The Trip - Port Townsend

Plan B was Port Townsend, which we had planned to do today, after seeing Victoria yesterday, but we roll with the punches as they come.

Port Townsend is known for its Victorian homes. It's also where my dad was born, but most people don't know that, and they come here anyway.


As we got into town, we saw this lighthouse up on a hill. It's not a real lighthouse, or an old building. It was built in 1990, based on the lighthouse at Mukilteo near Seattle.


Port Townsend has an uptown and a downtown. They're self-explanatory, with uptown being up the hill. We started downtown, near the waterfront, and wandered along the shops, and Scooter kept himself entertained. He either sniffed the sidewalk for food, or he barked at the other dogs.


There were a few places in town, and also along the coast of the Olympic Penninsula, where these signs were posted. Basically, the answer is, "Head for the hills!"


And of course, what would a port be without a harbor?


We happened to be in town for the Arts and Crafts Festival, which was held uptown. They had booths of stuff for sale, and I got scolded by a 20-year-old hat seller when I took a picture of her wares. I offered to delete the picture, but she wasn't concerned about that. She told me I should always ask permission before photographing an artist's work. And she's right. I usually do, but I hadn't thought of her floppy-brimmed cloth hats as artistry, and I didn't like the picture when I looked at it later.

The Festival had a band playing a broad mix of Cajun, blues, bluegrass and other danceable music. This guy really knew his way around a dance floor. Not all of the dancers did.


There were a lot of people dressed in an eclectic manner. I don't know if this woman dressed up special for the Festival, or if she always dresses like this. That's a set of wings under the yellow feather boa.


And this dog, Lily, was in a booth at the Festival as well. The lady with her said Lily is a therapy dog. She visits hospitals and nursing homes, and she goes to the library and maybe schools (my memory is failing already). Lily likes to have little kids read to her, and they like to do it. She's a good listener, never scolding or judging or correcting their pronunciation. Sometimes Lily's owner will tell the kids, "Lily doesn't know that word. Can you tell her what it means?" And they'll look right at Lily and tell her what the word means. I like Lily. She's a real sweetie.


Our visit to Port Townsend finished at the Rothschild House, where we took the self-guided tour. Mr. Rothschild made his fortune as a mercantile store owner. The docent said 90% of the house's furnishings are original to the family, and this is the parlor. I noticed that most of the chairs were rocking chairs, and that sure would have made for a nice visit.


And this is part of the view from the balcony, looking out toward the harbor.


The Rothschild House was nice, but our visit to the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell, Montana, was so much better (I didn't blog about that).