to-your-ribs goodness! The Biscuits & Gravy at The Three Rivers Resort.

 

Filled with enough biscuits and gravy to fuel the entire day, I continued on to the next destination.  Since I’d already driven up US-101 on my way into the area, I decided to get back on WA-113 and follow it along the coast and back into Port Angeles.  Along the way, I stopped at The Old Mill Trading Post, located in the 110 Business Park at the junction of WA-110 and US-101.  It’s a very unique market featuring antiques, Native American art and collectibles with a very nice staff.  I picked up some pretty groovy diner-style salt-n-pepper shakers and a cool restaurant mixing bowl.  Certainly not items I’d planned to obtain in Forks, but you just never know what you’re going to find – and where.

A query for the town of Forks:  Why is there no ‘Forks of July’ celebration?  You have a big parade and celebration for the Fourth of July every year – why not customize it a bit?

With my newly acquired salt-n-pepper shakers in tow, I continued on towards WA-113.  It was at this point in the morning it really began to snow.  In Forks.  I was feeling speculative of how things would look around the Burnt Mountain area, but decided to take the WA-113 turnoff regardless.  As I drove along the road, gaining elevation, it got snowier and snowier with not a soul around.  It was a beautiful scene, but since I was alone, my phone had no reception, one of my arms wasn’t in full form and NO ONE was on the road, I made the decision to turn around.  I really wanted to drive along the coast, but had no idea what the road would bring on the way back through the mountains to Port Angeles.  Perhaps I’ll revisit my back roads plan in the summer months…

Back on US-101, it continued to snow.  A lot.  There were people sliding out, people driving who really shouldn’t be driving in the snow and errant recreational vehicles backing up the single lane stretches of highway.  Gah!  I kept thinking it would let up as I got closer towards Port Angeles, but it in fact continued to snow almost all the way back to Kingston.  I do love the snow and am normally fairly cool with driving in it, but must admit to not being a big fan on this particular day.  Nor was my elbow.  But onward we trekked – me and KC Sporty Spice (AKA my 2011 KIA Sportage) on the snowy road to dooooooom.  The stretch of road along Lake Crescent was particularly beautiful in the snow.  Be sure to check out the Lake Crescent Lodge in the summer months.  A truly beautiful and historic lodge set in the amazing Olympic National Park.

I’d been planning on taking a late lunch break in Port Angeles, but due to the continued snow and a desire to not get stuck in snowstorm traffic, I kept going.  I’ve traveled through Port Angeles many times and find it a charming area, as well as a great place to use as a base of operations for close-by mountain adventures and gateway to Canada.  (Ferries depart daily from the International ferry terminal – Check out Victoria BC!  Drive up to the beautiful Hurricane Ridge area.  The area features limited skiing in the winter and you’ll feel like you’re in THE SOUND OF MUSIC if you visit in the summer.) The downtown area of Port Angeles is very quaint and hosts several good dining options.  (Local eateries to try:  Cornerbox Restaurant & Cocktails,  SoHo Asian Bistro, Jasmine Bistro, Chestnut Cottage Restaurant, Michael’s Divine, La Belle Creperie, New Day Café)

 

Hurricane Ridge

Doe, a deer… Scenic Hurricane Ridge as seen in the summer months.

 

Heading back towards Kingston, I passed through the scenic area of Sequim – home to sunshine and expansive lavender fields.  (It’s the lavender capitol of North America, in fact!)  Considering how close Sequim is to the ocean and the rainier climes of Forks and the Olympic National rain forest, the area is surprisingly sunny.  It’s an absolutely beautiful area to drive through and there are many scenic back roads to check out.  For dining in the Sequim area, try the Alder Wood Bistro, The Dockside Grill at the Marina or Nourish.  And if you feel the need to stop and play a few slots or a bit of poker, check out the 7 Cedars Casino just outside of Sequim on the way towards Kingston.  The complex also hosts a very nicely stocked deli/grocery store/gas station (The Longhouse Market) with great additions to a local hiking adventure or beyond.

Just before getting back to Kingston and onto the welcoming decks of the Kingston/ Edmonds ferry, I drove through the ridiculously adorable town of Port Gamble.  This tiny hamlet, nestled on the shores of Hood Canal, is simply lovely.  White picket fences, beautifully preserved clapboard houses, charming antique stores and coffee shops all make it well worth a stop.  There is also a very nice outdoor market during the summer weekends.  However, as it was early spring and it was still snowing, I sadly did not get to enjoy Port Gamble’s charms on this particular day. 

