Seen in a shop window in Victoria, B.C.
Category: Day Trip
Available
Unique birdhouse looking for sophisticated tenant. One bedroom unit with one-of-a-kind design details. Available for immediate occupancy.
Seen at the Port Townsend Gallery.
Something old, new to me
I found some new-to-me ghost signs in Port Townsend recently while ushering a family visitor through the sights.
Revisiting the Camperdown elm
Last spring I posted shots of an unusual Camperdown elm tree that is in Port Gamble, about an hour’s drive from Sequim. It caught my eye because it looked more like a visual puzzle of twisted gnarls than something resembling a tree. Take a look at it here. On our way back from the Kingston Ferry last week we stopped to take another look at it, above.
I was amazed at the lush growth, reaching fully to the ground around it. And in the middle was an opening that allows the curious to walk inside the canopy and have a look around.
Leaves cover the twisted and bumpy trunk. Yet bits and pieces still peer out, almost like a forest gnome or something from a Grimm’s fairy tale.
Port of Kingston
Sailboats are lined up and ready for action at the Port of Kingston.
Kingston Ferry Terminal
We met a relative at the Kingston Ferry earlier this week. Most of the time we pull up in our car, pay the piper, and wait in line to drive onto the ferry to go to Edmonds. This time we met a walk-on passenger and drove into the terminal parking lot for a different perspective – and much more interesting view as we waited for the ferry to arrive.
The long boat revisited
A couple of weeks ago I showed you this boat under sail. It is a replica of one of the long boats that Captain George Vancouver’s crew used in the 1790s to explore our region. I saw it again, moored in Port Townsend, when I returned last week to look at the ancient anchor that may have come from this expedition. This is a more placid view of the boat which is used for Marine Education at the Northwest Maritime Center.
It’s quite a lovely boat with a very sweet stern.
Here’s a lesson in oars from DH, who pointed out these details to me: The big square part of the oars shown here is called the “loom.” It’s notable for its square form which is functional as a counter weight, making it easier to lift the blade of the oar out of the water during rowing. (Typical oars these days are more slender and tapered.) The leather on the oar relieves wear on it where it rides in the tholes, the slots you see above the sides (gunn’ls) of the boat. The tholes here are notable as this was the way oars were applied before the typical oar locks you see today. There. Now go out and impress someone with your extensive knowledge of oars!