A Weekend Away...

Lake Crescent Lodge

Port Angeles, WA

A couple of weeks ago my son Sean came to visit me at the Tahkenitch Landing Campground.  He had two days off and drove from Lake Crescent, in Washington, for eight hours to spend one afternoon and evening with me.  Is he fabulous or what?  So, in keeping with the family theme, I took Monday (6/24) off, then my two day weekend (Tuesday/Wednesday) and then I took Thursday (6/27) off.  During this time I drove to Port Angeles and Lake Crescent to spend these days with Sean.  The drive was pretty ordinary stuff until I turned from I-5 northbound onto U.S. Hwy 101 near Olympia, WA.  Yes, this is the same U.S. Hwy 101 that runs right by the Tahkenitch Landing Campground from which I had driven at 8:00 a.m. that morning.  On the 101 northbound toward the Olympic Peninsula, west of Seattle, Washington, the drive is very beautiful.

I must apologize for the photos, but I was trying to make it to Lake Crescent before 6:00 p.m. and was hesitant to stop for many pictures.  The few here are of the Hood Canal and Hwy 101.  I made it by 5:45 p.m. to a light sprinkling of rain. 

 

Sean was working that evening (his Friday), and told me that he had made a dinner reservation for me for 8:00 p.m.  When I came down for dinner, the hostess seated me and told me that Sean had already planned my meal and that I should be ready to eat.  I was advised that my food would be out shortly.  About 10 minutes later, Sean delivered charbroiled venison medallions with garlic blue cheese mashed potatoes, asparagus, and jalapeno bbq sauce.  It was stunning.  The medallions were perfectly grilled medium rare and tender to the knife.  The asparagus (I am not an advocate for asparagus) was al dente (crunchy, but not raw or undercooked) and had a wonderful taste.  The potatoes were rough mashed, with some chunks of potato and, with the jalapeno BBQ sauce, the entire meal was something to tell everyone about.  In fact it was a meal fit for a Dad.

The following text is excerpted from the Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Crescent_Lodge) documentation on Lake Crescent Lodge:

“Lake Crescent Lodge- or Singer's Tavern as it was then called- was opened in 1916 by Avery and Julia Singer as a fisherman’s retreat on Barnes Point, the south shore of the pristine Lake Crescent in Washington State. At the time of its opening, the Tavern consisted of seven Lodge rooms, five of which are still in use today, and a series of cottages. It has expanded to include three motor lodge buildings and additional cabins along the shoreline. But despite the many renovations that have taken place over the past century, the Lobby’s stone fireplace, hardwood floors, and furnishings are original, offering a blend of rich history, breath-taking scenery, and a welcoming environment.”

“In the latter half of that decade, members of Congress proposed the establishment of a large national park encompassing the central, mountainous region of the Olympic Peninsula, and, as a result, the Lodge received its most notable guest. To assess the sylvan beauty firsthand, President Franklin D. Roosevelt journeyed to the Peninsula in the fall of 1937. The Lodge welcomed him, his guards, and other political leaders the evening of September 30. It is speculated, though not officially documented, that he spent the night there as well. As a result of his journey around the Peninsula, the President emphatically signed Olympic National Park into existence in 1938. Cottages built in the following decade were consequently named the Roosevelt Cabins.”

“The National Park Service purchased the property in 1951, and private ownership of the resort ceased. Over the latter half of the century, expansion continued throughout the property with the construction of three, hotel-style lodges. These buildings, called Marymere, Storm King, and Pyramid, are named for several stunning landmarks around the Lodge. Marymere Falls, Mount Storm King, and Pyramid Mountain provide guests with trails and breath-taking scenery.”

This is my third visit to Lake Crescent Lodge and each time I return, I find that I love the views of the lake, the memorable trails in the area, the beaches west of the Lodge with access to the Pacific Ocean, and the drive through the forested highways.  Sometimes the weather is less that you what you would desire of an outdoor environment, but just being here is splendid.  Being able to relax on the sun porch to read, just watch the lake or write in your blog is decompressing.  It gives you the opportunity to smell the forest, feel the cool breeze and watch the rain/sun/wind on the lake.  At this moment, I am sitting in the main room of the lodge, next to an open window to the sun porch, watching the rain falling on the lake, with hints of sun peeking through the low clouds in the west and, except for the drops of rain evident on the lake, there is virtually no movement of the water’s surface. 

