Our ferry landed in Bellingham WA, which is a pretty little town with a Trader Joe's to stock up! We spent 3 nights in Vancouver, a beautiful, but busy city. We "camped" just across the bridge from Stanley Park. A crowded noisy spot, but very convenient. Biked and walked in the park, there is a great bike path along the sea wall which borders the park. Ate some great Chinese dim sum and visited the fine arts museum. Public transportation is very easy to use in the city. We were glad to get out of the city and to a quiet spot on Whidbey Island. Part of the San Juan Islands with bridge access. Several beautiful state parks and small quaint towns on the island, made it a perfect place to relax. The best oysters I have ever eaten are grown in Penn Cove outside of Oak Harbor, we had to have them twice! Yummy! A short ferry ride brought us to Port Townsend, a beautiful old historic town on the water. They get only 17 inches of rain a year, something about the Mt's, protects them from the high rainfall most of WA is famous for. But, it is commonly misty and foggy. Odd to see beautiful flower gardens and big forests, but dry grass at the same time. Spent a few nights on the coast of WA, Long Beach, the longest beach in the world with a great bike path along the sand dunes. We lucked out to visit during the state kite festival, a big event with many people who attend every year. We camped in a very funky RV park from the 50's. The owners are British and most of the visitors are artist eccentric types. They have several 50's trailers for rent in various degrees of disrepair. We are now 8 miles outside of Astoria Oregon at Fort Stevens State Park. This is a very historical area, an old fort, now one of the biggest state parks in the country. Bike paths, beaches, lakes, and forest make it a great place to stay. It is located at the mouth of the Columbia river, a treacherous commerce area, with huge ships carrying goods in and out. It originates in British Columbia and goes as far as Idaho in the US. There is a very nice Maritime Museum in Astoria where we learned of many ship wrecks and rescues. Also of the treacherous job of bar pilots and river pilots. The river is so dangerous that highly trained ship pilots have to drive the ships into the river (bar pilots), and then another (river pilot) takes over to drive the ships through the narrow passageway beyond Astoria. It is dangerous and very specialized work. The town of Astoria was the first town settled west of the Mississippi river. I love the old historic homes and businesses built on a hill. Like a small San Francisco. Book stores, coffee shops, museums and a pretty waterfront make for a great place to walk. An unexpected sight was hundreds of sea lions barking and lying about the warfs, sometimes blocking the walkway to private boats. See our video! WE also kayaked on a small lake within the state park, peaceful, great birding spot. We look forward to more of the Oregon coast as we head out tomorrow to the next state park. After several days of rain and clouds we have a beautiful sunny day today!
Our ferry landed in Bellingham WA, which is a pretty little town with a Trader Joe's to stock up! We spent 3 nights in Vancouver, a beautiful, but busy city. We "camped" just across the bridge from Stanley Park. A crowded noisy spot, but very convenient. Biked and walked in the park, there is a great bike path along the sea wall which borders the park. Ate some great Chinese dim sum and visited the fine arts museum. Public transportation is very easy to use in the city. We were glad to get out of the city and to a quiet spot on Whidbey Island. Part of the San Juan Islands with bridge access. Several beautiful state parks and small quaint towns on the island, made it a perfect place to relax. The best oysters I have ever eaten are grown in Penn Cove outside of Oak Harbor, we had to have them twice! Yummy! A short ferry ride brought us to Port Townsend, a beautiful old historic town on the water. They get only 17 inches of rain a year, something about the Mt's, protects them from the high rainfall most of WA is famous for. But, it is commonly misty and foggy. Odd to see beautiful flower gardens and big forests, but dry grass at the same time. Spent a few nights on the coast of WA, Long Beach, the longest beach in the world with a great bike path along the sand dunes. We lucked out to visit during the state kite festival, a big event with many people who attend every year. We camped in a very funky RV park from the 50's. The owners are British and most of the visitors are artist eccentric types. They have several 50's trailers for rent in various degrees of disrepair. We are now 8 miles outside of Astoria Oregon at Fort Stevens State Park. This is a very historical area, an old fort, now one of the biggest state parks in the country. Bike paths, beaches, lakes, and forest make it a great place to stay. It is located at the mouth of the Columbia river, a treacherous commerce area, with huge ships carrying goods in and out. It originates in British Columbia and goes as far as Idaho in the US. There is a very nice Maritime Museum in Astoria where we learned of many ship wrecks and rescues. Also of the treacherous job of bar pilots and river pilots. The river is so dangerous that highly trained ship pilots have to drive the ships into the river (bar pilots), and then another (river pilot) takes over to drive the ships through the narrow passageway beyond Astoria. It is dangerous and very specialized work. The town of Astoria was the first town settled west of the Mississippi river. I love the old historic homes and businesses built on a hill. Like a small San Francisco. Book stores, coffee shops, museums and a pretty waterfront make for a great place to walk. An unexpected sight was hundreds of sea lions barking and lying about the warfs, sometimes blocking the walkway to private boats. See our video! WE also kayaked on a small lake within the state park, peaceful, great birding spot. We look forward to more of the Oregon coast as we head out tomorrow to the next state park. After several days of rain and clouds we have a beautiful sunny day today!
1 comment:
Gayle, Sounds like some beautiful areas in Washington. A lot of people we know here in Sun Lakes spend time up there every summer. Don
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