Travel blog {Washington Trip: Brinnon}

We left for Brinnon bright and early, two days after our arrival to Buckley. Beckham was tired and decided to sleep in a bit that day, so we weren’t able to say goodbye to him. We drove up the Washington peninsula with the thick tree canopy providing us shade. We passed through small towns only notable because of their gas stations and seafood shacks. I smiled and pointed at every fuzzy tree or glimpse of the ocean. Everything was new to me there!

After getting lost, we finally found our forest retreat and found it occupied by another couple. They hadn't checked out yet, so it was slightly awkward, but we told them that we wanted to find our place before dark since we were spending the rest of the day hiking and walking through Port Townsend. 

From there we drove three miles to our turn off to the Murhut Waterfall. Then we drove another 16 miles to the trailhead. We weren’t expecting to drive quite that far and it ate up our gas! Woopsies! But we made it and it was a nice little hike up to the falls. On our way down we hiked through the riverbed and eventually made our way back to the trail. Travis was hopping over the boulders like a schoolboy at recess. It was so fun to see him relax in his element. 

After our short hike we drove to Port Townsend. If you have never been there, put it on your bucket list. It is an adorable little fishing town right on the ocean with tons of history. Victorian houses scatter the hillside watching over the old brick buildings of the town below. Every shop is unique; there is something for everyone. Items ranged from 100 year old puppets to umbrellas with dogs on them! The shop owners were equally as unique as their merchandise. I found it ironic and fitting that most of the antique shops were owned by very antique looking people...if you catch my drift. 

One store we ventured into was an emporium of Hindu, Buddhist and Witchcraft items.  The store owner was a white woman who wore a long, brightly colored shawl with leggings; her grey frizzy hair embellished with something simple. Her pet bird accompanied her behind the glass counter. The store was completely full of books, statues, rugs, stones, supernatural items and the overwhelming scent of incense. I picked up a book off the shelf that had something to do with becoming a better writer and I read a few sentences. I blindly opened the book to a random page and it said, “Snails are the prophets of our gardens, take the time to watch them” and “Cats are furry little angels.” I wanted that book, but I couldn’t justify buying it for $15 dollars! 

As we continued to walk the streets of Port Townsend, we came across countless street musicians playing their little tunes and happy tourists jabbering and laughing their way through the town.

Travis and I strolled hand in hand taking in everything we could see. On one side of us the brick buildings kissed the ocean. I wonder what stories the buildings could tell us? Would they tell us about drunken sailors and pretty girls; or would they tell us stories of love and loss and hardworking fisherman? This may be the inspiration for the book I write someday. 

We ventured down a few side streets to watch the boats sail by. On one side street a woman was sitting in a very ornately covered wagon with a sign that said Fortune Teller on the back of it. I never had my fortune told before so I spared $5 dollars to have it told to me.

The woman was pretty, in a gypsy sort of way. She had long brown hair, dreads on one side with jewels adorning the other side which she left untouched. She had a small tattoo on her forehead right between her eyes that was too faded to tell what it was. The way she smiled made me think that she lived a simple life, but she liked it that way. 

I, of course was super nervous and giggly as always. I had never done something like this before so I had no idea what to expect. 

She asked me to shuffle the cards and lay them in three piles before me. I did as she asked then she gathered them up and laid them out in a criss-cross pattern. The first card that was laid down was the fools card. The fortune teller smiled and told me that up until recently I had been going through life hopping and skipping around not having much of an idea where I was going. The next card that was laid down was the death card. Again, she looked up and smiled and told me what it meant. She said someone close to me had either died or gotten extremely ill and it had changed everything for me. The fortune teller said it was a major turning point in my life where I was forced to reevaluate everything. After that she laid down another 5 cards and brought me up to speed on my own life. Long story short, the fortune teller said that now I am in a period of my life where I am focusing on who I am and who I want to be. She said this is a time of deep self reflection and happiness. She went on to say that I am very passionate and I have a passion in life that I am not pursuing because of self doubt and I will eventually move past the self doubt to pursue my passion.

For $5 dollars I have to give her credit. She did pretty dang good. I wasn't expecting it to be as personal as it turned out to be.  

We ate an early dinner at Sirens, a restaurant that was recommended to us. We sat on the deck overlooking the pudget sound while the rain slowly drizzled on us in true Western Washington fashion. Luckily we had a nice, big umbrella over us that gave us some relief, but I honestly didn't mind the rain. It felt nice to enjoy the cool weather. 

We splurged on a good meal of pub burgers and fries! The pub burgers had actual pretzels as buns, which was basically the most amazing thing I've ever eaten. We enjoyed relaxing on the deck and watching the boats go by as we ate. Moral of the story, go to Sirens, eat pub burgers, watch seagulls poop and soak it all in!

Here I am modeling a lovely, run down, pooed on building.

We also stumbled upon a quaint farmers market in the historic district of Port Townsend. And of course it was a perfect Washingtonian market--full of charm and hippies.

We sipped lavender cider and listened to the live band as we walked; carefully admiring every booth. The locals had chunky knitted bags full of fresh produce and pet goats on leashes. 

This vendor was brewing fresh, organic coffee. She would put a filter in the pot,
 placed the grounds inside and then poured water in.
She placed a cup beneath it and BAM coffee!

Later that afternoon we finally made it to our little cabin in the woods! I was pleasantly surprised when we walked in to find a clean, adorably decorated cozy cabin. We used airbnb.com to find and book this place and we will definitely be using it again! You can find the listing here. We felt incredibly lucky to find a rustic getaway like this, but still find it comfortable, clean and welcoming (and for a great price!).

Travis let me have the bed and he slept on the cot :)

Looking out the front door

The potty!

The outdoor shower

Funny story--I thought this turtle was real and it scared the crap out of me.

The rest of the night we relaxed in our cozy little cabin and watched a movie on the laptop! That's a wrap for Day 1 of our weekend on the Olympic Peninsula! Also, HUGE shoutout to my mother-in-law Beth for watching Beckham for us! I know he loved spending time with his Grandma for a few days :) 

Love,

Lindsay