On Tuesday, we toured the area around Port Angeles.  We drove out on to the strand, which is a manmade extension/jetty like point of land that stretches out from the harbor.  This point of land protects the inner harbor from the weather/wind generated waves from causing issues with the boats or ships in the harbor.  (Can you differentiate between a boat and a ship?)  From this sliver of land, which has a large U.S. Coast Guard Station at the end, you are presented with a great view of Port Angeles

and, after taking your picture of the town you can turn 180 degrees

and take a picture of the southern end of Vancouver Island.  On a sunny day can see the buildings in Victoria, British Columbia.  And if you drive up to the west side of Port Angeles, where your elevation above the water is probably 100 – 200 feet, then, sunny day or not, the buildings in Victoria are easily visible with the naked eye.  Later in the afternoon and into the evening, Sean, Karli (Sean’s girlfriend) and I played dominoes on the sun porch.  

Wednesday was a day for errands.  Sean and I drove the 35 miles to the Costco in Sequim (pronounced “Squim”) so that I could buy gasoline for the truck and I could buy Sean some of ‘this and that’, things that a parental unit does now and then, especially when we don’t get together often.  After the petrol and the ‘this and that’ were secured, we returned to the Lodge and spent the afternoon playing dominoes again on the sun porch.  It was wonderful to sit and battle the ‘domino duel’ with the boy and just do some bubba bonding.  We wound up playing for about five hours.  Karli joined us again for the battle and played very well, considering she had only learned the game the day before.  That evening, we, the three of us, ate dinner in the Lodge Restaurant and were joined by Nic, who is a good friend of Sean’s and also an employee of the Lodge and Restaurant.  Great food, great company, great wine (a western Washington Merlot) and a very pleasant evening was had by all. 

Thursday morning’s breakfast was eaten in the Lodge Restaurant and, as I sat there looking out the windows at the lake, looking down the length of the lake and at the high ridges (read ‘mountainous’) on either side of the lake, looking at the sun trying to peek through the overcast, looking at the clouds sliding down the tree covered hills, I thought about the fact that my camera could not adequately project what I could see from my breakfast seat.  A picture is just a split second capture of the scene in front of me.  But the scene in front of me is an ever moving, constantly changing scene.  It cannot accurately portray the reality of the beauty of this lake and the surrounding hills. 

A character in a book I once read years ago, described those pictures people take, of places like this, as postcards.  If Ed and Jane are standing in front of the lake or the cloud covered hills, then you have postcards of Ed and Jane at Lake Crescent.  I think about this concept a lot along the coasts of Oregon and Washington.  The views presented to you, around every turn, are often too large and all-encompassing to be captured in a single picture or even with a series of pictures.  The camera only sees what and where you aim it.  It misses the silence, the feel of the moisture in the air or the gurgle of the water lapping at the shore.  You simply have to be there.

I departed from Lake Crescent on Thursday morning and drove to Kingston, WA, to ride the ferry across Puget Sound to Edmonds, which is north of Seattle. 

From the ferry landing, I drove to the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle to spend the afternoon with David, the youngest sibling of the Gordon-Wheeler family.  David has been living in Seattle since January of 2013.  His apartment looks out on Lake Union and has a splendid view of downtown Seattle.

We spent the afternoon on a walking tour of his neighborhood and the north shore of Lake Union.  We ate a late afternoon sandwich at a shop a short distance from his apartment and I left from there to drive back to Tahkenitch Landing Campground to resume my duties as Campground Host.  I drove a little less than 1,000 miles over the four days of my long weekend.  And I enjoyed seeing and spending some time with both David and Sean. 

Can anyone answer the question I posed in the blog?  What is the difference between a boat and a ship?

Until next time…