Travels with haRVy

We headed south along the Hood Canal from Port Townsend. On Nancy’s recommendation we stopped in the extremely charming little town of Port Gamble for lunch. Now a National Historic Landmark, the mill town has been restored to its 19th century decor, which we found reminiscent of New England. Sorry I didn’t take any photos (too rainy), but you can see several good ones by clicking on the link above.

On our way down Highway 101 we spotted this forlorn looking RV. We’d never seen anything like it so we turned haRVy around to have a closer look.

At first it seemed sort of amusing, but the more we looked around the more we wondered what the full story could be.

This old bus based RV was in the yard on the other side of the humble house below. Even the engine had been stripped out of it. I wasn’t brave enough to walk over and look into the open side door.

In front of the house was this pile of rubble, which contained a wheelchair, portable commode, and other evidence that the former resident probably spent his last days here after years of accumulating “stuff” around him. I was tempted to go into the saloon next door to find out the true story, but decided to leave well enough alone.

A little further down the road…

I don’t think this boat has seen the water for quite some time, but the sail is still on the boom ready to hoist!

Our free camp site that night was at Hoodsport Winery, a member of Harvest Hosts. They have been in operation since 1978. Practically every inch of wall space in their tasting room is covered with awards. They are best known for their fruit wines, but I really liked the Rhubarb, so I bought a bottle, which I later shared with some new Westy owner friends (more below).

Next we spent a night with Boondockers Welcome hosts Colleen and Dale at their lovely home in the Black Lake neighborhood near Olympia. They own a VW-Synchro that was converted for camping by Westfalia, so they were interested to see our more modern Westy. Nice folks. Colleen is a great photographer. You can see her work here.

In Tacoma we spent an enjoyable afternoon touring the Museum of Glass, the meticulously restored Union Station that now serves as a Federal Courthouse, and beautiful Point Defiance Park.

 My favorite exhibit featured work by Howard Ben Tre.

The “cone” contains the “Hot Shop” where visitors can witness art coming alive as the Museum’s team and visiting artists demonstrate the fascinating process of creating works of art from molten glass. You can see what’s going on there right now (during museum hours) or watch recently taped videos on their website here. It’s pretty cool….oh I mean hot!

The walk from the museum to Union Station took us over the “Bridge of Glass” that is festooned with works by Dale Chihuly. Below are photos showing two overhead panels in the Seaform Pavilion section where the ceiling is filled with 2,364 objects from Chihuly’s Seaform and Persian series.

Boondockers Welcome hosts Dean and Sue welcomed us to their home in Des Moines (we are still in Washington, not Iowa!) that evening. While in town we took a walk along Des Moines Creek Trail and visited the City Marina.

Just north of Seattle we stayed two nights in the driveway of fellow Westy owner, Michael, who we met a few months ago in Yellowstone National Park. We enjoyed a pleasant stay, nice visit, and delicious lunch which he prepared for us.

In Kirkland we stayed two nights with Pauline and Steve who also own a Westy. They not only hosted us, but organized a delightful (and delicious) dinner gathering of Westy owners (and wannabee John) around our visit. Thank you both – we had a fun time getting to know you and the others.

Now we are preparing to fly home for a friend’s wedding. This diversion from our travels with haRVy will extend through the holidays. During this time I will take a break from this blog. Happy Holidays To All – see you in the New Year!