That said, just as I rounded the bend out of Port Gamble, the snow finally began to subside.  And as I rolled into the ferry line – after learning I’d just missed the ferry to Edmonds – the familiar spring rain began to fall.  Welcome home!

And with that, I shall bid you adieu.  Hopefully with lovely visions of Clallam County dancing in your head…

I’m thinking perhaps a little Whatcom County action might be in order…

Cheers!

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May 19, 2014

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I Ate the State – Clallam County Edition

Greetings!

As previously mentioned, I recently made tracks to the Clallam County area of Washington State.  Accompanied by a recovering broken elbow and freakish spring weather, I trekked through the wilds of one of Washington’s more remote – and beautiful – counties.  It is truly one of my very favorite areas of the state.  Join me for a few of the highlights. 

3rd Beach - La Push

The clouds part at 3rd Beach in La Push.

 

I almost didn’t even head out on this particular adventure.  My elbow was still feeling dicey and I’d completely drug my feet in securing a hotel – just couldn’t decide whether to go for one or two nights.  I was planning on hitting up the Quileute Oceanside Resort in La Push, but was dismayed to find no availability on their website.  However, since human contact sometimes beats tech in the Rochambeau of hotel procurement, I decided to call directly and double-check.  Score one for human contact!  Granted, they had a minimum two-night stay which explained the online denial, but as I really had nothing else planned but sitting around the house and kvetching about my elbow, I decided to go for it.

Which meant that in order to actually get any benefit from a two-night stay, I needed to pack like the wind. (To be free again – ‘cause I’ve got such a long way to go… name that tune!)  And even though I whipped together my gear in near record time AND blazed through my trip to the grocery store, I still just missed the Edmonds/Kingston ferry.  Gah!  Although, as the grocery store trip ended up providing an invaluable source of supplies during my journey, I suppose it all worked out for the best.  Plus, it allowed me to experience a very unique ‘tree-worship’ performance while parked in the ferry line.  I don’t really know exactly what was going on there, but that guy really loved that tree… (In a relatively non-intimate way.  Come on.)  At any rate, he seemed pretty happy about life, so more power to him.

Once finally aboard the ferry, I headed to the upper decks to enjoy the ride.  (Albeit short – only about a 30 minute ride to Kingston.  If you haven’t yet enjoyed the WA State Ferry system, I highly recommend it.  It’s the largest ferry system in the country – and third largest in the world!)  As I’d been racing around like a maniac (ala Flashdance) trying to make the ferry, I’d neglected to grab any breakfast.  Or, based on the amount of time I’d spent waiting in the ferry line, any lunch… Due to this fact and the accompanying sudden urge to eat my shoe, I decided to head over to the ferry galley to check out the food options.  Since I was embarking on a foodie adventure, I was a bit reluctant to begin the trip with snack bar options.  However, since my shoe was (bad pun alert) gaining traction as a possible food source, I caved and grabbed a corn dog and cup of chowder instead.  And I’m not gonna lie – I enjoyed that meal as much as the tree-lovin’ guy enjoyed his tree.  (In a relatively non-intimate way.  Come on.)

After appreciating my “meal” and the view of the lovely Puget Sound, I returned to my car to prepare for the offload in Kingston.  (A very cute port town – and good to check out during long ferry waits.)  While driving off the ferry and continuing on towards my destination, I noticed the GPS was displaying my car as if it were actually a boat – and continued to do so for at least the next 10 minutes.  Who knew the KIA Sportage was so versatile!  Also incorrectly displayed on my GPS was the time display – I think it had me driving/sailing through the East China Sea or something.  :-}  However, after a bit of fiddling and my car eventually deciding on its own we were no longer navigating the seas, the time righted itself and I noticed just how far behind schedule I actually was.  The hotel check-in deadline was 8pm and as it was already after 4pm and I still needed to make it through rush-hour and all the way up to the peninsula, I needed to move it!

