Boats, planes, and lifts

Our route from Port Townsend to Seattle was influenced by having booked to go on the Boeing factory tour, at Everett, north of the city. So we got a ferry from PT to Keystone on Whidbey Island, drove down to the south of the Island, and got another ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo. The Boeing factory is just a couple of miles from the ferry.

On the tour, we were taken to the assembly building (which is the biggest building in the world by volume), where they put together 747s, 767s, and 777s. The very first 787 Dreamliner was also there; they only started work on it this week. Cameras aren't allowed inside, so no photos.

In Seattle, it was raining but we decided to go up the Space Needle anyway. The observation deck is 520 feet up, and the lift (up the ouside) takes 41 seconds. There were great views of the city, Puget Sound, and Union Lake, but the visibility wasn't good enough to be able to see the mountains.

We have returned the car, having driven 1332 miles.

Port Townsend, WA

It was a big day in Port Townsend -- the Rhododendron Parade. There were more than a hundred entries in the parade, including school bands from all over Washington. What never ceases to amaze me is the willingness of the American youth to wear outrageous band costumes. I just can't imagine kids at home doing this.

Port Townsend is a beautifully preserved Victorian port, with many lovely buildings. The main street downtown is Water Street.



Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend is apparently where they filmed An Officer and a Gentleman. And just in case of lighthouse withdrawal symptoms, there's one at Point Wilson.

The Olympic Mountains

Our route today took us from Lake Quinault round the edge of the Olympic Mountains National Park, through Forks to Port Angeles. From there we took a drive up to Hurricane Ridge, more than five-thousand feet up above the town. There were spectacular views inland to the mountains.

Tonight's stop is in Port Townsend, on the north-eastern tip of the Olympic peninsular. Our hotel apparently used to be a brothel in the 1920s! We have a view of Admiralty Inlet, and the car ferry which crosses to the closest of the many islands.

There's some excitement here because the Governor of Washington is in town, presumably for the Rhododendron Parade which takes place tomorrow. The rhododendron is the state flower of Washington.

Into Washington

On Thursday, we started the day by visiting the Astoria Column, which stands on a hill above Astoria. It's decorated with depictions of the area's history, and there's a spiral staircase of 164 steps to the top from where there are great views of the river and the bridge to Washington.

The little gift shop sells balsa-wood gliders for 75c, to launch off the top. I bought one, threw it from the column, and watched it fly, and fly, and fly. It kept going for several minutes, and we lost sight of it before it came down! Undoubtedly the best 75c buy of the holiday.

Once over the bridge, we made a brief stop in Long Beach, which claims to have the longest beach in the world. As the tide was out (and it's apparently the thing to do) we drove out onto the beach. It's probably the most off-roading our Jeep Liberty will ever do.


Our stop for the night was Lake Quinault, on the edge of the Olympic National Park. We were the only people staying in the resort, and our cabin not only had a great view of the lake, but also tiny humming birds which continually visited a sugar-water feeder hanging outside. In the evening, the owner took us for a boat ride round the lake.

Northern Oregon

More lighthouses on Wednesday. We stopped at Yaquina Head, just north of Newport, principally to see the lighthouse but ended up spending much more time on the beach in a little cove watching the harbour seals playing in the water. We also saw a group of front-heavy-looking pelicans flying past.

At Cape Mears, where there's another lighthouse, we finally saw the distincive uff of spray made by a whale. No sight of the actul whale, though, as it was too far out.

We're now in Astoria, on the northern edge of Oregon. A four mile long bridge across the Columbia River will take us into the state of Washington.

Jeep Liberty

This is our hire car, a Jeep Liberty. It claims to have a 3.7 litre engine, but at least two of those litres seems to go awol whenever it comes to an uphill gradient. And it also seldom has any idea which gear it should be in!

Oregon Lighthouses

We've seen three lighthouses today, and there are another two at Newport, where we're staying tonight. This is the one at Bandon.

It's been foggy today, which we're told is more typical than the sunshine we had the past few days.

Tonight we're staying in a studio apartment overlooking the harbour at Newport. We can see the impressive bridge across the bay from our window.