Friday, November 09, 2007


Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Heading away for a blog absence this weekend to Port Townsend, a.k.a. The City the Railroads Forgot. Other than being a good harbor and the once and future-planned capitol of Washington State, it doesn't really have a good excuse for existing. So the iconoclastic sorts who stayed there, and now move there, made a bunch of reasons up, like kinetic sculpture races, theatre, artist collectives, jazz and wooden boat festivals, restaurants people (literally) fly to, topped off with Victorian architecture made with the best and most plentiful timber of the late 1800s. From Wikipedia:

Originally named 'Port Townshend' by Captain George Vancouver (for his friend the Marquis of Townshend) in 1792, Port Townsend was immediately recognized as a good, safe harbor, which it remains to this day. The official settlement of the city took place on the 24th of April, 1851. American Indian tribes located in what is now Jefferson County in the mid-19th century included the Chemakum (or Chimacum), Hoh (a group of the Quileute), Klallam (or Clallam), Quinault and Twana (the Kilcid band — Anglicized: Quilcene).

Port Townsend is also called the "City of Dreams" because of the early speculation that the city would be the largest harbor on the west coast of the United States.

7 comments:

Naj said...

Envious, I am!

isabelita said...

Swell little town to walk around in; hope you have a nice quiet place in which to stay. We had some terrific food at a brew pub; I think it was called the Pt. Townsend Brew Pub, in a cool old corner building. Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

I love visiting places like that. Have a great time of it!

MarcLord said...

It was a great and varied weekend, complete with an opening lunch at the Port Townsend Brewery (think that's what it's called, Iz), followed by a hunchback leading a poetry ensemble, gale-force winds, downed trees, and (watching) a sail-boat struggle across the strait at Discovery Passage to be plucked off a lee shore by a Coast Guard cutter blessed with an extremely strong rope. Will fill in later!

HopeSpringsATurtle said...

Gorgeous! Have a fab time. Won't run into any Blackwater fellows I trust.

MarcLord said...

If we do, Hope, we'll be sure to stay out of the Projectile Vomit Path. ;-)

Unknown said...

There are so many things I never knew: electrical failures, laugh-outs over pimples, failed alarm clocks; too fast pink Cadillacs(!);
Fill in the Blanks! Rainstorms and Umbrellas; Pain-Pain-Pain, ala BYU; ala Alamo?? A grassrootsof sorts, undenied; A lovely story to be yet told. Steven???