I’ll just fast-forward through what was generally a very windy, rainy, poorly visible race against time and announce my arrival to the hotel check-in as being 8:02pm. BAM!  (They were just closing and humored my tardiness…) And it would’ve been a few minutes before 8pm had it not been for the haphazardly loaded, slow-mo pickup truck I got stuck behind around Lake Crescent.  Yeah.  (Take US 101 North towards Forks and turn off onto WA-110 – La Push Road.  Follow signs into La Push.)

To say La Push is a small community is an understatement; but this is a huge part of the area’s allure. I’ve been coming to this area for years to escape the city and get lost on the beach.  (Which I might add, are lovely and full of sand – contrary to the popular image of rocky Washington beaches.)  It’s also incredibly windblown, remote and lacking in cell service.  (La Push is located directly on the Pacific Ocean, at the mouth of the Quileute River and is home to the Quileute tribe.)  But again, that’s much of its charm. (“What?  You called me two days ago??  Well, good golly – SO sorry I missed you!  I didn’t have any cell service…”) That said, being a small, remote community isn’t terribly conducive to late night dining options.  However, I’d learned the local store/deli/gas station was open until 9pm, so I quickly threw my stuff into my room and raced over to hopefully grab some dinner.  Following below is the majesty that was my dinner:

 

Dinner!

A taste sensation! But pretty good for 9pm in La Push. (especially after traveling all day)

 

After enjoying my Michelin Star-worthy fare, I poured another glass of wine and headed out onto the deck….

Deep sigh… Beautiful!!!  Such a sublime, clear night… I grabbed a deck chair, propped my feet up on the railing and enjoyed a bit of wine.  It had been windy and rainy on the way up, but all of a sudden the clouds had parted and the sky was a pristine, star-filled wonder.  Even though I’ve experienced many a rainy day in the Forks/La Push area, I’ve been equally privy to its gorgeous, blue-sky filled days – And clear-skied nights like this one.  And with no interfering light from the city and the stretching expanse of ocean providing a backdrop, it’s a truly breathtaking thing to behold.  I really don’t know how long I sat out there enjoying the scene… Well, okay – maybe I do.  I think it had something to do with when my glass of wine ran out. (But I did grab another. Whew! And promptly resumed my deck watch. Crisis averted.)

Other than the stunning location and close proximity to the many beautiful hikes and beachcombing opportunities of the area, I can’t honestly say I’d stay in the hotel portion of the resort again.  They also have cabins and I’m interested in further investigating, but regardless of the hotel being clean, sporting a decent kitchen and an amazing view of the ocean, it was insanely NOISY.  (Especially considering the no phone, no Internet, no TV appeal) I could pretty much hear every footstep from every surrounding room – including the room below mine.  Every flush of the toilet, every coughing fit from the dude next door and every scream of the inconsolable child a couple doors down…  There was also a kid who felt the need – with the unfortunate blessing of his parents – to run up and down the stairs and back and forth on the walkway in front of the room doors.  Wow.  Louder than Stompy McStomperson who lives upstairs from me in my apartment building – and that’s saying something.  (Stompy McStomperson!!   /raises fist)

The next morning, the clouds had returned, but this didn’t hamper the surfer scene.  Anyone who doesn’t think there are surf opportunities on the rugged Washington coastline clearly hasn’t been to La Push.  Granted, full-body wetsuits are much less a suggestion than requirement for the water temperatures of the area, but that doesn’t seem to hamper the enthusiasm for catching waves.  And there are some pretty nice ones depending on time of day and weather conditions.  I did have to brave the incredibly bold seagull who’d camped out on my deck railing – and wouldn’t leave – but it was a nice start to the day to drink my coffee (thankfully one of my staples purchased beforehand) and check out the surf.

After determining that the one restaurant in La Push was apparently closed down, I got my gear together for the day and drove back towards Forks.  I’d been thinking about heading up towards the Neah Bay area and seeking out the northwesternmost tip of the contiguous United States, Cape Flattery. (Also the oldest, permanently named feature in Washington State, circa 1778 – named by British explorer, James Cook.)  Knowing that I was heading into a very under-populated area, not to mention it being the tourist off-season, I decided to stop and grab a local area map and extra water/supplies in case my GPS was plotting a return to the East China Sea.

