Girls Day Out!

Here it was, already my last Sat. in WA.  The time, as usual, had gone way too fast!  I didn't just spend all my time with Farah!  My schedule was planned around Grand-daughter Cassidy's 16th Birthday!  The last time I'd here to celebrate, was 2016, just prior to our move to IA.

Mason & Dave had a full day planned & so did we!  Up & on the road early, we stopped at Starbucks before heading to Ferry dock.  The three of us are all rock hounds, so a day trip to Whidbey Island for walking the beach sounded perfect.  We arrived at the Edmonds ferry in record time - traffic was light on a Saturday.

Just light rain, we were so lucky to be one of the last cars loading, without the wait for another boat.  Once we'd boarded, I hurried up front to admire the views.  The three of us were standing there, when suddenly Courtney said;  "We're going to Kingston!  We're on the wrong ferry!"  It had dawned on me about the same time, we should have been on the Mukilteo ferry to Clinton!

Cassidy & Grammy~  I'm still taller!  :-)  Not!

You'd have thought we were all newcomers to the state!  But, what the heck, it had been a long time since we'd been on the peninsula.  The rain had stopped, the sky was clearing & it was going to be one of those days when Washington pulls out all the stops.

Tug boat leaving Kingston~

We gave Dave a call, telling him of our change of plans & decided to make the loop! In all the years we lived Butch's home state, we'd never visited Port Townsend. Courtney started telling me of a beach there - great for finding sea glass! As if I needed any convincing.

On our route, we crossed the Hood Canal Bridge. Butch & I had gone that way with the camper, our last trip with the kids in June of 2015, on our way to Fort Flagler. Crossing this beautiful bridge - new since we first moved to WA in 1981 - is so much fun.

It wasn't much of a drive until we were entering Port Townsend.  What a beautiful, quaint seaport town.  The Peters family had been there before.  Courtney knew of one of the best restaurant for lunch.  Clam chowder had been on my list for days & I finally got to indulge!  Yum!  We took time to walk the town & do a little shopping.

Downtown Port Townsend~

We found a shop that sold rocks, all kinds of rocks, we were there awhile...

Flowers everywhere~

Cassidy & I left Courtney to check out the tea shop & were amazed at the variety of tea's! We both sampled & ended up buying tea to bring home. When Courtney caught up to us, we decided if the purpose of the day had been to rock-hound, we'd better head for the beach!

Point Wilson Lighthouse~

The parking was far from full, we grabbed our buckets & started hiking along the water. The temperature was perfect, a light breeze, blue water & fluffy clouds. I admired the amazing views at least as much as I searched for agates & glass!  Until - Courtney & Cassidy started finding cool stuff!

Great Blue Heron~

Out across the water, this guy caught my eye.  I had to zoom all the way in, but managed to get his photo, riding on the kelp.

Me & my bucket :-)

All those colored buckets we'd bought the grand-kids over the years, to fill with goodies, are still in use today!  I filled mine with rock, I later had to sort down to only my favorites, to pack for the trip home.

Looking down at the car deck~

We made a total of three ferry rides!  From Edmonds to Kingston, Keystone Ferry from Port Townsend to Coupeville & finally the Clinton to Mukilteo run. Below is our landing in Coupeville.

By the time we'd loaded on to the Salish, the sun was setting over the Cascades.  It was a stunning end to a magnificent day.   We stopped in Mukilteo for a quick dinner at Ivars, before heading home.  Who can ever get enough seafood?  :-)