Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
Before we went to the Port Townsend Aero Museum, here and here, we went to the Spruce Goose Cafe nearby. I’d heard the food was good. I’d heard right.
The decor is all about airplanes: posters, models, framed photographs.
It was a nice day and the deck was full. After they finished their meals several diners walked down to the air field, untethered planes and took off. That’s one way to make an exit.
We camped at Fort Flagler recently. The backdrop of the Olympic Mountains along the shore of Port Townsend Bay is always a beautiful sight. And it’s only an hour from Sequim.
The vintage planes at the Port Townsend Aero Museum are beautifully restored. The mirror finish of this 1946 Globe Swift (GC-1A) is just one of many dazzling examples.
The aircraft aren’t simply museum pieces. The planes in the collection are flown regularly.
The museum is located at the Jefferson County International Airport. It’s a busy airport but don’t get ideas about a bustling terminal and 787s taxiing. You can, however, count on a very good cafe, Spruce Goose Cafe, and no traffic jams.
I’d heard that the Port Townsend Aero Museum was worth a visit. Last week I finally made it there and was delighted that I did. I’m not an aviation enthusiast but this place is exciting, filled with interesting and gorgeous aircraft.
Visitors are surrounded by planes, on the floor of the museum and in virtual flight. About 20 1920s to 1940s vintage aircraft are on display. There are also hundreds of models in display cases.
Everything gleams with love and the museum is a visual delight. The beauty above is a 1937 Staggerwing Beech (Model C-17B, if you really want to know).
The museum is focused on youth mentorship, including job skills training through restoration, maintenance, and operation of the museum’s antique aircraft. Tomorrow I’ll share more of what I saw.
Port Townsend is a great place to find interesting characters. We followed this fellow down a pier, hoping to get a decent shot of him. “How far can he go?” said DH. Then he disappeared down a stairway to a floating dock and climbed into an inflatable boat. A puff boat? How pirate-like is that?
He motored out to a rather nice sailboat anchored out. Never did get a complete shot of his getup which included just about everything except a sword, eye patch, and parrot on his shoulder. The boat is named Free Spirit.
Our gang of buddies did some retail grazing recently in Silverdale, a city that boasts so many stores, large and small, that it’s frankly not for the faint of heart. In my case that’s why I travel in a gang. There’s also an abundance of restaurants. But Silver City stands out. And I did some happy grazing on this offering. There’s a salad underneath all this yum.
I suppose if you’re going to the effort and expense of building a house in the San Juan Islands why settle for a humble cabin? We saw some fine dwellings on our Puget Sound Express trip. Some would be nice on any sort of site.
Others took advantage of the rugged landscape
If you’re going to go so far I suppose you may as well have room for a crowd.
No quick stroll to a grocery store or theater from these spots but I expect there are plenty of other diversions if you can pull off a house like this.