On that note, I ended up at the Three Rivers Resort for said supplies – and a delicious, old-skool burger lunch to boot.  WITH TOTS!  (And fry sauce!) I’ve stopped at the Three Rivers Resort several times during my area visits and they’ve never disappointed.  They serve good, classic burgers and sandwiches with great shakes, pie and other assorted diner treats.  The staff is always friendly and it’s a great jumping off point for many area hikes, beach adventures, fishing and drives.

 

Delicious burger!

Lunch at the Three Rivers Resort near La Push

 

With a belly full of tots, I continued back towards Forks and US 101 North.  After gassing up and ensuring I did indeed have all the supplies I might need if stuck out in the middle of nowhere, I drove east on 101 towards the Neah Bay turnoff.  (WA-113 – Burnt Mountain Road) At this point in the day, it started to full-on SNOW.  In Forks.  Home of rain-by-the-bucket.  K  Luckily, my car does quite well in the snow and onward I went.  (However, my wonky elbow really wasn’t excited about the prospect of needing to be fully present during the drive.  It would’ve been much happier lounging listlessly at my side.)

The drive along WA-113 is beautiful.  It’s winding, incredibly scenic and very, very quiet.  Sooooo very alone out there… And sure enough, between the overhanging trees and general remoteness of the road, my GPS was a bit challenged.  It should also be mentioned that cell service is very much out of the question.  Grab a map, take supplies and maybe bring someone along who might know a thing or two about cars.  You just never know… And regardless of time of year, make sure your vehicle can handle snow, heavy rain, freakishly strong gusts of wind, etc.  Also keep a lookout for the most awesomely named highway in the state… Pysht Highway – Also known as Pysht River Road.  It leads, of course, to the awesomely named, tiny community of Pysht.  Even though the area is quite lovely, I can’t help but drive down that road feeling smug and generally disgruntled – it’s in the name!  Throw in a few slow head shakes for full, disgruntled effect…

On my way to Neah Bay, I passed through a couple of small coastal communities along the way. (WA-113 will hook up with WA-112)  While although I was rolling through during the off-season, there were still a couple places here and there that were open.  There’s a small strip-mallish area as you drive into Clallam Bay and there was a cute little restaurant open in Sekiu. (Check out By the Bay Café – nice diner with good diner fare.)  There is definitely a lot more activity going on in the summer / early fall months, but there are places to visit during the offseason as well.

HELPFUL TIP:  If you’re fond of using real deal, fully functional restroom facilities, I’d like to heartily suggest you do your business in Forks before heading out.  Just trust me.  Sure, there’s plenty of forest along the road to Neah Bay, but it’s a less than desirable scenario on a snowy day, for instance.  Ladies in particular, please take heed.  There is, however, a public restroom (daylight hours only) in Clallam Bay.  Please also note there’s an actual state correctional facility in the area – so don’t get any ideas of a late night potty break-in…

There is also no shortage of wildlife along these back roads, year-round.  I saw a very large herd of Elk along with two, GIANT eagles.  (Actually, I spotted many more than two, but I saw this particular duo sitting side by side on an outcropping of rocks, just taking in the sea.  AMAZING!)  Drive carefully on these roads. There is much wildlife, many errant branches blown about, rocks, potential washouts and crazy turns in the road.  You never know when you mind round the corner and come up against a 7-point elk…

 

The Eagles (not the band)

Eagle buddies checking out the sea. (they look small in the pic, but they were huge!)

 

After navigating the windy coastal drive to Neah Bay, (located in the Makah Reservation) I took a little time to investigate the town.  Again, as it was the offseason, there wasn’t a lot of action, but Neah Bay is definitely the largest settlement in the area.  There are a few dining options, a grocery/hardware/outdoor supply store, a gas station and a nice museum run by the Makah tribe.  Check out Linda’s Wood Fired Kitchen or the Warm House for good local fare.

Just out of Neah Bay, you’ll find the road leading to Cape Flattery – follow the signs to ‘Cape Flattery and Beaches.’  (Stop at Washburn’s General Store in Neah Bay to grab the necessary recreation pass for the Cape Flattery area.)  If you happen to be in the area during or just after a storm, be prepared for the GAUNTLET OF DOWNED TREES (Oh nooooooos!) you’ll need to navigate on the way to the Cape Flattery trailhead.  It’s a nicely paved and maintained road, but there were some serious fallen trees and strewn branches accompanying me on my drive.  Yowsa! 

