Anniversary trip, day 2: Lake Crescent, Hurricane Ridge, and Alderbrook Resort

The skies weren’t blue and clear, as the weather reports had led us to believe and hope, but I’ve decided that perhaps clear blue skies are over-rated. 

OK, that’s not true; I’m just trying to cope with incessant clouds and gray, even at the end of May.

Before we headed out of Port Angeles, we watched as the old fashioned ship (a replica, of course) left the harbor. 

Looking back from the dock, we could see the Olympic Mountains peeking out from the clouds, beckoning us. 

I assured Tom that, by 1:00 the skies at Hurricane Ridge would be clear.  I know, I’m bold in that way.

To begin our day, we took a short side-trip to Crescent Lake.  It’s much larger than I remember, but just as beautiful.

The Crescent Lake Lodge is surrounded by blooming spring flowers…

…and is so… well, lodgy inside. And I mean that in the best way.

Around noon, we headed up to Hurricane Ridge.  Per the weather report, the skies had one hour to clear, dammit.

The skies were temperamental and tortured, changing by the minute.  The sun tried its best to find a way out, but the clouds just kept building and rolling.

We had the obligatory photo of us taken.

Is that a halo I see? (Definitely not!)

I’d love to see the photos this guy was shooting!

Next stop, the Alderbrook Resort and Spa, where the architecture and the grounds are stunning and the service is absolutely impeccable.  Every detail is considered here and we feel pampered, yet not smothered.

Our neighbor, Kim is the Sales Manager for the resort and was able to reserve this waterfront beauty for us…

 

…with this view.

 

A few minutes after we arrived, champagne was delivered for us!

Try as we might, we just couldn’t finish the whole bottle.  We got close, though!

Our dinner at the Alderbrook Resort restaurant was truly the best meal I have had in years.  I rarely eat steak, but this one… oh. my. god.  Delicious!

Tom has seared ahi and raved about his meal a well. 

And the service was impeccable!  Perfectly timed, attentive, friendly. 

They even graced us with a sunset!

After breakfast, we’ll kayak a bit and then head home and back to real life, where Kat has a surprise waiting for us!  (Yes, I’ll post it.)

Olympic Peninsula anniversary trip: Day 1

This will be one of those photo-laden posts – and believe me when I say that I’m only posting a small fraction of the pictures I took today -- starting with this one, in a store window in Port Townsend.  How apropos, eh?

Since there are so many photos to post, I’ll go light on the words.  (I know, amazing, right?)

We’d been told that we should get an early start since it’s a holiday weekend and the lines for the ferry would be horrendous.  At 7:45 AM, that was not so true.  In fact, we’ve encountered few crowds at all.

This was our company in line at the Edmonds-Kingston ferry…

This was our company at the dock…

And this was our company on the ferry…

…where Tom found his favorite thing – pamphlets!

This ferry was heading back to Edmonds as we were headed out.

In Kingston we had breakfast stuffed ourselves at The Oak Table restaurant.

Then we rolled into Port Gamble

…with its quaint streets

… and its beautiful view of Juan de Fuca.

But the best thing about Port Gamble was this house…

…which reminded me so much of the house in which I grew up in Berkeley.  Not the outside so much (this one is more majestic!), but the completely original inside.

Look at that oak stairway!  Look at those fireplaces!

Tom would have a field day restoring this house (and I would have a field day decorating it)!

I’m not sure why it was empty. I have a feeling it’s on the National Register of Historic Buildings – and if its not, it should be.

After Port Gamble, we headed across the (new) Hood Canal Bridge…

into Port Ludlow, which was also gorgeous!

These houses are surrounded by water and boats.

While I was fantasizing about living in a cute house surrounded by water and boats, Tom was fantasizing about this:

Next stop, Fort Worden in Port Townsend.  This is an old military fort dating back about 100 years.  Now, of course, it’s a State Park.

These are the gun batteries which helped protect the Puget Sound from enemy invasion during wartime.

Yikes!  Scary dude!  (Not.)

Officers’ quarters…

After Fort Worden, we headed into Port Townsend.  I don’t know what this majestic building houses…

I guess this is the town lighthouse (on a hill, not on the water!).

Port Townsend has done a great job of renovating the city’s charming historic buildings.

And the downtown area is a joy to walk through.

The downtown area is right on the water.  Beautiful!

We even attempted one of those self-portraits…  Hmmm – maybe we should have asked a passer-by to take a picture of us!

From Port Townsend, we headed towards the Dungeness Spit, but I barely got a picture of it because we took the wrong turn…

 

But I found other things to photograph…

Last stop of the day: Port Angeles.

And while the city is nowhere near as charming as Port Gamble, Port Ludlow, or Port Townsend, the view from our hotel room is quite nice…

…especially with these ships that sailed right by and docked!

Tomorrow should be clear and sunny, which will be such a treat as we head into the Olympic Mountains to Hurricane Ridge. (Look carefully in the photo below, and you’ll see the mountains.)

But for tonight, we’ll just enjoy the sunset…

…and toast to another 28 years together.