Friday, August 09, 2013
Cheryl: When we last
communicated we were on our way to Port Townsend to visit our daughter,
Kimberly; her husband, John; and our grandchildren, Rowan (14) and Hailey (9). We
stayed in Fort Worden State Park on the sandy beaches of Puget Sound where we
watched large ships ply the shipping lanes across Puget Sound far out on the
horizon. I’ll let Frank tell you about the history of the Fort and his
adventures with Rowan and his friend, Jesse.
Kimberly and Hailey
Really Cold Water!!
Makeshift Teeter-Totter
We had a secluded spot
for the trailer and a very private picnic table surround by trees and bushes on
three sides. Three of the four days we spent there dawned foggy with a chill,
but Thursday morning brought bright sunshine by 7:00 a.m. It didn't rain any of
the days we visited, and it turns out that Port Townsend traditionally doesn't get as much rainfall as the immediate Seattle area.
Frank says, "Just shoot me if I start adding yard decor!"
The 110-year-old
Victorian home Kimberly just moved into about a month ago couldn't be sweeter.
It’s a soft yellow outside and inside the wall colors are muted and comforting
apart from the kitchen which fairly dances with bright colors opening onto
green leafy vistas out huge windows over the sink. Look up through the skylight
and birds can be seen flying to unknown destinations under wispy puffs of white
clouds. I’m thinking this room will prove to be the heart of the house where
everyone who enters gravitates.
I fell in love with the
view off the sun-room and enclosed porch where those big crank out windows with
wavy glass panes hint at the longevity of this historic house. Just think, 110
years of kids sliding down the wide banister in the front hallway and tripping
upstairs to play in the spacious bedrooms. The home feels welcoming and full of
the joys of past lives lived gracefully in a setting that includes tiers of
rock-walled gardens, ancient trees large enough to support rope swings and a
playhouse with its own mailbox now dubbed, The Horse Hoof Girls’ house.
Kimberly and John
commissioned extensive remodeling inside including a bedroom for Rowan, a spectacular
TV room, and storage in what was once an unfinished, downstairs garage area.
Now, instead of garage doors, there are French doors opening onto the former
short driveway that serve as entry into Rowan’s kingdom while, the drive
provides parking space for his bicycle. Some teenage hangout, huh!
Needless to say I loved
Kimberly’s new digs, and I’m even more in love with Port Townsend’s downtown
full of historic Victorian buildings and all kinds of funky shops and places to
eat overlooking the waterfront. What an enchanting place my daughter has chosen
to live! I’m so glad for her guest house and an open invitation to visit.
That’s it for my
accounting of our time spent in “radio silence.” I’ll let Frank fill you in on
the details, and I didn't even mention Elevated Ice Cream, a shop where
homemade ice cream on sugar cones make you keep coming back for more, and I did
that twice!
We're now settled at KOA in Castle Rock, WA ready to tour Mt. St. Helens tomorrow morning.
In case you missed it in an earlier blog
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