Cape Flattery

Beautiful part of the trail to Cape Flattery

 

The hike to Cape Flattery is fairly accessible and well maintained, but does get slippery/muddy during the wet months.  And if, for instance, you happen to be nursing a broken elbow and decide to make the trek ANYway, be extra careful through the muddy sections right before you reach the point.  (I was doing so well!  Until about 100 yards before my destination… Bah!)  There are so many amazing vistas and lookouts as you get closer to the point.  Be sure to check out the amazing coves, rock formation and PIRATE CAVES on either side of the trail.  (Maybe there weren’t ever pirates in those caves, but there should’ve been.  Or maybe I’ve just seen Goonies too many times…) The view from the actual point of Cape Flattery is amazing and while although you can’t actually step out to the true northwesternmost tip of the United States, it’s still pretty fun to check out.  The lighthouse-hosting island just off the point of Cape Flattery is Tatoosh Island.  (NOTE: Binoculars are a great addition to the Cape Flattery experience.)

Cape Flattery

Check it out – The northwesternmost tip of the contiguous United States!

Cape Flattery

So many beautiful coves and caves in the Cape Flattery area.

After a somewhat successful afternoon of hiking (my elbow disagrees), I made the windy return trek back towards Forks, where I decided to stop for dinner before returning to La Push.  I’ve tried several of the dining options in Forks over the years, but I decided to go with something new that night.  And why not Chinese?  I will admit to not expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised by the food and service and now stand corrected.  I stopped by the Golden Gate and had a very nice meal, complete with steamed dumplings, orange chicken and steamed rice.  And considering the dinner I’d had the night before, it was DELICIOUS!  I’d certainly return the next time I’m in the area.  Forks isn’t exactly a culinary hotbed, but there are a few classic options to enjoy.  Other Forks restaurants to check out:  Sully’s Drive-in,  Forks Coffee Shop,  The Hard Rain Café,  Forks Outfitters (Grocery/Hardware/Outdoor supplies)

With that, I bring this portion of my Clallam County adventure to a close.  I still have more areas and more cuisine to cover, but as this entry is getting fairly long, I’ll save it for my next entry.

Until next time… Cheers!

 

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May 15, 2014

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Food, Music, Travel, Washington State, Writing

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I Ate the State – Mount Rainier Edition

Greetings!

I hope this finds you happily ensconced in the (slowly) unfolding spring.  Hmmm… The word ensconced makes me think of scones… Scones are delicious!  Especially with fresh, clotted cream and strawberry preserves… Great.  Now I want a scone.

ANYhoozen – On to other food-related topics…

With this entry, I’d planned on featuring Clallam County, located in the uppermost western tip of Washington State.  I’d also planned on posting it much sooner, but due to a surly and unexpected encounter with a gas pump hose, I ended up with a broken elbow and a couple months recovery.  Granted, I lucked out and needed only a sling, but it was a bit awkward at the keyboard for many weeks.  I will indeed carry on with the Clallam County plan, but want to add in my notes from a recent sojourn to the area.

In the meantime, I bring you tales from another favorite part of the state… Mount Rainier National Park – and its surrounding areas.  (Located in Pierce County and Lewis County – double whammy!)

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Mount Rainier as seen from the Paradise side.

My love affair with Mt. Rainier National Park has been going strong for quite some time.  Since first viewing it atop Raven’s Roost lookout on childhood camping trips and seeing it standing guard over the city while visiting Seattle on family vacations, I’ve been in love with ‘The Mountain.’ (As it’s affectionately referred to in the greater Seattle area)  So enamored, in fact, I spent many a summer working at both the Sunrise and Paradise lodges along with occasionally volunteering with the National Park Service working on trails, fire look-out, etc.  Some of my very fondest memories have taken place in the shadow of The Mountain…

If you’re on the hunt for food within the park, I can offer no better suggestion than to pack a picnic and hike off into the never-ending beauty of the area.  (Tolmie Peak, Spray Park, Grand Park, Glacier Basin, Camp Muir, Van Trump Trail and Narada Falls are just a few lovely options.  (*Always pack the “10 Essentials”, check road status before you go, let someone know your destination, stay on the trail and make sure you have the proper permits if you’ll be camping or climbing. Safety first!)  However, if you’re on a road trip and would like to enjoy the area’s culinary offerings via wheels, allow me to suggest the following destinations:

SUNRISE area (SR 410, SR 123, SR 165 for Carbon River/Mowich)

If you’re heading from the eastern part of the state, you’ll be coming up SR 410 from Yakima.  A great stop coming or going is one I’ve highlighted previously, Whistlin’ Jack Lodge.  It’s located directly alongside 410 – you can’t miss it!  Check out my feature on this locale – it’s one of my very favorite places!

