Living Green Olympia: July 2011

I've been trying to figure out a time and place for a little vacation, and think I may have stumbled on the perfect solution - for me at least!  Trying to get away for a few nights is almost more trouble than it's worth by the time I arrange for both business and pets to be covered in our absence.  And though an entire week gives me plenty of time to unwind from the stress of getting ready to go before I start stressing about coming back....well, summer is busy in real estate (thank goodness), so an entire week is HARD.

But yesterday my husband and I planned a day trip of driving up along Hood Canal to spend the day in Port Townsend - and it was perfect!  A gorgeous drive up along the canal, with its water views and forested, twisty road.  Then a relaxing day with no certain timetable to keep or must do's of any kind.

We had lunch at a waterfront restaurant where we could gaze out our window at the water and occasional sailboats or kayaks passing by.

The ferry dock was nearby, so watching the ferry come in and load up cars and trucks kept us entertained as we ate.

Strolling along through various stores is always fun for me - and my husband was a good sport about the ones where the contents were more my cup of tea than his.  One huge antique store kept us both intrigued for quite a while - and this picture of "bathing beauties" of yesteryear was the thing I came closest to buying (but coudn't figure out exactly where I thought I'd put it!!).

Intricate architecture of the buildings of Port Townsend also had me grabbing for my camera. 

In fact, the only disappointment is that we were both too full from lunch to have room left for goodies from the cupcake store - and had too much roaming and browsing left to do to want to carry them along for later.  Oh well...

So I think a little day trip maybe once a month may be my perfect mini getaway - and the really good news is that there are LOTS of places within day trip distance of Olympia!