Exploring the Olympic Peninsula: Part 2

Field Trip Newsletter: #52

Hello! Thanks for coming back for Exploring the Olympic Peninsula: Part 2. If you missed part one, you can find it here. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s jump in and start!

- Erin

Day Five:

Just across from Port Townsend is Vancouver Island, B.C. It’s a large island with so much to explore and see. We knew that we didn’t want to pack up everything and just wanted to get over to Victoria, B.C., for the day, so we took the ferry for the day. Seeing how close the ferry terminal is to the city center, we might not have taken our rental car over and saved some money except that we wanted to visit Butchart Gardens, which is about 30 minutes outside of town. We booked our tickets ahead of time for the earliest ferry over to Victoria and departed on the last ferry for the evening back to Port Angeles. By booking ahead, we could take care of customs the day before.

We packed in a lot in just nine hours. The Gardens were first, so we could go there, wander through, and then return to exploring. This was a place that my grandfather always told me to make sure to visit, so I didn’t want to miss out. It was stunning and meticulous. It was a very calming walk through the gardens. You can eat there, but we wanted to return to the city.

We stumbled across a great restaurant, truly by chance, called The Local. It was so good! We sat outside on the flower-filled patio and enjoyed the wharf across the street over delicious food. After lunch, we wandered the downtown area. Tom is really into gaming, and Victoria is a gamers’ paradise. We found comic book shops, a toy museum, gaming shops, and an old-school arcade just like the ones I spent hours in as a child.

Next, we made sure to wander through Chinatown. It’s the oldest Chinatown in Canada and the second oldest in North America. It was small but very charming. An alleyway opens a little wider once you are halfway down into shops and an exhibit to demonstrate the old Chinatown's appearance when it first began. Very cool!

We wrapped it up with soft serve ice cream from Chocolats Favoris. It was great but very sweet. I should have gotten the smallest size possible and maybe not a cone.

There’s so much to see and do in Victoria that I would have loved one more day, but honestly, after being in the woods for a week, I don’t know that we could have handled more than a day. The adjustment back to so many people and cars was a bit jarring. Maybe if Victoria came first or was at the end of the trip, that might have been different. Or if we weren’t cramping it all into nine hours. We still loved it and would 100% visit again.

Day Six:

We packed up our Airbnb and headed to a little town I’ve wanted to visit for 20+ years. Port Townsend sits on the northeasternmost tip of the Olympic Peninsula, on its own peninsula. I grew up on a peninsula, and I never got tired of being surrounded by water, every way you look. Port Townsend is like that. It is very hilly, so your views of the water are everywhere. The main street in town was full of fantastic local shops, bookstores, restaurants, hotels, pocket parks along the water, museums, history tours, and a movie theatre that I want to go back to see a movie at. It was one of the most charming small towns I’ve ever been to.

Next, we headed to Hama Hama Oysters, south along the Washington Shellfish Trail. I wish that we had just stayed here rather than trying to visit other places. It was so cool, and we really enjoyed it, but we also wanted to pack a lot in, so we left early. We’d stay longer next time and try more off the menu.

We stayed in Olympia at a hotel for the next two nights.

Day Seven:

The Lake Quinault area is a short drive from Olympia, just an hour and a half. This is another rainforest in Washinton and is entirely not to be missed. It was breathtakingly beautiful! We spent the whole day here, which was maybe my favorite day of the trip. We hiked six miles over the day, bouncing from trail to trail. We also wandered through The Lake Quinault Lodge, which also sits on the lake. It’s very old-school. I’d love to visit it in the winter if only to enjoy the giant fireplace.

We took a drive east, along the lake and then the Quinault River as well through one of the most enchanting forests ever. The trail at the end was literally called Enchantment Forest. We topped it off by spotting a herd of about 30 Elk crossing the road in front of us, moms, dads, and babies, all traveling together on the way back to get dinner.

Towards the end of the day, Tom and Sean took a swim, and I picked up dinner from The Salmon House up the road.

Then it was back to Olympia.

I will save our eighth and last day for next week. It was our full day in Seattle, and I have so many things to add to it and share with you. So please join me next week for part three of this guide to the Olympic Peninsula.

If you are enjoying this newsletter, please share through the button below. I would be so appreciative! Thank you in advance. Have a great week! - Erin