If you happen to be venturing from the west, you’ll inevitably hook up to SR 410 in Enumclaw.  (‘The Claw’)  Always a great place to fuel up and grab snacks, check out Enumclaw’s growing restaurant scene as well.  (The Mint, The Pie Goddess andRendezvous Wine & Brew are a few great options.)  Located in Buckley, just before you get to Enumclaw is the turnoff for State Route 165 which will take you to the park’s Carbon River entrance.  (Mowich Lake and Spray Park are beautiful!  No services are offered in this area, but it’s a lesser visited part of the park and completely worth a visit.  BRING BUG SPRAY!)

After you pass through The Claw, you’ll eventually find yourself driving through the very small community of Greenwater.  Don’t blink, you’ll miss it!  (NOTE: This is the last point to get gas on 410.  There is NO fuel available within the park and the next spot to gas up on 410 is over Chinook Pass at… Whistlin’ Jack Lodge! Where apparently all paths lead to in this entry.)  While although small, Greenwater is definitely worth a stop – if only to make sure you don’t run out of gas further down the road!  The Naches Tavern is a decent place to pop in for a cold drink and burger – especially after a long day of hiking or skiing.  Wapiti Woolies is a great place to stop for a beautiful, hand-knit ski hat or a nice cup of coffee. (Seriously – they have great hats!)

Heading further east on 410, you’ll see the turnoff to Crystal Mountain Ski Resort on your left, just before you officially enter Mount Rainier National Park.  Crystal Mountain is one of my favorite places to ski and they offer great hiking, mountain biking and sightseeing in the summer as well.  They have several dining options during the winter and a pretty kickass taco truck which I believe now sits near the base lodge on a regular basis during the ski season.  Even if you don’t ski, take the gondola up to theSummit House for a breathtaking view of Mt. Rainier and surrounding areas.  They also host great ‘Sunset Dinners’ at the Summit House in the summer months.  (Book ahead!)

After entering the park, travel along 410 for a few miles until you come to the Mather Memorial Parkway marker.  At this point you can continue east on 410 towards WHISTLIN’ JACK LODGE or towards the west side of Mount Rainier via Cayuse Pass (SR 123) OR – take a right onto the Sunrise access road and head up to Sunrise Lodge.  (Highest drivable point in the park at 6400’ – many car commercials have been filmed on this road over the years – it’s a spectacular, 17-mile twister!)

Sunrise Lodge is a day lodge and offers basic sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs and snack bar fare.  As I mentioned, I spent many a summer working in the park, much of that time at Sunrise Lodge.  (Actually living upstairs in the lodge – great fun!)  We always used to joke that with the rise of elevation came the rise of prices. Seriously – how can a 6 oz. can of juice cost $20?? Okay, I may be slightly exaggerating the $20 price tag, but I won’t lie – you’ll pay a lot more in the park restaurants and gift shops for basic items.  Regardless, I love Sunrise Lodge.  I could write a book based solely on my excellent and ridiculous adventures experienced during my tenure – it occupies a very important and indelible place of importance in my heart.  It was built nearly 100 years ago and remains a bastion of rustic elegance in an otherwise undeveloped part of the park and state.  And even though chilled beer wasn’t around on the mountain 100 years ago and one from the snack bar will likely set you back your kid’s college fund, it’s well worth it after a couple hours exploring the area trails.

There are many amazing hikes that take off from the Sunrise area, some shorter and perfect for family outings and some perfect for a few days away from civilization.  Check out the Northern Loop for a glorious, 3-day backpacking getaway.  If there happens to be a full moon, head up to Second Burroughs at dusk, locate the stone “couch” and sit back and watch the “movie.”  (There’s no actual movie, but the view from the stone couch puts you smack in front of the massive amazingness of Mount Rainier – it’s your own, personal IMAX experience.)  Just settle in and watch the magic as the night unfolds over the snowy majesty… The full moon only adds to the magic. (A thermos filled with Baileys and coffee is also a nice addition.)  Sunrise is also an amazing place to check out the yearly Perseids meteor shower.

