City Of Dreams

Port Townsend is a small town full of history. Presumed to be what Seattle is today. It didn't quite make it to that expectation. The town homes the most beautiful Victorian buildings I have ever seen and sits above the Puget Sound.

We go to Port Townsend once a year, and every time I pester Anthony about staying the night. If you've learned anything about Anthony at this point, you know he's consistent with his "No's" 

It's about an hour and forty-five minute drive from Tacoma. The drive is beautiful crossing the hood canal bridge, awesome views of the Olympic Mountains, and driving alongside the Chimacum Valley. -We have a thing for Valleys.

We arrived around 10:30 downtown, the streets are lined with boutiques and good eats. You could easily spend an afternoon here.

Favorite Eats: Waterfront Pizza

Favorite Espresso: Ground to Perfection Espresso

The architecture is breathtaking. If you love a good background for your photos. You will find one every step you take!

Once we finished downtown we headed up the hill to Fort Worden. I will never forget the first time Anthony took me here, it was in the beginning of our relationship and it's one of my favorite memories of us.

Fort Worden was once a military base. It has evolved into a state park. You are able to go down for the day, camp, or attend events in the park. You will need a Discovery Pass or 10.00 for park entry.

The old bunkers are our favorite part. Consisting of maze like tunnels that are dark and a little creepy
- every young kids hide and seek dream.
 You are able to walk through the bunkers, with multiply staircases to chose from that will lead you to the top, where it overlooks high above the  Puget Sound. There are also paths that lead down to the beach.  Besides Battery Kinzie which is the bunker directly on the water there are numerous others up on the hillside, with trails that lead to each one. We let Fallyn direct us through the forest trails and we got lost... no biggie, we got to see everything.  HAHA

I highly recommend Port Townsend and Fort Worden for your next day trip. If you have any questions on this spectacular destination you can comment or email me at:

brittneydolce@gmail.com

Look out for the next Postcard From The PNW

Brittney

Hey You Guys -Sloth

Keeping with the movie inspired theme this week, I take you to Astoria, Oregon for Throwback Thursday! Little under a three hour drive from Tacoma. You will arrive at the 4.1 mile Astoria-Meglar Bridge which welcomes you to Astoria, Oregon.

A perfect place to take a day trip, Astoria is a cute town full of history. My type of history: Pop Culture. Multiple movies have been filmed there. One In particular the treasure hunt classic, The Goonies. Released in 1985 -WHOOP WHOOP- the year I was born.  

Growing up The Goonies was one of mine as well as Anthony's favorite films. Of course we had to share it with Fallyn who fell in love with it immediately. In 2015, thirty years after the release, I had my heart set on going down to Astoria and taking a picture in front of the famous Goon Dock Home protrayed in the film. The house on average had anywhere from 1200-1500 visitors a day. It is located in a cute neighborhood painted with Goonies influences on every corner. 

I GOT MY PICTURE!!! - another cross off on my PNW BUCKETLIST!!!

A few weeks later the owner of the home, covered the house with blue tarps. After YEARS of welcoming fans, and even giving tours, the owners had enough, not all the visitors were respectful of the owners property. That was two years ago, the house is still not accessible to the public.  

There is still plenty for the Goonies enthusiast to checkout in Astoria. The Goondocks website -LINK- is a great resource of all things Goonies go check them out!!! 

Look out for the next Postcard From The PNW!!!

Brittney

High Tide, Low Tide - Take Me Back To Nisqually

This Memorial weekend we decided to stay close to home and go on an adventure we have been wanting to cross off our bucket list. The Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.  When I say we I mean me.  Anthony has been there before when he was younger and knew Fallyn and I would love it.

The Wildlife Refuge is a large piece of land set aside to help preserve the wildlife. No pets are allowed in the Refuge so they won't disturb the animals or land.   There is a $3.00 cash fee to enter the Wildlife Refuge.  We learned the hard way.  We only had two dollars cash with no ATM in site.  A fellow Wildlife Refuge traveler let us know there is a gas station on the corner with an ATM.  We headed back to the car hoping to scrounge up a dollar worth of change. When the same guy came up behind us with a dollar.  Thank you generous traveler, your greatly appreciated.  

So we started our journey, we were able to see geese with newborn babies, seals, crabs, fish and about a dozen blue herons.  The Wildlife was fun to see but my favorite part was the scenery. The Wildlife Refuge has created multiply flat trails, great for kids. Consisting of raised boardwalks and gravel paths. Whether the tide is high and you feel like your walking on water, or low and see the waters muddy floor, you will be in awe of the boardwalk structures they have created.

Along the path you will come across two huge white barns. Prior to becoming a Wildlife Refuge it was farmland. They decided to keep these two beautiful rare gems in rememberance of the lands history. 

 

The Wildlife Refuge is definitely a must see place in the PNW

For Memorial Day I wanted to announce my next GIVEAWAY! One lucky person will win my statement piece I never take off. My Washington Necklace!!! It is perfect for the PNW enthusiast!!!

Wednesday I will be posting a photo on Instagram on how to enter!!! Be on the look out!

Instagram:  Brit_PNW

Look out for the next Postcard From The PNW!!!

Brittney

Throwback Thursday: Staircase

The weather has been so beautiful the last few days!!!

I decided this weeks Throwback Thursday I will share with you a beautiful place that has a family friendly trail: Staircase Rapids Nature Loop Trail.  

Last April we decided to head to the Olympic Peninsula and spend our afternoon at Staircase. It's a little under a two hour drive from Tacoma, WA. The drive is beautiful it runs right along side Lake Cushman. The road is unpaved and closes from time to time due to weather conditions. So before you head out you can check on the National Park Service website. There is also a vehicle/walk in fee unless you have an Annual Pass. Pets aren't allowed since its in the National Forest. Gabby missed out. 

Staircase has multiply skill level trails. The Rapids Loop Trail is family friendly so we chose to go that route. The trail is 2.1 mile loop, along the trail you will find enormous trees reaching high into the sky, as well as giant fallen trees laying across the mossy forest floor. 

Plenty of beautiful view points of the Skokomish River, the water is a beautiful shade of blues and greens. One of my favorite spots is at the bridge. Made to look like a Mini Narrows Bridge, you get a clear view of the rapids below. 

Towards the end of the trail there is a viewpoint of The Great Bend in the river overlooking the bluff. The height made my stomach drop. Of course I was yelling at Fallyn not to get close to the ledge HAHA she was staying even further back than I was.  

Staircase was a fun trip for us.  I hope you get a chance to check it out!

Look out for the next Postcard From The PNW!!!

Brittney