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Wildflowers in the Paradise meadows.

LONGMIRE/PARADISE area (SR 123, US 12, WA 167, WA 161, SR 706)

If you’re interested in visiting the side of the park opposite Sunrise, there are several available routes.  Take US 12 past Yakima if you’re coming from the east, SR 123 in the summer if you’re coming over from Sunrise or any number of routes from the Seattle/Tacoma area that will connect you to SR 706. (Always check ahead for seasonal road restrictions and updates.)

There are many great places to eat along the way, but since it’s such a large area to cover, I’ll focus on the places closer to the park entrance on the Paradise side.  (Nisqually entrance)

As you come up SR 706, you’ll pass through a couple areas with good food options.  One of the first ‘towns’ you’ll encounter will be, Elbe.  Home to the ridiculously quaint,Elbe Historic Church and the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad, it is also host to my local favorite,Scaleburgers.  During the busy summer season, you might have a little wait as it’s a small (really small!) place with a small kitchen. (Really, really small!)  However, the classic burgers, onion rings and shakes are worth it.  YUM!  (Check out previous posts to gain more perspective on my love of the old-skool burger joint…)

A few miles past Elbe, you’ll find the slightly larger community of Ashford.  Check out historic Whittaker’s Bunkhouse for one of many services.  It’s a motel, café, guide service and shop – and then some!  It’s also owned and operated by mountaineering legend,Lou Whittaker.  Improve your Mount Rainier pedigree by stopping in for a visit.  It’s incredibly charming, well-run and a part of local culture and history.  Also in the area is the Highlander, if you’re looking for good bar food and a bit of local color. Alexander’s Country Inn is also a lovely place to stop for the night and they serve a wonderful, fresh-caught trout dinner.  It is definitely one of the more elegant destinations in the area.  (NOTE:  Ashford is the last place to gas up before entering the park.)

Just before you enter the park, don’t miss the Copper Creek Inn on the left of SR 706.  Everything I’ve tried there has been very tasty, but I can’t say enough about the homemade bread and blackberry pie.  It has a very cozy, relaxing vibe and is a great destination in and of itself.  (They also have many well-appointed cabins nearby – well worth investigating.)

Once you’ve passed through the Nisqually entrance into the park, your dining options become reduced.  However, somewhat inflated pricing aside, it can still be an enjoyable affair.  The National Park Inn restaurant, located in theLongmire area is the first dining option you’ll encounter within the park.  Featuring rustic architecture and a respite-worthy front porch, it also hosts lodging, a gift shop and nearby is a museum featuring park history.  (Housed in the original park headquarters)  It’s also a great jump-off point for winter show shoeing and cross-country ski adventures.

The next and final destination on the beautiful and windy mountain road will be Paradise Inn.  Built in 1916, it is truly a gem in the crown of ‘National Park Service Rustic’ design and architecture.  The main, Paradise Inn Dining Room features breakfast, lunch and dinner and highlights great NW fare such as salmon, crab cakes and all things blackberry.  Check out the Sunday brunch for more classic NW dishes.  The lodge is open seasonally from mid-May through early October.  Reservations are recommended for the dining room and lodging options fill quickly every year.  There are also snack bar and café offerings in the Paradise area housed in both the Paradise Inn and the Jackson Visitors Center.  The café and snack bars also offer trail lunches to accompany you while viewing the amazing vistas, wildflowers, wildlife and towering slopes of the mountain.  Beautiful!

And with that, I bring to an end my foray into the travel and culinary offerings of the Mount Rainier National Park area.  I hate to admit it, but I’ve really only touched on a small portion of what the park and surrounding areas have to offer.  I’ve been exploring the area since childhood and still don’t feel like I’ve scratched the surface – but will certainly keep trying.  And on the note of scratching – Seriously – BRING BUG SPRAY!  (In the summer months, at least 😉

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My travel buddy, Eli – First visit to Mount Rainier/Paradise.

Until next time… Cheers!